Modern markets have evolved into vastly complicated organisms with thousands of data points competing for attention. The challenge is to transform this information flood into an efficient set of charts, tickers, indexes, and indicators that support your profit objectives. Part of this task requires observation of broad market forces, while the balance demands a narrow focus on the specific securities used to execute your strategies.
Setting up an efficient screen layout will help you organize the data you need while allowing for fast decision-making, so you can optimize your trades.
Key Takeaways
- If you're an active trader, your trading platform is your workstation, and setting up your screen layout will help you take advantage of the information at your disposal.
- Whether it's one, two, three, or even more screens, make sure that you can find the tools and data you need with just a glance so that you can take action when a signal appears.
- Many platforms offer customizable and modular screen customization, as well as pre-set defaults geared toward particular types of users.
Trading From Screens
Most traders have real-life jobs and responsibilities away from home, forcing them to access the markets through smartphones to gather the information they need to assume new risks and manage open positions.
However, some traders are able to sit at home or in a proprietary shop and trade full-time. They need more detailed on-screen information because they're assuming greater risk. The additional data they can access at home coverthe same territory as the remote participant's screens, but in far greater detail. In addition, these traders need to set aside space for the incubation of future opportunities, with a focus on market groups not currently being traded.
How many monitors do at-home traders need to watch the markets efficiently?The answer has changed over the years because monitor prices have dropped substantially while graphics cards now routinely support multiple monitor setups. Given the low cost, it makes sense to add as many monitors as you can fit comfortably in the space set aside for the function, while not exceeding your budget or your ability to promptly analyze the information you put on them.
Building Effective Trading Screens
Generally speaking, traders need to capture the three types of information to support a comprehensive visual analysis: market observation, position management, and incubator. Each square inch of screen space wasted with unnecessary charts or data contributes to an incomplete view that can be costly in an active trading style. Nearly all traders have made the most common mistake at some point of loading up their screens with too many charts and not enough tickers.
Reserve charting for must-watch tickers, with a second group set to different time frames that link to a single symbol from the watch list. If space is limited, add a time frame toolbar to fewer charts and flip through different settings on each chart. The specific time frames you use for this analysis should match your market approach. While not set in stone, the following settings offer a good starting point, depending on your strategy:
- Scalpers: Five-minute, 15-minute, and hourly charts.
- Swing traders: 15-minute, hourly, and daily charts
- Market timers: Hourly, daily, and weekly charts or daily, weekly, and monthly charts
Additional charts may include the following:
- or SPDRS&P 500 Trust (SPY) set to a 15-minute time frame
- Nasdaq 100 Futures or Powershares QQQ Trust (QQQ) set to a 15-minute time frame
- CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) set to a 15-minute time frame
- 24-hour 15-minute charts of market-moving securities such as Apple Inc. (AAPL), SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), and the US Oil Fund (USO).
If possible, keep two sets of S&P 500 futures charts: one for the U.S.-only session, starting at 9:30 a.m. ET and ending at 4:15 p.m. ET, and a second 24-hour 60-minute futures chart that tracks overnight action in Asia and Europe. This second chart is enormously useful in getting up to speed when you open your workstation in the morning.
What about a real-time news ticker? This is a personal choice, because some strategies rely on breaking news to execute positionswhile the majority work perfectly well with a stand-alonethird-party service or a carefully curated stream on X platform (formerly Twitter).
As a general rule, it is best to keep the news off your charting and data programs, saving the precious space for charts and security tickers.
Sample Setups
These images highlight methods to use screen space efficiently, regardless of the number of monitors used to watch the financial markets.The panels in these examples scale well when adding new screens, or when loading up a small laptop for travel. When pressed for space, reduce the number of charts and securities while keeping the entire set of indexes and indicators. (Remote traders can benefit from additional screen-saving tips and strategies.)
Screen 1
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The top panel (1) highlights major benchmarks, showing detailed information on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, Russell 2000, and Nasdaq indexes. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures contracts sit at eye level so traders can watch in real-time during the market day. Open, high, low, and last data columns reveal how the current price is interacting with key levels, which also mark intraday support and resistance.
The center-left panel (2) deconstructs the Level 2market depth screen, eliminating extraneous columns in favor of a streamlined view that displays just price and size.Market center data are no longer useful because the vast majority of intraday transactions never make it to this screen, due tohigh-frequencytrading algorithms(HFT). The time and sales ticker on the right side has been reduced to core elements as well, showing just time, price, and size.
The center-right panel (3) displays a simplified portfolio view for long-term positions. It isn't required but is extremely useful when a position blows up and requires the trader's attention.
The lower panel (4) contains detailed information on open positions as well as securities being watched for entry.Price and percentage change measure intraday performance, while volume and average volume reveal activity level compared with prior sessions. Open, high, low, and last columns replace charts in many cases, allowing easy visualization of the daily pattern.
Screen 2
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Top left (1) and top right (2) panels display scaled-down data on secondary ticker lists. These are compiled over time through news, scans, homework, media play, and all the other ways to find interesting trade setups. Volume and average volume columns are especially important on these lists because they identify active securities at just a glance.The chart (3) links to tickers on all the panels through the green symbol on the upper left. Traders can also flip through time frames, from two-minute to monthly, by clicking on the top toolbar.
Screen 3
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Top left (1) and center-left (2) panels display market internals and key indexes not shown on the first screen. Learning to interpret this background information correctly takes time, but the effort is worthwhile because it builds significant tape-reading skills.
The top right (3) panel contains the same columns as other secondary lists but focuses on a specific market group—energy and commodities, in this case.Finally, the bottom left (4) chart keeps a real-time VIX on display, while the bottom right chart (5) shows a core security you’ll watch for years or decades.
How Do You Set Up Multi-Screen Software for Forex Trading?
Some traders opt to buy a name-brand computer station that is designed to work with a multiple-monitor matrix. These setups can be expensive but have the advantage of working perfectly out of the box.
Most retail traders can make do by connecting extra monitors to a regular computer, although they are limited by their hardware capabilities. To set up multiple monitors for a PC, check the instructions from Microsoft. If you use a Mac, check the instructions from Apple.
How Many Trades Should a Trader Make in a Day?
Some traders may make tens or even hundreds of trades in a single day. However, if you make frequent day trades with a significant share of your account balance, your broker may label you a pattern day trader. Pattern day traders are subject to additional regulatory scrutiny and are required to have at least $25,000 in their margin trading account.
How Many Monitors Do Traders Need?
Given that the average monitor can comfortably display four different charts, many traders will opt for three or four monitors in order to keep an eye on as many metrics as possible, without having to switch between different windows. However, the number of monitors you can use is limited by your budget, your space, and your computer's processing power.
The Bottom Line
Well-organized trading screens sum up intraday market action, breaking it into digestible bites that can speed up complex trading decisions as well as exposing conditions that can blossom into full-blown rallies, sell-offs, and reversals. When carefully constructed, these screens mark a definable trading edge that can last a lifetime.
No matter what kind of trader you are, the ideal setup for your trading screens will depend on the specific indicators and oscillators you choose to analyze. To learn more about these tools, check outtheTechnical Analysiscourse fromInvestopedia Academy, which includes on-demand videos and interactive content to help you improve your trading skills.
