Look Out Below!!! Update on Ford Stock

Good Morning Stockhoppers, Here we go again, in my last blog I threw in a word of caution. Well I hope you have been keeping a close eye on your money and adjusting your positions accordingly.
Lets get to it here this morning. Things are looking a little ugly here, and looking at the dow chart it may get worse. Yesterday we finished around the days low and could fall through support here today and if we do LOOK OUT BELOW!! and we will have to find new support before we see a turnaround. Today it is not looking good here. So if you are in for the short term I hope your stock(s) does not gap down today. Look at the dow chart we already have had a double bottom (1-2-3 formation). Look at our 13 day exponential moving average and our 21 day exponential moving average. The only real positive we have here today is that prices have moved away from the 13day ema and usually they will not stay away too long, but when the bottom falls out there are no rules with a crash, we have already seen a mini crash here with no real rebound which could lead to a major crash, I know it is a hard thing to do taking any loss but covering your positions now may save your money to re-invest when we find support here. Its all a part of being a serious trader, you have to get through these turbulent times.

Now for Ford, traders this is a bit scary, there has been quite a bit of good new(see the news really amounts to nothing, its all in the charts) yet the stock continues its slide. Look at the chart it is nearly identical to the Dow and could easily fall through support today. I am still long this stock and should have covered yesterday, I will take my own advice today and cover because we are looking at about a six month support level that it could break through and if it does there is no support in site and we could see year end 2009 levels. This is serious stuff here folks do not fall in to the same buy and hold trap that took so many traders and investors money in the last few years and left them with nothing. Live to trade another day!

No one cares about your money like you do........Until next time,Chart wisely today!

Dow and Ford - I told You!

Good Morning Stockhoppers and what a good morning it is turning out to be for the major markets and our spot light stock.....Ford, As I told you in a rare afternoon blog, that I bought 700 shares of Ford stock at 13.77 and it was tuned up for another good day today...well it is doing just that. As of this blog it is up near its high of the day around 14.14. What do we need to watch for now? Lets take a look at the Ford stock chart above. Notice that it is reaching a short term resistance level. So depending on your trading strategy, you may want to watch closely to see if it will bust through this resistance or bounce off resistance and pull back and rest before it makes its next push.

Notice the 21 day exponential moving average. It has flat lined which may mean a little pull back. The good news look at the 13 day exponential moving average,it is getting ready to cross up,over the 21 day EMA,very bullish signal here.

Now just as importantly lets take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Its is moving along nicely up the 13 day and 21 day exponential moving averages. Notice in the chart above that it is running into a little short term resistance at around 11150. Very similar chart to that of Ford. Overall market looks steady and strong.

I hope all your trades are are going great! and until next time....Study the Charts!!

Did You Know?...Update on Ford,GE

Good Morning Stockhoppers, Today is really going to be somewhat of a wash. Pre-Holiday trading usually is. Should see a up day today,again due to the Easter holiday. Did you know that on the last trading day before Christmas that there has not been a down trading day in the market for I do not know how long(can someone could tell me the exact stat), I have made a good share of money on the last trading day before Christmas. It is kind of a unwritten law, this will also hold true for the Easter holiday(even though I do not know the exact stat), the market always seems to be in a good mood before the big holidays, so take advantage of that little stat.

The major indexes should see a rebound off the the 13day exponential moving average. As you can see by the DJI index chart there is consolidation,with a slightly negative tone. Now I will say this, if the market does have a down day today,BEWARE, I am not an alarmist by any means, I just read the charts to gauge the mood of the market and if the market is in a bad mood today in what is traditionally suppose to be a good mood day, well that gives me a strong signal of what could be coming. Really the market could have an up day today and still show a negative trend,what I mean if it goes below yesterdays low and does not go higher than yesterdays high than I will still consider this market to be showing a negative tone. I do not try to predict too far into the future, I take it day to day, in todays market, I think you have to.

Ford stock as I predicted yesterday BEFORE the open is showing weakness. It gaped down yesterday, now today we could possibly see it cover that gap, but do not be fooled by that Easter Bunny behind the curtain, it will take a few good up days before the trend reverses. Ford stock is now trading below both the 13day and 21day exponential moving averages, before I will consider purchasing this stock it must be sitting on top of these averages.

As far as my active trade in shorting GE, I am still slightly out of the money, although much less than I was yesterday as it continues to show weakness. I shorted at 17.93 and how I decide whether or not I am going to stick with it or cover it is I ask myself would I short this stock today? the answer to that question is yes I would.

Well that is all for now I hope you all have a great Easter Holiday and ....Happy Charting!!!

