Why should You Use Technical Indicators in the Stock Market?

Why should You Use Technical Indicators in the Stock Market?

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For someone who is new to the trading business, it is always a good starting point for taking the time to do some research online with useful technical indicators. So much more, even the pros still have the same level of need. What they usually do, it is often that surfing the internet for blogs and articles about gurus, why they think their personal choice of indicators have provided the best feeling.  

Although there is no rule that says you should not believe that it is always suggested that there are times when the indicators are often contradictory. To make matters worse, the people who come to the exact plans of Internet guys do not really happen.

The Clear Indication

Now here is the catch. The people who call themselves technical indicator gurus are convinced that their businesses work basically because they have already formulated their specific goals and working your way towards success in this line of trade is all about having your personal definite plan. Yes, all that you must do is to pull things together and execute your wisest judgment. You have to be responsible for every single course of action that you take.

The Importance of Technical Indicators

Why is it important to utilize the so-called stock market technical indicators? Can they really help you out as you find your chance in the stock market? Don't worry because they can definitely do some of the hard work for you. Most of the known technical indicators are able to spot the precise entry and exit points as you venture into trading in the stock market. More so, you can count on them whenever you need help.

Technical Indicators Explained

For every type of business, there are rules and standards for you to adopt. In line with the stock market, the indicators are among those that can aid in inviting more of your luck.

Basically, technical indicators are the mathematical formulas that you must meet. They are furthermore based on the movement of the price. Since many people trust them, experts agree that they are indeed very much precise.

There are several known indicators out there and normally traders make use of one, two, or even more indicators before they execute whatever decision they have in their minds. The thousands of varieties of indicators likewise run on numerous varying formulas too. In fact, you can take a pick from among them. Of course, as mentioned above, gurus have their own bets. They are likely to recommend to you those which they think are working the best. 

You must know that many of them suggest those indicators that they personally use or else they will not bear that strong amount of conviction. While it is emphasized that you may or may not follow what they say, it will not also hurt if you prefer the first option. After all, they serve as your guide. On the other hand, never limit yourself and your decision with those things that they tell you. You can always find out the indicators that will also work best for you. Talk about experimentation and discovery!

What is so great with the stock market technical indicators is that their being accurate allows you to see the potentials in making money. They express signals that will let you determine the possible risks at hand. All you must do is to load them up via a chart and they will do the rest.

“How To” Start Trading The Forex Market? (Part 8)

“How To” Start Trading The Forex Market? (Part 8)

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HOW TO predict the Future ? by studying the Past (Technical Analysis):

1) The best traders don't discount one or the other but understand that having an understanding how the fundamentals influence market sentiment gives him/ her an edge over those traders who don't.

2) In my opinion, TECHNICAL analysis is the easiest and most accurate way of trading the FOREX market.

3) "The number's don't lie" - all available information and its impact on the market, are already reflected in a currency's price.

4) Prices move in trends - the foreign exchange market is mostly composed of trends and therefore a place where technical analysis can be very effective.

5) History repeats itself - over time, certain chart patterns become consistent, predictable and very reliable. The question is SEEING them.

PRICES MOVE IN TRENDS

The traders who don't believe this obviously have no need to implement a trading methodology on technical analysis. But, research has shown that those who trade "with the trend", greatly improve their changes of making a profitable trade.

Finding the prevailing trend will help you become aware of the overall market direction and offer you better visibility,especially when shorter-term movements tend to clutter the picture.

HOW does technical analysis help to determine what the trend is and HOW to trade with then trend versus against it?

Even though, you learn you how to use and read various technical indicators to identify a long- term trend, spot predictable chart patters and use certain rules to enter and exit a high-probability trade, and even though a ll this involves sound logic, parameters, methods, formulas, data, and research, these technical indicators, by themselves, are not the Holy Grail of FOREX trading.

It takes discipline and emotional control to stick with trading following through the inevitable market ups and downs. Keep in mind, good technical traders expect ups and downs.

Which technical indicators are the BEST?

NONE - technical indicators should simply be components of your overall customized, personalized trading system, and not a stand alone system.

