Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Selecting a Forex Market Analysis Mechanism

By Brad Morgan

Two kinds of forex market analysis prevail:

1. The form of analysis that concerns itself with analyzing the nature and the results of socio-economic and political undercurrents on the forex market is called FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS.

2. Technical analysis contrastingly , employs graphs and charts to surmise patterns that connote price movement.

So which is the more fitting analysis? If you check out forums and websites you will chance upon many traders resolutely supporting one or the other. Those who like to depends on charts will tell you that the only way to make money with currency trading is to find out trends and jump onto them as soon as possible.

On the other hand, the fundamental analysts will allege that currency prices are moved by socio-economic factors, a fact that cannot be declined. Thus according to them, chart patterns are mere eventualities that have no real relevance on reality.

That declaration should be taken with a grain of salt. While the direct and broader effects of economic changes is unmistakable, in post major announcements position and relatively event and change free times, technical analysis may be of benefit in predicting movements.

But if you place all your confidence in technical analysis, unexpected announcements in influential financial news will presumptively catch you off guard. Since you would be dependant on charts and not news, you could end up picking the least favorable time to trade. Such an event could be cataclysmic.

The verdict therefore is that short term trading can benefit from singling out trends via technical analysis while the large price movements are mostly created by socio-economic or political forces. Keeping both eyes open is the more sensible method as it equips one to use mathematics to predict short term movements while monitoring current news and happenings that would effect movements on a longer term and greater consequence. After all money in the FX market is made when one trades based on predicted movement and that prediction comes to pass.

Markets are sometimes characterized in terms of elasticity as they can move in either direction and fall back to their previous or another position. The factors that stretch the market are the fundamentals of socio-political and economic forces. How much it will stretch and where and when it will stay is the domain of technical analysis.

Therefore you would be well advised not to be a idealist in either form of analysis. Excellent returns are realized better when fundamental and technical analysis are combined together. - 23309

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How The Stochastic Oscillator Can Make You Rich

By Sam Nielson

The Stochastic oscillator is meant to girate between 100 and 0. A very low level means emotions have caused people to sell in panic. A very high level means emotions have caused people to become too greedy.

Look for buying opportunities when the Stochastic oscillator nears its lower reference line. Look for selling opportunities when the Stochastic oscillator nears its upper reference line. Buying when the Stochastic oscillator is low is emotionally hard because markets usually look terrible near bottoms, which is precisely the right time to buy. When the Stochastic indicator rallies to its upper reference line, it tells you to start looking for selling opportunities. This also goes against the grain emotionally. When the Stochastic indicator rallies to a top, the market often looks fantastic, which is a good time to sell.

Newbie traders use indicators by themselves. Don't do this. Use the Stochastic indicator with other technical indicators. Keep in mind that when a powerful uptrend begins, the Stochastic indicator quickly becomes overbought and begins showing premature sell signals. In a sudden panic sell off, the Stochastic indicator quickly becomes oversold and begins showing premature buy signals. Therefore, this indicator only works if you use it with other trend-following indicators.

What you need to do is to enter a position when the Stochastic indicator is at an extreme. If you try and wait until the Stochastic indicator turns, you'll miss too much of the move. Think of the extremes of the Stochastic as telling you how much emotion is in the market. The more the emotion, the better you can take money away from other traders.

If the Stochastic has a bullish divergence from the price, go long. If it has a bearish divergence from the price, go short. Bullish and bearish divergences are just a short way of saying that the Stochastic moves in the opposite direction as the price of the stock.

Do not buy when the Stochastics is above its upper reference line and do not sell short when it is below its lower reference line. This is probably the most useful way to use the Stochastic. Moving averages are better than the Stochastics at identifying trends, MACD-Histogram is better at identifying reversals, channels are better at identifying profit targets, and the ADX is quicker at catching entry and exit points. The trouble with them is that they give action signals most of the time. The Stochastic identifies no trade zones. - 23309

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