Putting In A Buy Order Today

Good Morning Stock Hoppers, Not much time this morning but I alway like to let everyone know if I put in an order, so today I am letting you know that I place an order to buy 1000 shares of TER with a stop-limit order of 10.72. Take a look at the chart. I believe that it will bounce off the averages. I have to keep it short this morning. Until next time....Happy Stock Charting!

My Daily Stock Watch

Good Morning Stock Chartists,

Well its the end of another trade week and the Dow is breaking out of a little flag consolidation and is sitting on top of its resistance as you can see by the chart. The market does not look real comfortable at this level, as it seems to be retracting to its lows and staying within the resistance level, traders have to be a little careful here that we do not have a false breakout.

I did put in an buy order this morning for MU but it missed my trigger because it gapped up. I had a stop-limit order in at 9.72 and it opened today at 10.10, so I missed that one but I am sure not going to chase it. I settled out of a trade yesterday that I had held since 1/21/10(As I usually do not hold them that long). It was MBI I bought in at 5.30 and I sold yesterday at 5.95, I will take the $650.00 gain. I will be looking for my next trade over the weekend. I hope all your trades are doing well today. Until next time......Happy Stock Charting!!!

Major Index Ready for Slight Pullback?

Good Morning, Take a look at the Dow Index Chart this morning. What is it telling you? To me it looks like we could be in for some retraction downward, heading back down to the Exponential moving averages today. Probably not a good day to purchase stock. It looks like it is going to fall back below the upper resistance level. So I am not even looking to purchase anything today.

As far as my active stocks. HCBK and NSM were both up yesterday midst a down market, that is always a good sign!! and they are both still hugging their moving averages in an upward trend, whether or not they will weather today's market will yet to be seen. Notice these stock charts as well. They are both still in a channel, there could be a good buying opportunity for these stocks when they break out, usually they will continue in that same direction for a few days, and if you position yourself correctly that is all you need to make a nice profit!! Remember I do not try to pick tops or bottoms, I will take my profit out of the middle then look for my next trade.

Until next time ....Happy Stock Charting

Market hit first resistance level

Good Morning, Yesterday the market went up and hit the mini resistance level, after finishing near its low yesterday it may be ready to retreat back to the 13day and the 21 day ema.before it makes a push toward the upper resistance level. If we see a breakout it will be very good news today.

My individual stock recommendations from yesterday, pretty much followed yesterdays trend with the exception of FITB, it posted a .30 gain, so if you were in on that one, you did well. If you day traded any of my recommendations you also hopefully did pretty well, as they all saw early gains before they followed the market at days end.

Until next time.........Happy Stock Charting!!!!

Daily Stock Chart Check 2-25-10

Good Morning,

So far this week the market has shown a great deal of predictability(We know all that can change in a hurry). Before the open lets take a look at the chart for the Dow Jones. We are concentrating on the 13 day and the 21 day exponential moving average. Look how the Dow seperated last week from these averages, and if you have been following along with my recent blogs, I have mentioned that it will seperate but count on the return back to these averages as they do not (usually) stay seperated for a very long period of time, as was the case for the Dow here recently, as it moved back to its averages this week.

The Dow now is sitting on top of the 13 day and 21 day ema, will it consolidate a bit more? or will it bounce of these averages today and continue its uptrend and head toward the resistance level of around 10500? I would wave a short term Red Flag if the Dow goes below its last 2 day low of 10267.

HCBK one of my active trades is showing some consolidation with the 13day ema crossing upward over the 21 day ema which is a bullish sign, I also am looking at this stock chart seeing it meet its support level of around 13.00 and yesterday bouncing off those levels in a positive direction. That is why I will stay with this trade and look for its momentum to carry it over the 13.47 mark.

Yesterday I exited IPG at 6.91 (Bought at 6.82) for a small gain. The reason that I exited was that the stock chart showed me that the 13 day ema was crossing over the 21 day ema in a downward direction alerting me that it looks like it will continue its downward trend and head back toward its support levels of around 6.30. As I said in a recent blog this chart has formed a classic head and shoulders formation. Hey no matter how small the gain, it is still a again and I will take it over a loss anytime.

Until tomorrow.....Happy Stock Charting!!!!

Daily Stock Chart Check

Good Morning, The Dow looks to be wanting to come back to its 13 day and 21 ema before it moves to its resistance level of 10,514. Dow futures are pointing slightly down to flat this morning but that could all change after the open.

IPG - One of my two active trades went up and hit its resistance level and now going back to meet its 13day and 21 day ema. I will wait for the bounce. Take a good look at this chart and you will see a classic head and shoulders formation forming(See the shoulder to the left and the head in the middle and the right shoulder is forming). It would be great to see it bust through resistance of 7.22 today!!