The objectives as a FOREX Technical Trader are:

1) To figure out the price action of the currency pair. Price is the main concern. If the EUR/USD is at 1.2224 and goes to 1.2020, 1.1980, 1.1940- the market is in a down trend.

Despite what every technical indicator might predict, if the trend is down, stay with the trend. Indicators showing where price will go next or what it should be doing are useless.

A trader should only be concerned with what the market is doing, not what the market might do. The price tells you what the market is doing.

2) Always remember that technical indicators are only giving you confirmations based on what the market is telling you. So listen to the market and let it tell you which method, strategy or techniques you should use.

“How To” Start Trading The Forex Market? (Part 7)

“How To” Start Trading The Forex Market? (Part 7)

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HOW DO Economic Events impact Global Currencies:

When I asked several traders about their thoughts about using fundamental analysis as a part of their trading decisions, I have received two opposite responses.

RESPONSE of Trader A

Fundamentals that you read about are typically useless as the market has already discounted the price. I am looking at (1) the long term trend, (2) the current chart pattern and (3) identifying a good entry point to buy or to sell.

RESPONSE of Trader B

I almost always trade on a market view. I don't trade simply on technical information alone. I use technical analysis and it is terrific, but I can't initiate or hold a position unless I understand why the market should move.

There is a great deal of hype attached to technical analysis by some technicians who claim that it predicts the future. 

Technical analysis tracks the past; it does not predict the future. You have to use your own intelligence to draw conclusions about what the past activity of some traders say about the future activity of other traders.

For me, technical analysis is like a thermometer. 

Fundamentalists who say they are not going to pay any attention to the charts are like a doctor who says he's not going to take a patient's temperature. If you want to be a successful trader in the market, you always want to know where the market is- up – down- trending or choppy .You want to know everything you can about the market to give you an edge.

Technical analysis reflects the vote of the entire marketplace and, therefore, does pick up unusual behavior. By definition, anything that creates a new chart pattern is something unusual.

It is very important to study the details of price action to see and observe. Studying the charts is absolutely crucial and alerts to existing disequilibrium and potential changes.

For forex traders, the fundamentals are everything that makes a country tick.

The release of economic & inflation indicators (i.e., consumer spending, employment cost index, government spending, producer price index, etc.), political actors, government policy or an individual event can set the market in a frenzy. These have to be considered when making the decision “ to trade or not to trade.”

Technical analysis, is a way of using historical price data in different ways to predict the future price of a currency pair.

Fundamental analysis is a very effective way to forecast economic conditions, but not necessarily exact market prices, and you SHOULD trade in agreement with the supporting technical indicators.

Foreign exchange traders put the most emphasis on technical analysis, because traders around the world use similar charts and tools in predicting market trends.

The reason the FOREX market can be so predictable some times is that if the majority are using the same graph for determining patterns and trends, then it is highly likely that they will act in a similar manner.

So several thousand traders who have all charted the same resistance line, for example, will most likely either set their trades and direction conform to that line. 

When fundamental data is made available to the public there is a reaction from investors and speculators.

Information in the form of news and economic indicators is more vague than that of technical indicators. There is a lot of gray area in this type of analysis. The market will ultimately react to how people think the economic data compares to the current market situation. 

Economic indicators usually reveal information that "Should cause a currency to go up in price" or "May cause a currency to go down". The words “SHOULD” & “MAY” in the quotes above reveal the ambiguity of the fundamental data.

Here is an example of what analyzing fundamental data is like. Let's suppose there are six economic indicators (there are a lot more).

Let's call our six indicators 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Now we wait for the data from our indicators to be published in a financial magazine or at an online source. We get the readings for our economic data for the EURO as following:

Indicator 1: is in a range where the Euro may go up

Indicator 2: is in a range where the Euro should go up

Indicator 3: is in a range where the Euro could go down

Indicator 4: is in a range where the Euro usually goes down

Indicator 5: is in a range where the Euro could go up

Indicator 6: is in a range where the Euro may go down

By looking at the above indicators, you don't know what the Euro is going to do. Furthermore, currencies are always traded in pairs. So you would have to get the fundamental data for another currency pair and compare it with the EURO. I think you can image that this is not a simple task.

