Identifying trend, support and resistance levels, and price patterns leaves a lot up to the discretion of the trader. Some traders prefer less-discretionary trading methods. This is because emotions can cloud a trader’s judgement. Using indicators and oscillators is one way to reduce the degree of discretion required in technical analysis. Indicators like moving averages […]

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At first glance, the term “stochastics” looks like something out of a 10th grade math book—it seems vaguely familiar, but you don’t really know what it means. And if that’s the case for you, you’re not alone. Even some veteran traders have a hard time understanding the mechanics behind this technical indicator. So let’s break […]

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“Buy low, sell high.” You’ve heard this phrase a million times. It’s so wired into your brain, it seems easy to determine where a stock’s high and low points are. In reality, to find appropriate and consistent entries (lows) and exits (highs) might just be one of the hardest skills to master. The good news? […]

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Look to the sky near twilight from any number of towns that dot the length of the California coast and there’s a good chance you’ll see a long, glowing contrail—the sign that a rocket has recently been launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base. These rockets, designed to place communications satellites into orbit, have mythical names […]

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You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who didn’t recognize the name Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian scientist, inventor, and painter of the Mona Lisa. Same goes for fellow Italian Galileo Galilei, the mathematician who worked to prove that the Earth revolved around the Sun and not the other way around. But not so many […]

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Key Takeaways Trends—up, down, and sideways—are common technical analysis basics used by investors Technical analysis can be helpful for investors to complement fundamental analysis Learn how to use moving averages to help identify trends Sir Isaac Newton developed the laws of motion to understand and describe the relationships between an object, the forces acting on it, and its motion. One of […]

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Key Takeaways Moving average convergence/divergence (MACD) can help gauge the strength of a trend The Relative Strength Index (RSI) can help identify when a stock may be “overbought” or “oversold”  The Commodity Channel Index (CCI) can help gauge excess buying or selling pressure If you remember your high school physics class, you might recall momentum […]

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Key Takeaways Average true range (ATR) is a volatility indicator that can help traders set their exit strategy The most common lookback period for ATR is the 14-period, but some strategies favor other periods Using ATR to set a stop or other exit order involves choosing a multiplier New traders often tell us that they […]

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Key Takeaways Understand the put/call ratio and how it can help traders and investors gauge market sentiment Learn how to monitor the P/C ratio for all stocks with listed options, as well as the ratio for each individual stock, on the thinkorswim® platform from TD Ameritrade To follow or bet against the crowd? Some say it […]

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Key Takeaways If you have charting basics down, it’s time to expand your technical analysis knowledge     Explore several alternative technical indicators that may be useful in your trading Thermo Mode and Monkey Bars are unique to the thinkorswim® trading platform from TD Ameritrade Unless you’ve been living on a desert island for 30 years, you’ve probably […]

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