Day trading glossary: momentum & continuation terms
A plain-English reference for the terms behind every alert ContinuationTrades fires. Each entry leads with a one-line definition, then the context that actually matters when you're trading momentum.
Continuation setup
A continuation setup is a stock that is already moving and keeps moving in the same direction. Instead of guessing a reversal, you trade with the existing momentum — a gap-up that holds and extends, a volume-driven breakout, or news-driven follow-through. Continuation is the opposite of a reversal trade: the thesis is "this move isn't done yet."
HOD break (high of day)
A HOD break is when a stock trades through its highest price of the current session. The high of day acts as resistance; when price breaks above it on volume, it often signals buyers are back in control and the move may extend. It's one of the cleanest, most-watched momentum triggers because the level is objective — everyone sees the same number.
LOD (low of day)
The LOD is a stock's lowest traded price of the current session. It's the mirror image of the HOD: a break below the low of day can signal downside continuation. Knowing both levels frames the day's range and tells you the level a move has to clear to keep going.
Premarket high and low (PHOD / PLOD)
The premarket high and low are the extremes a stock reaches before the 9:30 a.m. ET open. Because premarket volume is thin, those levels are often defended or attacked hard once regular hours begin, making them key references for opening-range and continuation traders. A clean break of the premarket high after the open is a common momentum trigger; losing the premarket low is the mirror image, and often the first sign a gap is failing.
RVOL (relative volume)
RVOL measures how much a stock is trading right now compared with its normal volume for the same time of day. An RVOL of 5× means five times the usual activity — a sign that something has changed and real participants are involved. Momentum traders lean on RVOL because price moves backed by high relative volume tend to be more reliable than quiet drifts.
Float
Float is the number of a company's shares actually available for public trading. Low-float stocks (often under ~20 million shares) can move violently on modest volume because supply is scarce; high-float names need far more buying to move the same percentage. Float is why two stocks up 30% can behave completely differently — it's a core input to any momentum thesis.
Gap up / gap and go
A gap up is when a stock opens meaningfully higher than its previous close, usually on overnight news. A "gap and go" is the continuation version: the stock opens gapped up and keeps running rather than fading. Gappers concentrate the day's energy into the open, which is why they dominate premarket scans.
Volume spike
A volume spike is a sudden surge in shares traded over a short window, often expressed as a multiple like 2× normal. Spikes flag that fresh interest has arrived — a catalyst, a breakout, or institutional activity — frequently before price has fully reacted. Pairing a volume spike with a level break (like a HOD) is a higher-conviction signal than either alone.
Trading halt (and resume)
A trading halt is a temporary pause in a stock's trading, often triggered by extreme volatility (an LULD halt) or pending news. When the halt lifts, the stock can resume far from where it paused, so the resume is a high-volatility moment momentum traders watch closely. Knowing a name is halted — and catching the resume — matters when seconds count.
Acceleration trigger
An acceleration trigger fires when a stock's rate of movement increases sharply, not just its price. A stock can be up 10% and quiet, or up 10% and accelerating hard — the second is where continuation lives. Acceleration-based triggers aim to catch the moment a move shifts from drift to drive.
Extended hours (premarket & after-hours)
Extended hours are the trading sessions outside 9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. ET — premarket (from 4:00 a.m.) and after-hours (to 8:00 p.m.). Liquidity is thinner and spreads are wider, but this is where gaps form and where news-driven moves often begin. Traders who only watch regular hours miss the setup that's already built by the open.
Power hour
Power hour is the final hour of the regular session, roughly 3:00–4:00 p.m. ET. Volume and volatility often pick up as institutions position into the close, so intraday trends can extend or sharply reverse. It's a distinct tape that rewards session-specific thresholds rather than the same rules you'd use at the open.
Catalyst
A catalyst is the reason a stock is moving — a press release, earnings, an analyst action, or sector news. Momentum backed by a real catalyst tends to follow through; movement with no catalyst is more likely to be noise. This is why news-aware scanning matters: the "why" filters the "what."
Breakout
A breakout is price moving decisively through a defined level — a high of day, a premarket high, or a prior resistance zone — usually on increased volume. It's the entry trigger most continuation setups are built around. A breakout without volume often fails, which is why volume and relative volume are checked alongside the level.
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