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Monday, July 26, 2010

Market Analysis Video: Intense Bull vs Bear Battle in the Current S&P Market

The battle between the bulls and the bears continues in the S&P 500 with neither side able to gain the upper hand. This choppy trading action will eventually lead to a large move one way or the other. The bulls are betting that we are headed higher and the bears are betting that the economy is going to tank.

This new video shares some of the key technical points that are still in play and where the market needs to go in order to break out of the current logjam that it's in.

Other Learning Resources:
* FREE Trading Educational Videos with Special Feature
* FREE Trading Educational Videos: Learn Technical Analysis from Award Winning Author John Murphy

Related Topics:

* Options Trading Basic – Part 1
* Options Trading Basic – Part 2
* Understanding Implied Volatility (IV)
* Option Greeks
* Understanding Option’s Time Value
* Learning Charts Patterns
* Learning Candlestick Charts
* Getting Started Trading

Monday, July 12, 2010

THREE WHITE SOLDIERS - Bullish Candlestick Pattern


Three White Soldiers is a 3-day bottom reversal / bullish reversal formation.
It could occur at the end of a downtrend, or during a pullback within an uptrend, or at the support.

The appearance of Three White Soldiers pattern signals that higher prices are likely ahead.
This pattern is more powerful particularly when it appears after an extended decline followed by sideways movement.

Three White Soldiers pattern consists of 3 consecutive long white candlesticks that occur during a downward price trend.
The opening price of Candles 2 and 3 of the pattern should be lower than the previous day's closing price (i.e. The prices open within the previous day’s body).
And all the 3 candles should close near or at their highs, and make new highs in each day.

Since all the 3 candles should close near or at their highs, the upper shadows of the Three White Soldiers formation are normally short, or even no shadow in some cases.

This pattern is formed when the prices are in oversold condition, and indicate a sign that the bears might have lack of conviction in the current downtrend.
On 1st day, due to increasing buying pressure, the price closes above its opening price.
On 2nd and 3rd days, it seems that as if the bears want to regain controls, as the price opens lower than the previous day’s close. However, by the end of each day, the buyers’ strength overcomes the earlier bears, causing the price to move up to a new closing high (i.e. the price closes at higher levels than the previous day’s closing price).

The Three White Soldiers pattern does not occur very frequently. However, when it does occur, traders / investors should be very alert, because their appearance indicates a period of strong buying pressure, and hence the reliability of this pattern is likely to be very high.

The reliability of this pattern tends to increase in the following conditions:
1) Longer white candlesticks’ body.
However, it should not be too long as well because if the white candlesticks are too long (over-extended), traders / investors would worry that the market could be overbought by now and hence may pause accordingly.
2) Shorter upper shadow of the candles.
3) The opening prices of the 2nd and 3rd days can be anywhere within the previous day's body. However, it is better to see the opening prices to be above the middle of the previous day's body. The higher a candle opens compared to the prior candle, the stronger the chance of a continued reversal.
4) Increase in trading volume.

Although the reliability of this pattern is likely to be very high, but it is always better to substantiate this signal with other technical indicators to confirm that the momentum is actually changing.

To learn about other major candlestick patterns, please refer to the following:
Learning Candlestick Charts

Other Learning Resources:
* FREE Trading Educational Videos with Special Feature
* FREE Trading Educational Videos: Learn Technical Analysis from Award Winning Author John Murphy

Related Topics:
* Options Trading Basic – Part 1
* Options Trading Basic – Part 2
* Understanding Implied Volatility (IV)
* Option Greeks
* Understanding Option’s Time Value
* Learning Charts Patterns
* Getting Started Trading

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Friday, July 2, 2010

Trading Educational Video: BEARISH ENGULFING Candlestick Pattern

Japanese Candlestick patterns have been popular and widely used by traders. There are several major Candlestick Patterns which most technical traders should be familiar with, such as: Bullish vs. Bearish Engulfing, Harami Bullish vs. Bearish, Piercing Line vs. Dark Cloud Cover, Hammer vs. Hanging Man, Inverted Hammer vs. Shooting Star, etc.

This video shows the real current example for BEARISH ENGULFING Candlestick Pattern in the Nasdaq market. Do watch it to see the more detail analysis and why you should pay attention to this pattern when it appears in the chart.

You may want to read this previous article to find out more about Bullish & Bearish Engulfing Candlestick Pattern.

To learn about other Japanese Candlestick pattern, please refer to the following:
Learning Candlestick Charts

Other Learning Resources:
* FREE Trading Educational Videos with Special Feature
* FREE Trading Educational Videos: Learn Technical Analysis from Award Winning Author John Murphy

Related Topics:
* Learning Charts Patterns
* Options Trading Basic – Part 1
* Options Trading Basic – Part 2
* Option Greeks
* Understanding Implied Volatility (IV)
* Understanding Option’s Time Value