Workflow
Build a weekend momentum watchlist in 30 minutes
Eight steps, run in the same order every week.
The point of a fixed routine is that it produces the same quality of list whether or not you feel like doing it. Thirty minutes, eight steps, same order every time.
1 · Check general market health (3 min)
Is the index above its own 50-day and 200-day? Are new highs expanding or contracting? If the market environment is hostile, the correct output of this routine is a shorter list and smaller size — not a harder search.
2 · Identify leading sectors (4 min)
Pull up a sector performance view over 1 and 3 months. Note the top three. Momentum in a leading group behaves differently from an isolated breakout in a broken one.
3 · Run Classic Momentum Leaders (4 min)
The recipe as written. This is your core list of proven relative strength.
4 · Run Fresh Breakout (4 min)
The breakout recipe. Expect more names and more noise. Most will fail the volume check.
5 · Run Pullback in a Leader (4 min)
The pullback recipe. This is usually where the best risk/reward entries come from, because you are not paying up at the high.
6 · Cut illiquid names (2 min)
Apply a dollar-volume floor across all three lists. Anything you could not exit in a bad tape comes off now, regardless of how good it looks.
7 · Score the top 20 (7 min)
Run the survivors through the momentum score. Roughly 20 seconds each once you know where the inputs live. Write down the score and the flag, not just the ticker.
8 · Keep 5–10 names (2 min)
Sort by score, then read the flags. A 78 flagged Pullback candidate outranks a 91 flagged Extended for the coming week. Note the level that would invalidate each idea before Monday, while you are calm.
Why the order matters
Market health first means you never build an aggressive list into a hostile tape. Scoring last means you never fall in love with a chart before you have measured it. Reversing either step is the most common way this routine stops working.