A market trend is a perceived tendency of the financial markets to move in a particular direction over time. Analysts classify these trends as secular for long time-frames, primary for medium time-frames, and secondary for short time-frames. Traders attempt to identify market trends using technical analysis, a framework which characterizes market trends as predictable price tendencies within the market when price reaches support and resistance levels, varying over time.
In finance, technical analysis is an analysis methodology for analysing and forecasting the direction of prices through the study of past market data, primarily price and volume. As a type of active management, it stands in contradiction to much of modern portfolio theory. The efficacy of technical analysis is disputed by the efficient-market hypothesis, which states that stock market prices are essentially unpredictable, and research on whether technical analysis offers any benefit has produced mixed results. It is distinguished from fundamental analysis, which considers a company's financial statements, health, and the overall state of the market and economy.
The Elliott wave principle, or Elliott wave theory, is a form of technical analysis that financial traders use to analyze financial market cycles and forecast market trends by identifying extremes in investor psychology and price levels, such as highs and lows, by looking for patterns in prices.
In stock market technical analysis, support and resistance are certain predetermined levels of the price of a security at which it is thought that the price will tend to stop and reverse. These levels are denoted by multiple touches of price without a breakthrough of the level.
A candlestick chart is a style of financial chart used to describe price movements of a security, derivative, or currency.
Point and figure (P&F) is a charting technique used in technical analysis. Point and figure charting does not plot price against time as time-based charts do. Instead it plots price against changes in direction by plotting a column of Xs as the price rises and a column of Os as the price falls.
Seiki Shimizu is best known for his work as an author writing about Japanese candlestick charting techniques used to analyze and evaluate stocks in his highly regarded book The Japanese Chart of Charts. After graduating from university, Shimizu joined the securities industry before moving to the commodity trading industry to form his own company, Kanetsu Shoji Co., Ltd shortly after World War II. He was awarded the Blue Ribbon Medal by the Japanese Emperor Hirohito in 1984 for his contributions to the Japanese commodity futures industry.
A chart pattern or price pattern is a pattern within a chart when prices are graphed. In stock and commodity markets trading, chart pattern studies play a large role during technical analysis. When data is plotted there is usually a pattern which naturally occurs and repeats over a period. Chart patterns are used as either reversal or continuation signals.
The Kagi chart is a chart used for tracking price movements and to make decisions on purchasing stock. It differs from traditional stock charts such as the Candlestick chart by being mostly independent of time. This feature aids in producing a chart that reduces random noise.
Three crows are a symbol or metaphor in several traditions.
Munehisa Honma was a rice merchant from Sakata, Japan who traded in the Dōjima Rice Exchange in Osaka during the Tokugawa Shogunate. He is sometimes considered to be the father of the candlestick chart, a form of technical analysis used in stock markets.
A price channel is a pair of parallel trend lines that form a chart pattern for a stock or commodity. Channels may be horizontal, ascending or descending. When prices pass through and stay through a trendline representing support or resistance, the trend is said to be broken and there is a "breakout".
The doji is a commonly found pattern in a candlestick chart of financially traded assets in technical analysis. It is characterized by being small in length—meaning a small trading range—with an opening and closing price that are virtually equal. The efficacy of technical analysis is disputed by the efficient-market hypothesis, which states that stock market prices are essentially unpredictable.
The Morning Star is a pattern seen in a candlestick chart, a popular type of a chart used by technical analysts to anticipate or predict price action of a security, derivative, or currency over a short period of time.
A gap is defined as an unfilled space or interval. On a technical analysis chart, a gap represents an area where no trading takes place. On the Japanese candlestick chart, a window is interpreted as a gap.
Three white soldiers is a candlestick chart pattern in the financial markets. It unfolds across three trading sessions and represents a strong price reversal from a bear market to a bull market. The pattern consists of three long candlesticks that trend upward like a staircase; each should open above the previous day's open, ideally in the middle price range of that previous day. Each candlestick should also close progressively upward to establish a new near-term high.
In financial technical analysis, a candlestick pattern is a movement in prices shown graphically on a candlestick chart that some believe can predict a particular market movement. The recognition of the pattern is subjective and programs that are used for charting have to rely on predefined rules to match the pattern. There are 42 recognized patterns that can be split into simple and complex patterns. Author Thomas Bulkowski takes an in-depth look at 103 candlestick formations, from identification guidelines and statistical analysis of their behaviour to detailed trading tactics. He makes important discoveries and statistical summaries, as well as a glossary of relevant terms and a visual index to make candlestick identification easy.
Price action is a method of analysis of the basic price movements to generate trade entry and exit signals that is considered reliable while not requiring the use of indicators. It is a form of technical analysis, as it ignores the fundamental factors of a security and looks primarily at the security's price history. However, this method is different from other forms of technical analysis, as it focuses on the relation of the security's current price to its price history, which consists of all price movements, as opposed to values derived from the price history.
A Renko chart is a type of financial chart of Japanese origin used in technical analysis that measures and plots price changes. A renko chart consists of bricks, which proponents say more clearly show market trends and increase the signal-to-noise ratio compared to typical candlestick charts.
A line break chart, sometimes known as a three-line break chart, is a Japanese trading indicator and financial chart used to analyse the financial markets. Invented in Japan these charts had been used for over 150 years by traders in Japan before being popularised by Steve Nison in the book “Beyond Candlesticks.” The chart is made up of vertical blocks or bars called "lines", which indicate the direction of the market.