I do not want to discourage you away from fundamental data. The best way to learn is to learn about one piece of economic data at a time. Eventually you will build a puzzle from all of the fundamental and technical data and make more informed trading decisions.

“How To” Start Trading The Forex Market ? (Part 4 )

“How To” Start Trading The Forex Market ? (Part 4 )

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How Currencies are quoted and what moves individual currencies?

ONE of the best advantages in FOREX Trading is 

The amount of money you need to place a trade (known as "margin") is all that can be lost !

You have to know, that despite the super-high leverage offered by some Forex brokers up to (400:1); meaning if you put up $ 1000 the broker will allow you to trade like you really have $400.000).

Forex trading is still less riskier than Stock or Futures Trading, where you can loose more than you have deposited in your account.

This type of LEVERAGE does NOT EXIST in the equities or futures market

In the Equities or Futures markets, very often, sudden and dramatic moves occur, against which you can’t protect yourself, even by having placed your protective stops.

Your position may be liquidated at a loss, and you’ll be liable for any resulting deficit in the account.

But because of the FX market’s deep liquidity and 24-hour, continuous trading, dangerous trading gaps and limit moves are almost eliminated.

Orders are executed quickly, without slippage or partial fills. And finally, there are no margin calls. For your protection, the broker will automatically close out some or all of your open positions if your account equity falls below the level required to hold the positions.

Think of this as a final, automatic stop, always working on your behalf to prevent a debit balance. 

Currencies are traded in dollar amounts called “ LOTS”

In Forex trading, with most Brokers, you have the choice between 2 different lot sizes.

Standard Lots or Mini Lots.

One Standard lot is equal to $100,000 in currency. The margin requirements, using a 400:1 Leverage, would be US$ 250, in other word you control $100,000 worth of currency for only 250 US dollars. 

You mean, depositing $250 with a broker, I could trade 100,000$ worth of currency ???

NO, be aware, that your account size has to be more than the required margin of US 250. For example, if you place an order to buy 1 Standard lot ( @100,000) of USD/JPY and USD/JPY is quoted as 112.10/112.13, you buy USD/JPY at 112.13.

Your account balance would be $220, because you paid 3 pips or $ 30 for this trade. 

If you would close this trade immediately, you have to sell it at 112.10 (the bid price) , for a loss of $ 30.

In fact you could not get executed on this trade, as the brokers trading platform would reject your order, for the reason of having insufficient funds in your account).

So, your account balance has to be minimum $280. $250 for margin and $30 for the trade.

BUT....IF, after you have initiated the trade to buy USD/JPY at 112.13, and the USD/JPY falls the next second 1 pip ( approx. $8), your position would be closed automatically, because of margin deficit.

I will explain later about having an adequate account size to trade the Forex Market.

Currencies are always traded in pairs in the FOREX. The pairs have a unique notation that expresses what currencies are being traded.

The symbol for a currency pair will always be in the form ABC/DEF. ABC/DEF is not a real currency pair, it is an example of a symbol for a currency pair. In this example ABC is the symbol for one countries currency and DEF is the symbol for another countries currency.

Some of the most common symbols used in Forex are:

USD - The US Dollar 

EUR - The currency of the European Union "EURO"

GBP - The British Pound or cable

JPY - The Japanese Yen

CHF - The Swiss Franc

AUD - The Australian Dollar

CAD - The Canadian Dollar 

There are symbols for other currencies as well, but these are the most commonly traded ones.

A currency can never be traded by itself. So you can not ever trade the USD by itself. You always need to BUY one currency and SELL another currency to make a trade possible. 

Some of the most traded currency pairs are:

EUR/USD Euro against US Dollar 

USD/JPY US Dollar against Japanese Yen 

GBP/USD British Pound against US Dollar 

USD/CAD US Dollar against Canadian Dollar 

AUD/USD Australian Dollar against US Dollar 

USD/CHF US Dollar against Swiss Franc 

EUR/JPY Euro against Japanese Yen 

The currency left of the / is called the base currency. 

