Watchlist is the bridge between research and action. Where stocks sit while you wait for the right setup. Done well, it's your weekly trading roadmap. Done poorly, it's a 100-stock garbage bin you never look at. This guide walks through the right way.
Step 1 — Open Watchlist
Navigate to /watchlist. Sign-in required for cross-device persistence. Guest mode allows local-only watchlist (lost on browser clear).
Step 2 — Add stocks via search
Type symbol (RELIANCE, HDFCBANK) or company name (autocomplete). One-click add. Each row shows live price + day change + active signals.
Step 3 — Organise into groups
The single biggest watchlist improvement: separate lists by purpose.
Recommended group structure
- Core holdings: Long-term stocks you own. Monitor for thesis-break events.
- Watch-to-buy: Stocks you'd enter at the right price. Set price alerts.
- Active trades: Open positions with stops and targets.
- Sector tracker: Sectoral indices (BankNifty, Nifty IT, Nifty Auto) for regime monitoring.
- Earnings calendar: Stocks with upcoming results — pre-event preparation.
There is no live paid watchlist tier today. Keep each list intentionally small for attention, not because of a Pro/Free paywall.
Step 4 — Per-stock alerts
Bell icon next to each stock = quick alert setup specific to that name. Common patterns:
- Price alert at planned entry level
- Stop-loss reminder for open positions
- Signal alert (new high-confidence signal generated)
- Volume spike (unusual activity = check news)
See alerts guide for full setup.
Step 5 — Weekly workflow
Sunday evening (15-20 minutes)
- Open watchlist.
- For each stock: glance at chart, check signals/scorecard, note thesis-impact events.
- Identify setups completing this week (breakouts forming, pullbacks to support).
- Set price alerts at planned entries.
- Update stops on open positions if trend changed.
- Note 2-3 highest-conviction trades for the week.
Weekday execution
Don't check watchlist obsessively. Wait for alert triggers, execute pre-decided trades, journal results.
The 20-stock cap rule
More than 20 stocks per watchlist = degrades. Can't track 50 stocks deeply. Discipline:
- Cap each list at 20.
- If adding 21st stock, remove a stale name.
- Monthly cull: any stock not touched in 60 days = move out.
The thesis-track column
For each stock in watchlist, write a 1-sentence thesis somewhere (Notion, Apple Notes, even comment field).
Examples:
- “HDFC Bank: hold till ROE drops below 16% or post-merger NIMs stabilise”
- “Trent: trim 25% if P/E crosses 120x; sell remaining if same-store growth falls below 10%”
- “ITC: wait for 80GG demerger value crystallisation; sell post-rerating”
Re-read theses quarterly. If thesis no longer holds, sell. If still holds, continue holding through volatility.
Common mistakes
- 50+ stock watchlist. Information overload = nothing actioned.
- No labels. Mixing core holdings with speculative entries = confused decisions.
- No per-stock alerts. Defeats the “wait for setup” purpose.
- Never cleaning out. 2-year-old never-actioned watchlist names dilute attention.
- Checking 10x/day. Same problem as checking portfolio daily — destroys returns.
Watchlist + Screener integration
Workflow: Screener output → research promising candidates → add winners to watchlist → wait for setup → trade. This is the daily routine of disciplined traders.
Pair with portfolio tracking guide to close the loop from research to execution to review.