How to Read a Stock Chart Like a Pro

Every time you tune into some TV channel specializing about the stock market, you must be overwhelmed by the amount of raw data they are showing to the viewers. The success in stock market depends on how well you can interpret and analyze the data, i.e. the stock charts. A stock chart tells all about the stock market. There are various types of charts such as candlestick charts, support and resistance, trend lines, OHL (open-high-low-close), point and figure and others which are viewable in different frames. One common thing about all charts is that the charts are either daily, weekly or monthly and always shows a pattern.

Stock Chart Types

Although there are different types of stock charts available, most charts display price and volume of stocks. Candlestick charts are one of the most common patterns used by Japanese people and became popular worldwide. Candlestick charts are used when you have a dataset that contains low, open, high or close values for each time period. The candlestick charts look like box either filled or hollow. Many traders consider candlestick charts more visually appealing and easier to interpret. Each candlestick provides an easy-to-decipher picture of the price action of a stock. From the candlestick charts, a trader can easily get the relationship between the open and close value and the high and low value of a stock for a particular time frame. The open and close are considered the most vital information in the candlestick chart. As a general information, a hollow candlestick indicates buying pressure and filled candlestick indicates selling pressure of a stock.

Support and Resistance

In the stock market, support and resistance are two important values in the stock chart. Someone wants to invest in the stock market must understand the meaning of these two values thoroughly. Support is the price level at which demand is thought to be strong enough to prevent the price from declining further. When the price declines towards the support level, the stock value goes very low. As a result, the buyer wants to buy more stock, but the seller is less inclined to sell. As the price reaches the support value, it is believed that demand will overcome supply and prevent the price from falling below support. Resistance is exactly opposite to the support. Resistance is the price level at which selling is thought to be strong enough to prevent the price from rising further. As the stock price rises towards resistance value, the seller wants to sell stocks, but the buyer is less inclined to but due to high price. As the price reaches resistance value, it is believed that supply will overcome demand and prevent the price from rising above resistance.

Trend Lines

Out of all the technical jargons in the stock market, the trend line is the hottest topic among technical analyst and traders. A trend line is a chart that gives a quick understanding of the market from the uptrend and downtrend of the stock values. Trend line charts are the most important for a newcomer or a veteran in the stock market.