The currency right of the / is called the counter currency.

When you place an order to buy the EUR/USD, for instance, you are actually buying the EUR and selling the USD. 

If you were to sell the pair, you would be selling the EUR and buying the USD. So if you buy or sell a currency PAIR, you are buying/selling the base currency. 

The best way to remember is, by just thinking of the entire currency pair as one item. 

If you buy it...you buy the first currency and sell the second currency. If you sell it...you sell the first currency and buy the second currency. 

That means you would to be able to short-sell with no restrictions so you could make money when the market drops as well as when it rises.

The problem with traditional stock market or commodity trading is that the market has to go up for you to make money. With FOREX trading you can make money in all directions.

“How To” Start Trading The Forex Market? ( Part 2)

“How To” Start Trading The Forex Market? ( Part 2)

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Why is FOREX trading so popular?

Because you can trade from anywhere. From your kitchen table, bedroom, garage or from the nearest Starbucks coffeehouse ( most of them have wireless Internet connection).

If you have or like to travel, take your laptop with you and you can trade the FOREX anywhere in the world where you have an Internet connection.

When you want to start trading the Forex Market nobody is asking you for a diploma, a formal license or a proof of how many hours you have spent studying the Foreign Exchange Market and/or Banking Industry.

FOREX Trading is Economical and Start-up Costs are Low!

You can open an account to trade Forex with as little as US$ 200 at he most brokerage firms.

I personally do recommend  Fenix Capital Management, LLC, which offers  a state of art Trading platform, that allows you to place orders directly by clicking  on the chart. 

The Main Benefits of Trading the FX Spot Market are:

YOU don't pay commissions or fees!

YOU can trade 24-hours a day !

YOU can trade up to 400:1 Leverage !

YOU can have FREE Streaming executable Price quotes and live charts!

It is important to know the differences between cash FOREX (SPOT FX) and currency futures.

In currency futures, the contract size is predetermined.

With FOREX (SPOT FX), you may trade electronically any desired amount, up to $10 Million USD.

The futures market closes at the end of the business day (similar to the stock market).If important data is released overseas while the U.S. futures markets is closed, the next day's opening might sustain large gaps with potential for large losses if thedirection of the move is against your position.

The Spot FOREX market runs continuously on a 24-hour basis from 7:00 am New Zealand time Monday morning to 5:00 pm New York Time Friday evening.

Dealers in every major FX trading center (Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong/Singapore, London, Geneva and New York/Toronto) ensure a smooth transaction as liquidity migrates from one time zone to the next.

Furthermore, currency futures trade in non-USD denominated currency amounts only, whereas in spot FOREX, an investor can trade in almost any currency denomination, or in the more conventionally quoted USD amounts.

The currency futures pit, even during Regular IMM (International Money Market) hours suffers from sporadic lulls in liquidity and constant price gaps.

The spot FOREX market offers constant liquidity and market depth much more consistently than Futures.

With IMM futures one is limited in the currency pairs he can trade. Most currency futures are traded only versus the USD.

With spot FOREX, you may trade foreign currencies vs. USD or vs. each other on a 'cross' basis, for example: EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY, CHF/JPY, EUR/GBP and AUD/NZD

More and more well informed investor and entrepreneurs are diversifying their traditional investments like stocks, bonds & commodities with foreign currency because of the following reasons: (will be continued)

RISK WARNING:

Risks of currency trading: Margined currency trading is an extremely risky form of investment and is only suitable for individuals and institutions capable of handling the potential losses it entails. An account with an broker allows you to trade foreign currencies on a highly leveraged basis (up to about 400 times your account equity). The funds in an account that is trading at maximum leverage may be completely lost if the position(s) held in the account experiences even a one percent swing in value, given the possibility of losing one's entire investment. Speculation in the foreign exchange market should only be conducted with risk capital funds that, if lost, will not significantly affect the investors financial well-being.