I've been trying to find a good list of ETFs and stocks to follow on a daily basis as a way of keeping abreast of the markets with minimal fuss. I want to keep track o what is happening without getting flooded with too much information.
I use Quotetracker with my Merrill Lynch Direct Account. I like Quotetracker, but it may not be for you. It reminds me of the screens I used when I was a bond broker, which is probably half of the reason I like it.
I finally settled on two different groups, each on a seperate page. The first is the major market tracking ETFs -- DIAs, SPYs, QQQQs, IWNS etc.... -- and the XL ___ group of industry tracking stocks. There are 18 different stocks to follow here, which is enough to get an overview.
I have a second page with the 10 largest stocks in the QQQQs, DIA, SPY, IYT and IWN index. There is some overlap with these (thank god). For example, MSFT is in two of the averages. Because most of these averages are market weighted, keeping track of the largest holdings gives me an idea of what is happening and what isn't.
I also have my watch list of attractive longs and shorts on two separate pages.
I am hoping this system gives me a good general overview of the market without giving me too much to deal with. It's a hard balance to find.
