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Stock Charts for Beginners

Investing Online - Technical Analysis - Stock Charts for Beginners


Stock Charts - DOW Theory
The previous post on stock charts for beginners was about the first 3 tenets of DOW theory as explained by the guys at informedtrades.com - this post is about the last 3 tenets.

Tenet 4 - The Averages Must Confirm Each Other
This means that any rise in the DOW Jones Industrial Average must be confirmed by a rise in the DOW Jones Transportation Average, the reasoning being that if manufacturing companies are making more goods and more profits then the companies in the Dow Jones Transportation Index should also be more profitable as they are shipping the goods - if there's a divergence in these two indices then this is a signal of pending change - if not then it confirms the trend. This tenet is not so relevant today as the US is now much more of a service based economy than a manufacturing based economy.

Tenet 5 Trends Must Be Confirmed by Volume
This is still very relevant today. If the change in price (up or down) is accompanied by large volume then it means lots of people are taking part

Tenent 6 Trends Exist Until Signals Prove Otherwise

"The trend is your friend until the bend at the end" Finding signals showing that a trend is coming to an end is very important and will be covered later.

According to Dow, trends exist despite "market noise". There may be moves against the trend but these are temporary and the trend should be followed until it becomes clear that it has ended. Determining that the trend has ended is of course the tricky part and technical analysts tend to disagree.

In the current context (May 2009) many people were expecting the markets to put in a bottom after the horrendous 45% slump, but people differed about just where that bottom in the markets was going to be. When the DOW reached around 6500 many people were calling for it to go a lot lower, down to 4000 ! But so far it hasn't done that, it has in fact rallied back to around 8500. Now of course we are in an uptrend but most people expect it to end and head back down, which probably explains why it conitnues to go up.

1702 was an important point on the NASDAQ, if the NASDAQ had fallen back through 1702 that would have been very bearish and a signal that the markets were headed back down, but as it turned out the Nasdaq didn't fall back through 1702 and so that is seen as being very bullish. Markets should therefore continue to head higher ! We shall see.

Technical analysis may seem arcane but investing online without some basic understanding of stock charts would be very foolish.




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Friday

Investing Online Stock Market Charts

Investing Online - Technical Analysis and DOW Theory for Beginners

How to Read Stock Market Charts

Around 1900 Charles DOW was analyzing the movements of the DOW Jones Industrial Average and the DOW Jones Transportation Index when he found that these indices tended to move in a predictable way over time.

This is considered by many to represent the beginning of technical analysis and is used by a great many experts and non-experts in stock trading.

There are 6 tenets to DOW Theory, here are the first 3 :-
  1. Markets have three trends - an uptrend, a downtrend and a correction i.e. the market moves up corrects then continues to move up.
  2. Trends have 3 phases - the accumulation phase (when the experts are taking positions) - the public participation phase (which leads to rapid price increases) - the last phase is the excess phase when rampant speculation catches on but the smart movement starts exiting the trend.
  3. Markets discount all news so that once news is released it is generally too late, the markets have already taken it into account - so to beat the market you need to look at technical factors not fundamental factors.
See stock market charts for beginners for the remaining 3 tenents
All this is said so much better than I could say it in this video by informedtrades .com

Investing Online Newspaper Share Tips

Investing Online - Investors Chronicle Tips

INVESTORS CHRONICLE

Stock Tips

Sell Hammerson at 305p
Sell Fidessa at £10.45
Sel Avis Europe at 17p

Buy Connaught at 346p
Buy Pace at 164p
Buy Costain at 26p

Updates:

Sell ASOS -- Thorntons -- Sports Direct

Buy Concurrent Technologies -- BAE Systems

ITV fairly priced

Company Results:

Buy MP Evans -- Egdon Resources -- Hasgrove -- Serica Energy -- China Shoto

Sell Game Group -- Whitbread -- Punch Taverns

FINANCIAL TIMES

Colgate-Palmolive has improved profits by a combination of lower costs and higher prices

Takeover hopes buoy Concateno

THE TIMES
Tempus:


Pass on Cadbury
Antofagasta - there will be better times to buy
Galiform - wait for further progress before buying

Other comment:

Pendragon trying to get new debt deal with banks

Taylor Wimpey may be considering £100M sale of Canadian business and share issue

Bet of the day: platinum

Tiddler to watch - Rea Holdings

DAILY TELEGRAPH
Questor
:
Swine flu:
Avoid Lipoxen
Avoid PuriCore
Buy Cranswick
Benefit to pharmaceutical majors is marginal

Comment:

After 20 years Sky has now got ITV's licence to print money
DSG is on edge of cliff

THE INDEPENDENT
Investment

Buy DSG
Hold Cadbury
Hold McBride


DAILY MAIL

Swine flu lifts Lipoxen and Puricore
Rumours of imminent sale lift GKN
Redstone - gossip that large buyer is sniffing around


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