Precision Filters: From 150 Candidates to Your Best 4–8 Setups Every Morning

Published: February 27, 2026 | 15 min read | Finmagine Trader Series — Article 7 | v1.2.0

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Index Filter • MCap Filter • Score Filter • Combination strategies • 35 interactive flashcards

Three Filters. Three Dimensions. One Precise Shortlist.

Open Finmagine Trader and the Stage 2 tab might show 150+ stocks. The All Three tab narrows it to 4–12. But even 12 stocks is a list, not a decision. The precision filters introduced in v1.2.0 solve the last mile: narrowing the best scan output to the names that match your strategy, your risk appetite, and today's market conditions.

🌍 Index Filter

Nifty 50 — blue-chip only
Nifty 100 — large-cap quality
Nifty 200 — quality mid+large
Nifty 500 — institutional universe

💲 MCap Filter

₹500 Cr — micro-cap floor
₹1,000 Cr — small-cap floor
₹5,000 Cr — mid-cap focus
Up to ₹50,000 Cr mega-cap

🎯 Score Filter

≥1 — any signal present
≥2 — dual confirmation
≥3 — strong multi-signal
=4 — maximum conviction

The key insight: Each filter narrows along a completely different axis. Index = quality. MCap = size. Score = conviction. Because they are orthogonal, stacking them doesn’t create redundancy — it creates precision.

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🅾 The Signal-to-Noise Problem

Open Finmagine Trader on any trading morning. The Stage 2 tab might show 153 stocks. Near 52W High might show 59. High Volume might show 62. Even the All Three tab — the tightest intersection in the extension — typically surfaces 4–12 names on an average day.

That is already a dramatic reduction from 2,000+ NSE stocks. But 153 results is still a list, not a decision. You cannot research 153 stocks before the market opens. And you shouldn’t try to.

The question isn’t “which stocks pass the screener?” — it is “of those that pass, which ones fit my strategy right now?”

That is the job of the three precision filters.

🌍

Index Filter

Controls the quality of the universe. Restricts scans to Nifty 50, 100, 200, or 500. Applied server-side — counts are always accurate for the selected index.

Server-side

💲

MCap Filter

Controls the size of the universe. Sets a market cap floor from ₹500 Cr to ₹50,000 Cr. Match the screener size to your strategy.

Scan-level

🎯

Score Filter

Controls conviction. Shows only stocks where ≥1, ≥2, ≥3, or all 4 independent signals align. Instant — no re-fetch needed.

Client-side · Instant

Finmagine Trader Stage 2 tab with no filters applied, showing 161 stocks

The Stage 2 tab with no filters applied — 161 stocks. A list, not a decision. The three precision filters solve exactly this.

🌍 The Index Filter: Quality by Association

When you apply the Index Filter, you are not filtering a results list — you are changing the scan itself. The filter is applied server-side, at the scan level, before any results reach your browser. The count you see is always accurate for the selected index.

The Four Index Tiers

Index	Universe	What It Represents	Best Used For
Nifty 50	50 stocks	India’s blue-chip large caps. Highest liquidity, institutional ownership, analyst coverage.	Conservative momentum plays. Tight spreads, reliable volume signals.
Nifty 100	100 stocks	Nifty 50 + Next 50. Adds quality large-cap names just outside the flagship index.	Slightly wider while keeping a very high quality floor.
Nifty 200	200 stocks	Top 200 by market cap. Crosses into quality large mid-cap territory.	Swing traders wanting quality without large-cap-only restriction.
Nifty 500	500 stocks	Top 500 by market cap. Includes quality mid-caps. The standard institutional universe.	Default quality screen. Most traders start here before going wider.

Why Index Membership Is a Quality Signal

A Nifty 500 stock has passed periodic review by NSE’s index maintenance committee. It has sufficient market cap, liquidity, and trading history to qualify. It has analyst coverage, institutional ownership, and media attention. None of that makes it a good trade. But it does mean you are applying your momentum criteria to a universe of reasonably liquid, well-covered companies — reducing the risk of acting on a screener result where the signal is real but the stock is too illiquid to enter or exit cleanly.

Recommended default: Start with Nifty 500 as your daily filter. It gives you enough stocks to find setups while excluding the thinly traded long-tail where screener signals are noisiest. Widen to “All” only when the market is broadly strong and you want exposure to mid-cap momentum outside the index universe.

Finmagine Trader Index Filter set to Nifty 500

Index Filter set to Nifty 500 — server-side scan now restricted to the top 500 stocks by market cap. One dropdown, immediate universe quality lift.

💲 The MCap Filter: Match Size to Strategy

Different strategies work best at different market cap tiers. The MCap Filter sets a floor — stocks at or above the selected threshold are included. It lets you align the screener’s output to the specific size of stock your strategy is built for.

Available Thresholds

All — No MCap restriction. Full universe for the selected tab and index.
≥ ₹500 Cr — Removes micro-caps. Minimum viable liquidity floor for most traders.
≥ ₹1,000 Cr — Small-cap floor. Filters out the smallest small-caps.
≥ ₹5,000 Cr — Mid-cap floor. Fastest way to reduce noise on the broad Stage 2 tab.
≥ ₹10,000 Cr — Large mid-cap and above.
≥ ₹25,000 Cr — Large-cap floor.
≥ ₹50,000 Cr — Mega-cap only.

Which Threshold for Which Tab?