HCBK - As you can see from the chart it is bouncing off its support level looking for follow through today.

When you are looking at support and resistance levels you should see at least 3 points of where the stock bounced off of those levels, as you can see on this chart there are 5 good points where it bounced off and continue in a upward direction from its support levels. These are the type of stock charts that I look to trade because they show some predictability and trend.

Until tomorrow.......Happy Charting!

Daily Stock Chart Check 2-19-10

Today I will be interesting as you can see the DJI Chart has gained momentum. Will the 13 day ema cross over the 21 day today and continue this momentum? I think it has a good chance. Although if we do have a up day today you can expect a early week pull back as it starts to distance itself from the averages. You have to play the averages. It takes alot of the risk out of your trades.

As for my active trades, I will be watching them all very closely today. HCBK - I got in at 13.27 currently it is at 13.37 and I am looking for it to bounce off the 13 day ema and continue its upward trend.

IPG if you remember I bought this at 6.82 and it is now at 7.09. I like how the13 day ema is crossing the 21 day ema. That is a good sign.

As for LEG the one I recommended (at the same time I bought IPG and HCBK) at 18.87 is doing great it is now trading at 19.59, nice 3 day move. If I were in this trade I would continue to hold as it is climbing and staying close to the ema. averages.

I hope you all have a great day and next time I will be talking about an exit tool that I do use occasionally. It is call the 50% retracement indicator. I will explain it in my next blog. Until then.....Happy Charting

Evaluating Picks from 2-16-10

Today lets hope for a follow through from yesterday, dow futures are up modestly this morning. The chart for the dow shows some momentum as it trades above the 13 day ema. and the 21 day ema, as I said yesterday this is what I was looking for.

Charting my stock picks from yesterday they all triggered. Here was the results

HCBK - Order for 1000 shares triggered at 13.27 closed at 13.41

IPG - Order for 1000 shares triggered at 6.82 closed at 6.87 - I am watching this one closely as it gaped up and many times when a stock gaps up it will retrace its gap the next day or so.

LEG - Wouldn't you know I identified this stock in yesterdays blog but did not put in an order for it, as I went with the other 2(IPG and HCBK) and of course that was the best performing stock of the day, I said in yesterdays blog that I felt there was a good opportunity if LEG crossed 18.87 and it did it closed at 19.39!! Oh well you can't buy them all. I hope someone following this blog got in and made money yesterday charting this stock.

I will be watching the stock markets closely today watching for follow through and momentum. Until tomorrow..............Happy Charting

Buying Opportunities 2-16-10

This morning I looked at the overseas market and they are pointing to a higher open for our major indices. Hopefully we will start a new uptrend today, I am looking for the markets to get on top of the 13 day moving avg. Here are the possible buying opportunities I identified.

HCBK(above)- I have placed an order to buy 1000shares on a move above13.27, notice trading above 13 and 21day avg. looking for follow through.

LEG below)- Here the stock is bouncing off support levels, I believe it will move back toward the avgs. I would be watching very closely as it does reach the avgs. to see if it will bounce back but there is profit to be taken in between. I would be looking at a buy here above 18.87,but again keep an eye out as it reaches the avgs.

IPG(right) -Trading with upward momentum and above the 13day ema(exponential moving avg), it is bouncing off support levels and looking for a follow through above the 21 day ema today. I have put in an order to buy 1000shares when it moves above 6.82

Remember charting stocks is not an exact science. I look at it as more of an art. Follow these charts and see how I do.

I may be in these stocks for a day or 10 it all depends on what the stock charts tell me.

Until tomorrow.... Happy Charting

Stock Market for Beginners

Since the markets are closed today in observance of Presidents day, I thought I would give some tips of how to get into and get yourself prepared to trade.

1st thing I did was get a good book on charting,( you can google info) get definitions of different charting tools and how they are suppose to work, I will not recommend any one specific because they are many good books, what I would recommend is don't buy one that is selling their specific system. Get one that talks about all the different charting tools and the different chart formations, along with support and resistance information. This will give you a good idea of what the world of charting stocks is all about.

2nd thing , START CHARTING(Freestockcharts.com is a very good site and its FREE) different stocks, apply some of the information that you researched, you will start to notice trends. Start out simple using moving averages(really that is all I use today) I do recommend the 13 day and 21 day exponential moving averages. Add some different tools and get use to the terminology. ALSO JOIN IN ON BLOGS LIKE THIS. It is a great way to talk and converse with everyday traders who will give you honest answers and share their experiences with you. Everyone can gain by doing this whether your a beginner or a more experienced trader. Remember you never quit learning!!

