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Original, source-based guides to reading stock charts for investors.
20 articles · Original research guides with primary sources and worked examples
Learn to calculate candlestick bodies and wicks from open, high, low, and close prices, why a bullish candle can still mean a daily loss, and why a candle cannot reveal the sequence of price moves.
Read article →Distinguish a single day's price change from a trend and compare highs and lows over a consistent period. Learn how to keep your criteria consistent when daily and weekly charts point in different directions.
Read article →Learn to mark price areas where past rebounds and reversals occurred, assess possible role changes after support breaks, and distinguish a loss threshold from the price at which an order fills.
Read article →Set trendline anchor points and the price scale before drawing. A hypothetical example explains why repeatedly moving a line can distort analysis and why chart zoom can make slopes misleading.
Read article →Define what above-normal trading volume means and distinguish an intraday breakout from closing confirmation. Calculate volume multiples while checking alternative explanations such as disclosures and index changes.
Read article →Set price and time conditions in advance to assess reversals after breakouts consistently. Compare changing intraday signals with the costs of waiting for confirmation.
Read article →Distinguish the gap between the previous close and today's open from a gap between nonoverlapping daily ranges. Learn how corporate actions affect charts and why gap-fill claims have limits.
Read article →Learn to set a trading range's upper and lower boundaries in advance and express price location as a ratio. Avoid overstating repeated trading profits and reassess when price leaves the range.
Read article →Learn why a new high or low depends on the price measure and comparison period. Examine how old prices rolling out of the window affect thresholds and why confirming turning points takes time.
Read article →A weekly candle aggregates the week's open, high, low, and close rather than averaging daily candles. See why daily and weekly directions can differ and how unfinished weekly candles distort comparisons.
Read article →Compare equal price intervals on linear charts with equal percentage intervals on logarithmic charts. Learn why scale settings matter for long-term trendlines and stock comparisons, and avoid common misunderstandings.
Read article →Learn why a decline's percentage alone cannot distinguish a pullback from a broken trend. Separate retracement of a prior advance from decline off a high, and assess price and valuation hypotheses independently.
Read article →Understand the bias from selecting only the best results among many chart pattern rules. Distinguish look-ahead bias from overfitting and learn how to reserve an independent validation period.
Read article →Record business-value hypotheses separately from price-action observations. Learn what to check when the two agree or conflict, including timing differences around earnings announcements.
Read article →Before treating low volume as bearish, check the period, trading session, and changes in shares available to trade. Explore how prices can rise while trading value falls and why execution matters.
Read article →Compare a long bullish candle with nearby candles and calculate its body, full range, and change from the previous close separately. Learn how its location and related announcements shape the questions to ask next.
Read article →Separate a long bearish candle's body from its opening gap and quantify the close's position. Learn why heavy volume does not prove a bottom and why quote and price data need checking.
Read article →Distinguish a narrowing price range from falling volatility indicators and learn to record a quiet range's boundaries. Examine the risks of assuming small moves will persist and increasing position size.
Read article →Distinguish the exchange time zone, chart display time, and retrieval time. Learn to avoid treating unfinished candles as final data and record the sequence of disclosures and price observations.
Read article →Learn to align per-share prices and share counts before and after a split. Check adjusted historical prices, volume comparisons, existing trendlines, and return calculations for inconsistencies.
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