Analyzing the Stock Market (Part 1) By Arkaitz Arteaga At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The best method to foresee stock trends is through technical analysis. It is common practice in the stock market and allows investors and traders to predict stock fluctuations by studying charts and various indicators. Technical analysis is completely independent of any type of research on the company’s intrinsic value or the field and type of business they are in. Technical analysis only looks at past price and volume movements of the company’s stock.

Investors who use technical analysis are usually short-term traders who only hold their position for short amounts of time until their desired price target is reached. It is not recommended to use technical analysis for long positions because it does not account for the work the business does. This typically means it doesn’t look at factors like company’s growth projections or future goals.

The whole foundation of technical analysis is supported under the idea that share prices move in patterns determined by how the market sells and buys stock as a whole. It takes the entire market as a collective person that has a resounding trading pattern. This is primarily based on market psychology and past market behavior. This also accounts for historical events like natural disasters or economic crises and how the company’s stock movements have reacted accordingly to each of these events. This study of the market is vital for any successful technical trader. The key to good trading for technical analysts is to know the best times to enter the market and how long to hold their position so to make a profit.

When a trader understands these patterns they can generally predict how share prices will turn and use this knowledge to their favor. This will tell them what items to add or remove from their portfolio. Generally if traders are wrong about their predictions they should keep fail-safes and have a viable exit strategy. This is primarily what stop losses are. Traders will have a minimum price of where a stock can reach before they exit to cut their losses.

There are many indicators when it comes to studying charts. The main and most common indicators are based on ‘Support’ and ‘Resistance’. Most stock prices fluctuate up and down, so when a stock is moving down is does not technically indicate that it is on a down trend and vice-versa if it is moving up. Stocks generally move in wave patterns and remain between their support and resistance. If a stock breaks either then it is said to have a new support/resistance and this price can be predicted. These are times when a lot of traders will have to choose to hold their positions or leave.

Charts

Technical analysis is strongly dependent on studying charts to track stock movements. Bar Charts are commonly used for beginner traders. A bar chart will generally consist of bars which show the opening and closing price and whether the price has fallen or risen.

Another, more useful chart is the candlestick chart. This is a Japanese form of technical analysis that has growing popularity in the west. It is said to be more accurate in predicting price movements compared to bar charts. Each candlestick shows the stocks opening and closing prices in the ‘candle’ and also shows the highs and lows of the day in the ‘flint’. Red or black candles indicate that the stock closed lower then it opened and white or green ‘candles’ indicate the opposite. Each of these candlesticks is an indicator of future movements. A small red bodied candle with small flints is a sign of a downward trend. A green bodied stock with short flint however indicates an upward movement is coming. There are many other candlestick indicators like shooting-stars and hang-mans that predict different movements.

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