MarketScan
Running a Pre-defined MarketScan

Although running a pre-defined scan is as simple as choosing the required scan from the list and clicking Run Search button, these exercises will give you more of an understanding of the program and how you can enhance pre-defined searches to make the most out of them.

	To run a pre-defined market scan select a pre-defined search from the available list. In this instance we choose the Index Performance scan, which will rank the performance of all ASX S&P Indices over the last three months. To select the Index Performance scan simply highlight the search criteria and click on Search from the menu from the bottom pane.
	Now lets look at the results – as we pan left to right we can see the Index Symbol, Index name and its three month percentage chance. Moving down the list we can see the Indexes have been ranked by their relative performance from strongest to weakest.
	Next we might want to know which stocks make up some of the better performing Indices. For the purpose of this exercise, lets assume that we believe that the Information Technology sector will out perform the broader market over the coming twelve months and therefore we want to further our research of stocks in this area. So lets learn how to identify which stocks make up an Index. To do this we simply go back to the Main Menu screen and Select the Rank Shares in Industry by Performance scan.
	Once selected, the List screen and Index menu window appear and you are asked to click on the drop down menu and select Information Technology. Having done this click on OK and MarketScan will compile a list of stocks.
	We can now see the relevant stocks, as listed by their ASX code, name and three month percentage change. Next we might want to fine tune our list further by focusing our attention on only those stocks within the Information Technology sector that have increased in value more than five percent over the last month.
	To do that we could add a one month price column to our list of selection criteria. Selecting the Add Column button from the bottom pane displays a drop down menu from which we can select Price History and then One Month Price Change. Once selected, a new List column will appear.
	Next we might want to find out the liquidity of these stocks, so lets look to add a Volume filter to our List criteria. To do this we select Add Column, then Price and then Volume and once we have done this select ok and Volume details for each stock will have been added. Ok, so now we have added a Volume criteria to our List of prospects. Finally, lets call up information on the closing prices of these stocks. To do this we will add an additional column by selecting Add Column then Price and then Closing Price. Once he have done this the closing Price Column will have been augmented to our List.
	So lets review what we have done. In a few short minutes we have gained an insight into what areas of the market are exhibiting positive short term momentum and what areas are not. With this in mind, we have focused our research on stocks which we believe are in a sector that will outperform the broader market over the coming months. Having done this we have also confirmed the short term momentum of these stocks, and finally profiled information concerning the price of these stocks and their most recent volume.

To summarise, in a few short minutes we have used Paritech MarketScan to obtain an overview of what areas of the market are performing, and from there isolated a list of prospects that meet our investment criteria.