Highly Liquid Stocks and ETFs List on 08-015-14 (>$5 & 30 day average volume >500,000 shares/day average)
The following is a list of highly liquid stocks and ETFs with highly liquid options that can be used as a short list to find potential candidates for trading.
As described in ‘How to Trade‘ and ‘Why Liquidity is Important‘, one of the most common places folks lose money in the markets is the ‘spread’, which is the difference between the ‘sell’ price (bid) and the ‘buy’ price (ask). While it is impossible for retail investors and traders not to pay the ‘spread’, they should attempt to pay the least they possibly can. The only way to do so is to choose highly liquid stocks and ETFs and highly liquid options. A description of how to find your own list of highly liquid stocks and options is described in ‘Why Liquidity is Important‘, however, the list below is provided for the benefit of those who might find it useful.
| Stocks | Name |
| GLD | Spdr Gold Trust Etf |
| GOOG | Google Inc Cl A |
| GOOGL | Google Inc |
| IWM | Ishares Tr Russell 2000 |
| FXI | Ishares Ftse/xinhua 25 |
| JNJ | Johnson & Johnson |
| IEF | Ishares Lehman 7-10 Yr Treas |
| EFA | Ishares Msci Eafe Index Fund |
| NFLX | Netflix Inc. |
| AMZN | Amazon.com Inc |
| DIA | Diamonds Trust |
| SPY | Spdr Trust Sr 1 Etf |
| AA | Alcoa Inc. |
| AAPL | Apple Inc |
| EEM | Ishares Msci Emrg Mk Inc |
| DD | Dupont E I Nemours & Co |
| IYR | Ishares Dj Us Rlest Indx |
| BAX | Baxter International Inc. |
| UNH | Unitedhealth Group Inc |
| X | United States Steel Corp |
| TSLA | Tesla Motors, Inc. |
| MS | Morgan Stanley |
| TEVA | Teva Pharmactl Indus Ltd Ads |
| BA | Boeing Company (the) |
| CSX | Csx Corporation |
| BIDU | Baidu Inc Ads |
| LNKD | Linkedin Corporation |
| DOW | Dow Chemical Company (the) |
| TGT | Target Corporation |
| V | Visa Inc A |
| WYNN | Wynn Resorts, Limited |
| OXY | Occidental Petroleum Corporat |
| XRT | Spdr S&p Retail |
| DHR | Danaher Corporation |
| HAL | Halliburton Company |
| GMCR | Green Mtn Coffee Roaster |
| XLE | Spdr Energy Sector |
| HON | Honeywell Inc. |
| PEP | Pepsico Inc. |
| UTX | United Technologies Corporati |
| TLT | Ishares Lehman 20+ Yr Treas |
| DVN | Devon Energy Corporation |
| XLV | Spdr Select Sect Health |
| XOP | Spdr S&p Oilgas Epl Prd |
| HYG | Ishares Iboxx $ High Yield Cor |
| XLP | Spdr Cnsmr Stpls Sector |
| VWO | Vanguard Emerging Market |
| IBB | Ishares Nasdaq Bio |
| F | Ford Motor Company |
| EOG | Eog Resources |
| PG | Procter & Gamble Company |
| GS | Goldman Sachs Group Inc |
| DIS | Walt Disney Co |
| APA | Apache Corporation |
| MDLZ | Mondelez International Inc |
| UPS | United Parcel Service Inc. |
| CMCSA | Comcast Corp. (class A) |
| JPM | Jpmorgan Chase & Co. |
The next step to using a list such as the above is to create a stock watchlist, and watch for opportunities to get into the market – for more details, see Winning Trading Strategies – Create and Monitor a Stock Watchlist. If you’re new to the world of investing and trading and do not know where to begin, read How to Learn Investing and Trading.
How to find stocks with highly liquid options
While financial advisors and brokers can and do charge clients for research to find investments that may meet their interest, savvy investors and traders can now do their own research using a myriad of online resources, some of them free, others accessible to clients of online brokerages. In fact, nowadays, most discount brokers have online research tools to help customers find investments and trades.
Below is such an example – using the online brokerage OptionsXpress, you can very easily scan for highly liquid options using their preset screen. Below is a screenshot of a preset screener that can find liquid stocks with the click of the mouse!
Screener in Online Toolbox
OptionsXpress ‘Ready to Use’ Screener for Liquid Stocks
Newbie Traders should consider opening an account, and practicing using the ‘tools of the trade’ with simulated trades using ‘Virtual Trading’ before venturing real money in ‘live’ trades. OptionsXpress will actually allow you to open an account and DO NOT require a minimum deposit before granting you access to the educational materials (see link below). You will however have to deposit money in the account to be able to invest any money.
Happy Trading!
JonLuc
