Trading stocks education - Trading tactics & examples

Trendline Breaks

When is a Trend Truly Broken?

The importance of trendlines cannot be overstated when it comes to technical analysis. We are told to trade with the primary trend, exit when the trend reverses, enter on trend reversals, and so on. Trends are easy enough to identify, but when is a trend actually broken?

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Moving Averages and the Trend

Moving Averages Help Us Identify Trend Reversals

One of the old axioms of technical analysis is that 'the trend is your friend'. This holds true, as long as you trade in the direction of the trend. However, your 'friend' has two faces, and can turn on you to eliminate profits (and your friendship!). Trend reversals can occur at any time and one of the important skills a trader must possess is the ability to identify a reversal. It is easy to exit a position too early if we over-anticipate a trend reversal, and just as easy to watch our profits evaporate if we are too slow to exit the trade.

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Support and Resistance Levels

History Tells Us When Securites are Overbought or Oversold

Support indicates a level on the chart where we can expect an increase in the demand for a security (buyers take over). How do we know this? By identifying this reaction to a price level in the chart's history.

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Hornbeck Offshore Svcs Inc n

Double Tops and Bottoms

Waiting for the Setup to Complete Results in Profits

There are various chart patterns that help us find good reversal candidates. Of the major reversal patterns, the double top or bottom is not only one of the most recognizable, but also one of the most predictive.

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Tidewater Inc

Volatility

Well Behaved Stocks Reap Rewards

Some stocks move multiple points and multiple directions in one trading session. Other stocks are more methodical in their day-to-day movement. Which type of stock is more attractive to you as an investor?

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Weyerhaeuser Co

Volume Climax

Volume Helps Identify Reversals

Various price patterns can alert us to potential reversal candidates. Trendline Breaks, Support and Resistance Levels, Fibonacci Retracement Levels and other price information are valuable in determining a change in direction for a security. However, one of the most overlooked chart patterns that help us determine reversals is not reflected in the price itself. Volume climaxes are easily identifiable and valuable in assessing a change in market sentiment.

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Reward:Risk Ratio

Assessing a Trades Potential

When looking at a stock to buy, we look to various tools and techniques to help us assess the probability of its upward movement. However, will it go up is not the only question to ask - we also need to analyze the chart to see how far it is likely to go up and also how much of a loss we are willing to take to allow it to reach it's profit potential. The potential profit of a trade divided by the potential loss of trade is known as the Reward:Risk Ratio.

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Island Reversals

Stand Alone Formation Speaks Volumes

Reversals tend to occur slowly, with securities forming double bottoms, higher lows, head and shoulders patterns, etc. before starting a new trend. However, sometimes we see a dramatic reversal immediately, and one of the best indications of these types of reversals is Island Tops and Bottoms.

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