Tab	Suggested MCap Floor	Reasoning
⭐ All Three	₹500 Cr (or All)	Already the tightest intersection. Don’t over-filter a small list further.
🚀 Stage 2 + Near High	₹1,000–5,000 Cr	Good pre-breakout watchlist. Small-cap floor retains interesting setups.
📈 Stage 2	₹5,000 Cr	Broad universe (150+). MCap floor is the fastest way to reduce noise.
💎 VCP Breakout	All (or ₹500 Cr)	VCP already has a ₹30,000 Cr ceiling in the scan — small-cap by design. Don’t restrict further.
🌟 IPO Breakout	All	IPO universe is inherently small/mid-cap. Keep the full universe.

VCP caution: The VCP scan clause already has a hard ceiling of MCap ≤ ₹30,000 Cr baked into the scan query. Applying a high MCap floor here would eliminate most VCP results and undermine the small-cap focus that makes the VCP setup valuable.

Finmagine Trader with Index Filter Nifty 500 and MCap filter stacked

Two filters stacked — Nifty 500 (quality) + MCap ≥₹5,000 Cr (size). Because they operate on independent dimensions, the result is precision without redundancy.

🎯 The Score Filter: Conviction at a Glance

Every stock in Finmagine Trader carries a Score of 1 to 4 — a count of how many of the four independent signals (S2, NH, HV, VCP) it is simultaneously passing. The Score Filter lets you set a minimum conviction threshold. It runs client-side, instantly — no re-fetch to the server is required.

What Each Score Means

Score	Signals Passing	Interpretation	Typical Count (All Three tab)
1	Any 1 of 4	One signal confirmed. Informational — a single framework sees the stock.	N/A (All Three requires ≥3)
2	Any 2 of 4	Two independent frameworks agree. Watchlist-worthy but not yet full conviction.	N/A
3	Any 3 of 4	Strong multi-signal alignment. Stage 2 + Near High + either Volume or VCP.	~10–20 stocks
4	All 4 signals	Maximum confluence. All four independent frameworks agree simultaneously.	0–5 stocks

Why Score 4 is rare — and valuable: A Score 4 stock is simultaneously in a Stage 2 uptrend, within 2% of its 52-week high, on above-average institutional volume, and in a VCP compression pattern. These are four independently derived signals using different methodologies: trend structure, price position, volume analysis, and pattern compression. When all four agree on the same stock on the same day, the probability of coincidence is very low.

Score Filter on the Stage 2 Tab

The Score Filter is most powerful when applied to the broader tabs. The Stage 2 tab might show 150+ stocks — applying Score ≥ 2 immediately reduces this to stocks that are not just in a Stage 2 uptrend, but are also near their 52-week high, or on high volume, or in a VCP pattern. That is a very different — and much shorter — list.

On the All Three tab (which already requires 3 signals), applying Score = 4 shows only the subset that also has VCP compression — the tightest possible screen within an already-tight universe.

Finmagine Trader with all three precision filters active — Index, MCap, and Score

All three filters active — Index (Nifty 500), MCap (≥₹5,000 Cr), Score (≥2). Three orthogonal dimensions applied simultaneously. This is the precision stack.

⚙ Stacking the Filters: Four Recommended Combinations

Because Index, MCap, and Score filters operate on completely different dimensions, they can be mixed and matched freely. The following combinations are practical starting points for different trading styles.

Combination	Tab	Index	MCap	Score	Typical Result
Quality Momentum	Stage 2	Nifty 500	≥₹5,000 Cr	≥2	8–20 quality mid/large-cap Stage 2 stocks with secondary confirmation
Maximum Conviction	All Three	All	≥₹500 Cr	=4	0–5 stocks where all four frameworks simultaneously agree
Small-Cap VCP	VCP Breakout	All	All	≥2	VCP candidates with at least one additional signal — a positional trade shortlist
Large-Cap Breakout	Near 52W High	Nifty 100	≥₹25,000 Cr	≥1	Large-cap stocks pressing 52-week highs — institutional-grade breakout candidates

These combinations are starting points, not rules. The right combination depends on your strategy, risk appetite, and market conditions. In a broad bull market, widen to Nifty 500 or All. In a choppy market, tighten to Nifty 200 or Nifty 100 and raise the Score floor to reduce false positives.

Finmagine Trader All Three tab showing the final precision-filtered shortlist

The end state — All Three tab with precision filters applied. From 161 Stage 2 candidates to a focused, high-conviction shortlist ready for chart analysis.

☼ The 5-Minute Morning Workflow

Here is how to use all three filters together in a structured morning routine — from extension open to trade-ready shortlist in under 5 minutes.

Read the raw All Three count

Open the extension. The unfiltered All Three count is your daily market health indicator. 0–3: cautious. 4–8: normal. 9+: broad strength. This tells you how aggressively to filter today.

Set Index Filter: Nifty 500

Apply this one step immediately. It eliminates thinly traded micro-caps from every tab simultaneously, without changing a single scan parameter.

All Three tab — Score = 4

Any stocks here (Nifty 500, all four signals firing) are your primary candidates for the day. Write them down immediately.

Stage 2 tab — Score ≥ 3

Still with Nifty 500 active, switch to Stage 2 and apply Score ≥ 3. This gives the broader quality momentum list — typically 10–25 names. Add new ones not already on your list.

Adjust MCap — check VCP

If you trade small-caps, clear the MCap filter and check VCP with Score ≥ 2. If you trade mid/large-caps, the Nifty 500 + MCap ≥ ₹5,000 Cr combination has already done the work.

Export — open TradingView

Copy Symbols to paste into a TradingView watchlist, or Export CSV for offline analysis. The extension’s job is done. Your job is chart analysis, not scanning.

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