Reading Stock Charts: A Guide for Investors

Unless otherwise indicated, all data is delayed by 15 minutes. The information provided by StockCharts.com, Inc. is not investment advice. Positively correlated stocks tend https://www.bigshotrading.info/blog/the-asian-tokyo-trading-session/ also to carry the same chart patterns. For example, if XYZ has a daily ascending triangle pattern, then peer stock ZYX should also have a daily ascending triangle pattern.

• The top and bottom of each vertical bar represent the highest and lowest prices of the stock, shown on the right side of the graph, over that time interval.
• In the 12 months after its breakout in August 2010, Fossil stock ran over 220%.
• The prior section on How To Buy Stocks focused on what stocks to buy.
• Moving averages can vary from exponential to weighted averages that factor in volume.
• These patterns can include head and shoulders, cup and handle, double tops or bottoms, and triangles, among others.
• Traders use these patterns to identify potential buying and selling opportunities, and to make informed decisions about when to enter or exit a trade.
• Investing is very individual, and the tools available to help investors are as well.

Stock charts come in various forms, including line charts, bar charts, candlestick charts, and point and figure charts. Each type of chart presents stock price movement and volume movement in a different way, and investors can choose the type of chart that best suits their needs and preferences. Stock charts are an essential tool for investors to analyze a stock’s performance, identify potential buying or selling opportunities, and manage risk. Select the type of chart and timeframe, like a candlestick chart on a weekly timeframe. Use indicators like moving averages to visualize the trend and spot support and resistance levels.

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Pennants are represented by two lines that meet at a set point. They are often formed after strong upward or downward moves where traders pause and the price consolidates, before the trend continues in the same direction. For the green bars, the bottom of the filled-in bar is the opening price for that period and the top of the filled-in bar is the closing price for the period. But for the red bars, the top of the filled-in bar is the opening price for that period and the bottom of the filled-in bar is the closing price.

Below that, you can see how the stock has changed over the time period you’ve selected. You can see Tesla has increased by $284.78, or nearly 40 percent, over the past year. Even though the pattern shows us that the price is falling for three straight days, a new low is not seen, and the bull traders prepare for the next move up.

Why Should You Analyze Stock Charts?

A 15-minute chart will plot the price action for each 15-minute interval, whereas a weekly chart will plot the price action every week. It doesn’t mean the chart is 15 minutes long or a day long; the timeframe is the interval of each period in the chart. Reading a stock chart is a game of probabilities; nothing is 100%.

After a pullback, shares regain momentum to re-test the cup lip line for a breakout to new highs as an uptrend ensues. Technical analysis shows how to read charts and graphs for stocks. You can add indicators to help read charts and find price patterns. A candlestick chart presents the same data how to read stock charts as a bar chart, but with more complexity. In short, candlestick charts show stock price variability from the market open to close. Once you understand these basics and have tested yourself on live stock charts in real time, you’re ready to take your stock analysis skills to the next level.

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This information is pivotal to make predictions about how a company will perform in the future. Companies with steady, gradual growth are likely to continue that growth, barring any big economic changes (like a recession). Stock charts can be overwhelming at first glance, but once you understand the basic components, they are fairly simple to understand. We’ll take a look at an example of a stock chart and go through all the components. “The trend is your friend” is one of the most common Wall Street sayings. A stock that is trending in either direction tends to keep moving in that direction.

• In the old days, stockbrokers made their living primarily because they were the only ones with quick access to the information needed to make intelligent stock buys.
• News & World Report, Seeking Alpha, InvestorPlace.com and The Motley Fool.
• These are the levels a stock stays within over a period of time, and investors use them to help gauge the right time to buy or sell their shares.
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