Start with the catalyst

A gap without a reason is a gap without conviction. Before anything else we confirm what moved the stock overnight: earnings, guidance, an analyst action, sector news or a filing. Catalysts that change the story tend to hold; noise tends to fade.

Then check volume and float

Relative volume tells us whether real money is behind the move. A low-float name trading several times its usual pre-market volume behaves very differently from a large cap drifting on thin prints.

Plan the levels, not the hope

We mark the pre-market high and low, the prior day’s close and any obvious resistance. The plan is written before the bell, so the open becomes execution, not improvisation.