Technical Analysis From A to Z Blog

Technical Analysis - The Gann Studies

2006-02-23T20:54:00.000-08:00

Predicting the future is impossible, right? If he were around today, W.D. Gann would beg to differ. His first prophecy is believed to have happened during World War I when he predicted the Nov 9, 1918, abdication of the Kaiser and the end of the war. Then in 1927, he wrote a book entitled "Tunnel through the Air", which many believe predicted the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the air war

Trading Tactics - Advanced - Counter Trend Rally

2005-07-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

Roughly one month ago, we began to hypothesize the likelihood of a counter trend rally. Since that time we have gotten exactly that. We had set some targets for the counter trend rally and it's worth looking at the charts once again and asking ourselves do those numbers still look realistic, so here we go. DJIA - Target of 9100 or possibly 9800 When we were measuring declines and

Trading Tactics - Advanced - Time Trading

2005-06-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

Sophisticated technical indicators evolve from simple data inputs of price and time. While most traders understand how price patterns reveal hidden opportunity, many fail to comprehend how time impacts both tactics and results. Lacking a skilled understanding of opportunity cost, they misinterpret signals and waste valuable resources. Or, trapped in common trend relativity errors, they prepare

Trading Tactics - Advanced - Time of Day: First Hour

2005-05-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

Pay close attention to the first hour of each market day. The volatile trading hides important information about the daily trend. Closing markets seek equilibrium in stock supply and demand. But overnight activities upset this delicate balance, forcing volatile shifts in morning prices. Specialists calculate this initial imbalance through their order book, sometimes triggering a gap open.

Technical Analysis - More On Entry Points

2005-04-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

Clear Air Traders turn profits by anticipating price movement. Although this sounds simple, many market participants don't understand how to locate impending change. Stock prices move back and forth endlessly. But when do these common swings represent good trades and when are they just dangerous noise? One answer lies in the relationship between price and time.The singular goal of trading

Most Talked About - Courtsey Stockhouse

2005-04-01T22:43:00.000-08:00

Canadian Top 10 V.OIL T.FCP V.TYS T.TMC V.GHM V.MMI T.GAC T.UTS V.BZA V.SPQ US Top 5 ONCY BIOHF

Most Talked About - Courtsey Stockhouse

2005-03-13T21:35:00.000-08:00

Canadian Top 10 T.TAH V.GHM V.OIL T.QRL T.WJA T.FCP V.HAO V.SPQ V.TMG V.CES US Top 5 BWLRF MPVI

Trading Tactics - Advanced - Volume Power Spikes

2005-03-13T21:32:00.000-08:00

By Alan Farley Use these high volume trading days to predict price direction for months to come. Relying on questionable signals from short-term trading volume empties many wallets. The cyclical flow of routine buying and selling frequently masks the true nature of insider accumulation and distribution. At certain times though, volume activity rings a very loud bell. Power Spikes appear as

Technical Analysis - Measuring Risk & Reward

2005-02-20T21:46:00.000-08:00

T e c h n i c a l A n a l y s i s T u t o r i a l by Alan Farley Measuring Reward: Risk Why do great trade setups fail, while lousy ones move in our favor? The answer is quite simple, yet frustrating. Trading is an odds game, in which anything can happen at any time. Price will go where price wants to go, no matter how hard we hit the books, study the charts or pray to the deities.

Trading Tactics - Advanced - Market Sentiments

2005-01-20T17:37:00.000-08:00

Some would tell you that trading can be quite simple; you just don't do what most do ... in fact, you basically do the opposite. Like everything else though, the devil is in the details and the assumption should be questioned as well. One of the most difficult subjects to gauge, yet clearly and important one, market sentiment can be an important indicator in determining a trading stance.

Trading Tactics - Advanced - Bid/Ask Spread

2005-01-08T19:34:00.000-08:00

Bid - Ask Interpreting the bid/ask spread requires different skill sets than reading changing prices on the ticker tape. This poorly understood supply/demand engine compresses and expands constantly, responding to shifting market conditions. But most spread movement reveals nothing more than pure noise and has little directional value. While scalpers can use these frequent choppy periods to

Trading Tactics - Advanced - Trading Stochastics Indicator

2005-01-05T15:46:00.000-08:00

TRADING THE STOCHASTICS INDICATOR I used to think only price bars could predict the future. I started as a novice, experimenting with every indicator in the book. I could never get the markets to match my mathematics, so I finally gave up and became a pattern reader. In fact, my early writings are so pattern-centric they appear intolerant of all other trading techniques. I've had a change

Technical Analysis - Leverage and Margin

2005-01-01T22:43:00.000-08:00

The concept of leverage and the practice of margin are interrelated.Leverage, in the context of trading, is the ability to control a group of assets whose value is greater than the amount of money you have actually used to secure those assets. Margin is the use of some third parties monies, usually your broker, to buy and sell securities. To short securities (to sell something prior to buying it)

