Scan the pre-market

Scalpel is built for the pre-market first. The small caps that run hardest often do it between 07:00 and 09:30 ET, on overnight news, with thin books and few traders watching. The scanner is ready for that: nothing waits for the opening bell except the one scan that cannot work without an open price. This guide covers what each scan does before 09:30, how to read the numbers when volume is thin, gap and go, and what changes at the open.

What runs before 09:30

07:42:15 ETPre-market

IBKR scanner 4LIVE

RANKSYMPRICECHG%VWAPINTELSQZRVOLSHS OUTSHORTMKT CAPVOLDESK

1TUVW3.62+26.1%Trial data 52m639.8x9.1M11% 2.2d$33.0M4.0M

2+1PQRS1.71+15.5%Hype 3h586.4x4.2M18% 3.4d$7.2M8.5M

3-1CDEF2.27+12.4%Selling 2hOffering 2h104.1x17.5M7% 1.3d$39.7M6.2M

4QRST6.05+11.0%Deal 1h342.2x21.4M4% 0.9d$129.5M610K

Gap and go

A gap and go is the classic open for a stock that gapped up overnight: it holds its gains in the pre-market, then breaks above the pre-market high once the regular session starts. It is one of the momentum patterns taught by Ross Cameron of Warrior Trading, whose style inspired Scalpel's scans (Scalpel is independent, not affiliated with or endorsed by him or Warrior Trading).

Scalpel tracks each listed stock's pre-market high, read from IBKR's history when the stock joins the list and kept up to date from the live trades. After 09:30, the first trade back above that high puts a green G chip on the row and calls out Gap and go. It fires once per stock per day. If the stock already crossed its pre-market high after the open before it reached the list, the gap and go has happened and Scalpel will not call a later cross one.

A pre-market scanning routine

1. From 07:00, read the list. Early on, the list can be short. If it is empty, lower Min change % to 5 for now (guide 8.1).
2. Check why each stock is moving. The catalyst chip in the INTEL column says what the news is and how strong (guide 9.4). No chip means no headline on file.
3. Strike out the sellers. A red Selling or amber Dilution chip means the company can sell stock into your move. A red Offering chip is an offering headline (guide 9.2).
4. Look at the supply. SHS OUT and the squeeze score (guide 8.4) show which names can move fast on little buying.
5. Load the best two or three onto desks with the coloured squares, and watch their Level 2 and tape.
6. At 09:30, expect the list to reshuffle as the gappers scan fills in, and watch for G chips.

Guide 14.2 turns this into a full morning routine.

What changes at 09:30

• The gappers scan fills. It can add a burst of names in the first minute, each one ringing the bell once. The bell rings at most once every 1.5 seconds; every alert is kept in the panel's LOG view.
• Gap and go and HOD break go live on the Setups panel.
• Liquidity arrives. Spreads usually tighten and the book thickens. Pre-market prints on thin books are easy to push around, so a pre-market high can be a single print.

What can go wrong

• The list is empty at 05:00. Few stocks are up 10% that early on real volume. Lower Min change %, or clear Min volume, which counts only the few shares traded so far.
• No intel chips on a pre-market runner. The stock may be past the 40-symbol intel limit, or the news has not reached your IBKR news providers yet. Check that intel is on and watching (guide 9.1).
• No G chip on a stock that clearly gapped and went. It crossed its pre-market high before it joined the list, or before Scalpel was running.

Questions

What time does Scalpel's scanner start?

As soon as IBKR's scanner returns results, from 04:00 ET on trading days, as long as TWS or IB Gateway is logged in and Scalpel is connected.

Why is the gappers scan empty in the pre-market?

IBKR's gappers scan measures the gap from yesterday's close to today's open, and there is no opening price until 09:30. The top gainers scan covers pre-market gaps until then.

Is percent change in the pre-market against yesterday's close?

Yes. CHG% and Min change % compare the last price, pre-market included, with the previous session's close.

Can I trade pre-market in Scalpel?

Yes. Pre-market, regular hours and after-hours all trade. Entries are marketable limit orders and Extended-hours fills is on by default in Settings > Trading; exits can always fill outside regular hours. Stops are watched by the app, so Scalpel must stay running.

Does the pre-market high include the first minutes after 04:00?

Yes. The pre-market high is the highest trade from 04:00 ET to the open, read from IBKR's 1-minute history when a stock joins the list and kept current from live trades after that.