Stock Trading ? Technical Analysis For Fun And Profit

How do you scrutinize the stock you're considering buying as an investment vehicle? More and more traders are finding out that an excellent way to perform their analysis is technically rather than fundamentally. As a devout technical analyst, I believe there are more and quicker profits as a reward to the trader using the technical approach to study stocks. Even the most fundamentally sound stock may not be in favor and may not gain in share price for quite awhile. But when a tradable stock is found using technical analysis, the move will happen soon or most likely won't happen at all. No more buying stock and waiting for a gain that may not happen. No more shotgun approach and diversifying to overcome the losses you hold in your portfolio. The technician lets go of losers quickly while letting their winners run. It's an active approach to trading stocks, options, forex and commodities. Besides, technical analysis is much more enjoyable than pouring over a company's profit and loss statement!

Proper technical analysis is the study of an equities chart and forecasting probable price moves based on patterns exhibited on the chart. To be a successful technician of the markets it's best to keep things simple. One of the pitfalls a budding technical analyst has to overcome is the massive amount of information on the subject and not falling prey to the "holy grail" syndrome. Many people have forgotten that the most important considerations of the stock chart are price and volume. While indicators may be helpful to some, others have tried to use them as a timing system almost to the exclusion of the price chart itself. Indicators are mathematical algorithms of price movement, volume or a combination of both. They where meant to be used as a tool to help the trader validate what they see on the chart, NOT to enter a trade. The most probable trades come from the price chart itself. The price chart tells a psychological story and trades should be based on the confirmed break of a pattern such as a head and shoulders or bearish wedge.

The satisfaction of mastering the craft of technical analysis can't be overstated. It's very satisfying to find a stock that screams "buy me" and then watching as the price breaks out of a trading range and clocks ten to fifteen percent over the next few weeks. Learning to read charts takes time but not an eternity. The key is to spend some time each night studying stock charts and over time you will begin to recognize the technical patterns that tell you if a stock has bottomed, topped out or will continue its trend. Keep it simple, learn to think for yourself and soon you will be on your way to successful trading with technical analysis.

Read More

Technical Analysis In Forex ? The Good And The Bad

If you are considering forex trading, you will definitely want to take a close look at Technical Analysis. Technical analysis is a method of forecasting future price movements and market trends primarily through the use of charts. Technical analysis is only concerned with how the market has actually behaved, rather than what should happen, and takes into account the price of instruments and the volume of trading. Charts are then created from that historical data and used as a primary tool for analysis. One major advantage of technical analysis is that experienced analysts can follow many markets and market instruments simultaneously.

Three Principles of Technical Analysis:

Market action discounts everything!
This means that the actual price has already been determined by every bit of information that is known to the market. Hence, fundamental issues such as inflation, interest rates, public sentiment, market supply and demand, political factors will not affect the market prices.

Prices move in trends
Technical analysts believe that prices have to follow a trend, whether upwards, downwards or sideways. The Dow Theory of market price action states that the market cannot be manipulated. Once a pattern is created, there is a high probability of it producing an expected result. There are also recognized patterns that repeat themselves on a consistent basis.

History repeats itself
Technical analysts believe that investors collectively repeat the patterns of investors before them. That is to say, human psychology changes little over time. Since patterns have worked well in the past, it is assumed that they will continue to work well into the future. Because investor behavior repeats itself so often, it is possible to chart recognizable market patterns for analysis.

Disadvantages of Technical Analysis
- Critics of technical analysis include many well know fundamental analysts. Warren Buffet once said, "If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians."
- The critics also claim that signals about the changing of a trend appear too late, often after the change had already taken place. Therefore, traders who rely on technical analysis will react too late.
- Technical analysis made in short time intervals may be exposed to noise, and this can result in erroneous reading of market trending.
- The use of most patterns has been widely publicized in the last several years. Many retail traders are quite familiar with these patterns and often act on them like a herd mentality. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy, as waves of buying or selling are created in response to bullish or bearish patterns.

Advantages of Technical Analysis
- Many traders say that trading in the direction of the trend is the most effective means to be profitable in financial or commodities markets. Many famous traders have each amassed massive fortunes via the use of technical analysis and its concepts. George Lane, a technical analyst, coined one of the most popular phrases on Wall Street, "The trend is your friend!"
- Technical analysis can be used to project movements of any asset (which is priced under demand/supply forces) available for trade in the capital market.
- The technical approach concentrates on prices, which neutralizes external factors. Pure technical analysis is based on objective tools (charts, tables) while disregarding emotions and other factors.
- Signaling indicators can sometimes indicate the imminent end of a trend, before it shows in the actual market. With this, the trader can choose to take profit or cut losses.

Read More

Introducing Options Strategy ? Vertical Spread

There are more than 20 options strategies can be applied, but one of my favorite is Vertical Spread. The meaning of vertical spread is that you purchase and sell options of the same type (same stock symbol) with same expiration date but with the different strike price.

In Vertical spread, you can choose to apply bull put spread, bear call spread, bull call spread and bear put spread. Bull put spread or bull call spread can be applied when you think that the stock is bullish, that's what the bull word imply. And if you think the market is bearish, use the otherwise strategies (bear call spread and bear put spread) which have the bear word in it.

When the option sold is more expensive than the options bought, there is a net credit, this strategy call vertical credit spread. Both Bull put spread and Bear call spread are credit spread. Therefore, without fail you have the money in your pocket immediately after the button click on screen.

The benefit of using Vertical Credit Spread is that you can limit your loss due to the spread. Take an example, if your spread difference is $5, your limiting lost will be $500 (every option contract = 100 stock, therefore multiply by 100). The smaller the spread, the better chance to win as you minimize your risk.

My preferred strategy is using 2.5 spread, for example, sell/buy a pair of options strike price of 25 and 22.5, the difference is the spread which is 2.5 in this example.

On the other hand, selling a spread is normally better than buying a spread. Becoming the seller makes you have the advantage of the time value of the options. As you know that when option price is decreasing when close to the expired date, like a water fall pattern, time is on your side.

For an example, if you are selling QQQQ strike price 45 and buying the strike price 43, you have 2 dollar spread. Selling $0.8 option of the strike price 45 and buying at $0.3 option at 43 strike price make you have the credit of $0.5. If QQQQ hovers above 45 until the expiry date, you earn the credit of $50 ($0.5 x 100) by letting both of the options becoming worthless.

Nevertheless, set the stop loss at the level of the sold option minus the credit earn, if you use the above example, the stop loss should be at 44.5. Never allow the stock price drop further than the stop loss target, if it does, buy back the sold leg and let the bought leg run.
If you really want to play safe, cut the loss and close the position when the stop loss is triggered.

Doesn?t it sounds too simple to be truth? Find out more from options trading Academy.

Read More