Trading Tactics - Advanced - Moving Average Crossovers

2005-01-01T22:39:00.000-08:00

MOVING AVERAGE CROSSOVERS Let's talk about the Golden Cross and the Death Cross. No, we're not opening a deck of cards and telling your fortune. These colorful terms refer to patterns you probably use every day in your trading but don't refer to by these names. Along with its many cousins, they comprise a whole division of technical analysis. You might know them better as moving average

Most Talked About - Courtsey Stockhouse

2004-12-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

Canadian Top 10 V.TYS V.HAO V.RGZ T.SGF T.NFC *AUA V.MUG V.ARY V.CVQ T.BYT US Top 5 QEE

Trading Tactics - Advanced - Anticipating Selloff

2004-12-29T22:24:00.000-08:00

HOW YOU COULD HAVE SEEN IMCLONE'S IMPLOSION COMING Warning: This will be an "I told you so" column. We're going to look at a recent horror story and see why you should have bailed out by now. If it hits too close to home, you might want to move on and read something a little more pleasant. We're taking no prisoners today. The RealMoney staff love to flutter their wings about the latest

Most Talked About - Courtsey Stockhouse

2004-12-28T22:01:00.000-08:00

Canadian Top 10 V.TYS V.PSH T.BYT V.GHM T.SMY V.*ELH V.TKO V.HAO T.SGF V.UNB US Top 5 QEE

Technical Analysis - Day Trading Overview

2004-12-28T21:59:00.000-08:00

Day-trading overview Day-trading, which was once the exclusive domain of the floor trader, is now fair game for all speculators. Inspired in part by large intraday price swings, instant availability of quotes, affordable high-powered computers and competitive commissions, the new wave of day-trading methods and systems has attracted thousands of traders in recent years. The undeniable

Most Talked About - Courtsey Stockhouse

2004-12-27T18:31:00.000-08:00

Canadian Top 10 V.TYS T.BYT V.PSH V.*ELH V.OIL T.SMY V.TKO *AUA V.SPQ T.WPT US Top 5

Technical Analysis From A to Z - Steven B. Achelis (CH. 11)

2004-12-26T13:31:00.005-08:00

THE TIME ELEMENT The Time Element The discussion that began on page explained the open, high, low, and closing price fields. This section presents the time element. Much of technical analysis focuses on changes in prices over time. Consider the effect of time in the following charts, each of which show a security's price increase from $25 to around $45. Figure 43 shows that Merck's price

Technical Analysis From A to Z - Steven B. Achelis (CH. 10)

2004-12-26T13:31:00.004-08:00

PERIODICITY Periodicity Regardless of the "periodicity" of the data in your charts (i.e., hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, etc), the basic principles of technical analysis endure. Consider the following charts of a Swiss Franc contract shown in Figures 40, 41, and 42. Figure 40 Figure 41 Figure 42 Typically, the shorter the periodicity, the more difficult it is to predict and profit from

Technical Analysis From A to Z - Steven B. Achelis (CH. 9)

2004-12-26T13:31:00.003-08:00

LINE STUDIES Line Studies Line studies are technical analysis tools that consist of lines drawn on top of a security's price and/or indicator. These include the support, resistance, and trendline concepts already discussed. Figure 39 illustrates several line studies. These and numerous additional studies are explained in later chapters. Figure 39

Technical Analysis From A to Z - Steven B. Achelis (CH. 8)

2004-12-26T13:31:00.002-08:00

MARKET INDICATORS Market Indicators All of the technical analysis tools discussed up to this point were calculated using a security's price (e.g., high, low, close, volume, etc). There is another group of technical analysis tools designed to help you gauge changes in all securities within a specific market. These indicators are usually referred to as "market indicators," because they gauge an

Technical Analysis From A to Z - Steven B. Achelis (CH. 7)

2004-12-26T13:31:00.001-08:00

INDICATORS Indicators An indicator is a mathematical calculation that can be applied to a security's price and/or volume fields. The result is a value that is used to anticipate future changes in prices. A moving average fits this definition of an indicator: it is a calculation that can be performed on a security's price to yield a value that can be used to anticipate future changes in prices.

Technical Analysis From A to Z - Steven B. Achelis (CH. 6)

2004-12-26T13:31:00.000-08:00

MOVING AVERAGES Moving Averages Moving averages are one of the oldest and most popular technical analysis tools. This chapter describes the basic calculation and interpretation of moving averages. Full details on moving averages are provided in Part Two. A moving average is the average price of a security at a given time. When calculating a moving average, you specify the time span to calculate