3rd Thing, Start to look at different discount brokerages. There are many good ones out there. I happen to like Scottrade it is only $7.00 per trade and it gives me the tools I am looking for, again do your own research on these. With most of them you can set up a practice trading account they will put play money in and you would trade with them as if it were real. This is a big help because it gets you use to how to place a trade correctly.

How Do I fund My Account When I have no Extra Money? This may be simpler than you think. Most discount brokers want somewhere around $500.00 to get started. You can start out by just sending them money when you have extra and use this time to practice while you are building up to meet their minimum amount to actually start trading. I started out with $2000.00 in my account. I got extra money from selling things I no longer used or wanted on ebay . You can have a garage sale( I used this method as well). See there are many ways to fund your account when you are ready to start trading REAL MONEY.

I hope you found this helpful, if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them, just send me a post. Until next time...

Happy Charting

Dow Jones going to fall Again?

After Reaching back to the 13 day moving average will the the Dow Fall Again? The S & P futures are show early morning weakness for the major indices. I am still staying on the sidelines!! Until these markets can at least get on top of the 13 day moving average I am not comfortable buying any stocks I need to see some follow through( I will post exactly the day I get in and start buying).

Take a look at the chart above look at the yellow arrows, there is a difference between the last time the market reached the 13 day moving avg. compared to current conditions. When it reached it the first time it was still showing downward momentum. The last few days it has shown upward momentum. Will it bounce off the 13 day moving avg. and continue downward or will it bust through and get on top of the 13 day moving average. I said yesterday was pivotal. Well today is just as pivotal. Continue studying the charts, It will tell you exactly what is going on. There is money to be made studying charts, again be patient and wait for the chart to let you know when the right time is to buy. Have a great weekend..........

Happy Charting

Stock Charting Specific

The broad markets (which is what I look at first before I study individual stocks) are trending downward. As you can see on this chart(above left) of the Dow Jones Industrial. It had a positive day yesterday and is now reaching back up to the 14 day moving average. Before I would think about buying stocks this chart needs to show some consolidation or the 13 day needs to start pointing up. So today I am staying on the sideline until the market shakes out .

While I am not in the market today I would like to show you a current chart of the S & P 500 (right) Market and how it has trend over the past few months and where there was plenty of opportunity to make some very good $$$$$. Look at the green arrows, here you can see that the market was trending down to the 21 day moving average and then would bounce back, it did this 4 times with the last arrow showing a top.

You ask how do you know where to get out or cover your position? There are a couple of signals that tell you the market is about ready to reverse, see where the last arrow is? once the stock price breaks below that arrow would be a good signal to get out. Another strong indicator is where the 13 day moving average crosses the 21 day moving average in a downward direction.

To me this is the simplest way of keeping track of the market. Just with these two exponential averages. I use to use others like Fibonacci, Williams % R, Bollinger band(I still use these once in a while) but really all that did was mess and confuse my charts. Learn to use these averages and again use patients and you should have success charting stocks. Let me know how your doing!!

Next time I will talk a little about the possibility of SHORTING STOCKS oooh noo!

Until next time HAPPY CHARTING

Not As Hard As They Want You To Believe

Charting stocks and making a good profit is not as hard as the pros want you to believe that it is. Yes there are some criteria involved that separate the good traders from the washed out traders but it is very possible for you to make good money from watching your own money instead of just handing it over to some investment advisor, don't get me wrong there are some very good advisers, all I am saying is that no one cares more about your money than...... you do.



Charting stocks or technical analysis of a company allows you to gauge a company's momentum or lack there of by looking at the trend of the stocks price through a certain period of time. It gives you a snapshot you could say of how that company's stock is performing and even the likely hood of if it will continue or not. This is where you profit. You can make a profit on the way up or you can profit if the stock is going down. No having to look at any ratios, studying the company's earnings and revenues or dissecting the year end books, because it is all baked in the chart, the story of how well or how poor the company is doing is right on the chart and reading it is easier than you think.



Once you understand the universal principles of charting you will be able to use them in any market whether it would be stocks, options, futures, or any market for that matter. You will be able to tell who is winning the bears or the bulls, for the chartists it really does not matter.



Going back to the criteria that makes a good trader..... here is my list:





1) You must be disciplined - do not let yourself get caught up in greed. A good trader stays calm, cool and collected. Manage your emotions and read what the chart is telling you and you will be profitable.




2) Patient,Patient,Patient - I cannot stress this enough. Don't feel that you have to be in the market all the time, don't feel like your missing an opportunity just because you are not in. Some of your best trades will be the ones you decided not to get into. Let the market come to you, do not chase it.

That's it! those are the two personal criteria you will need to be a successful trader.




There are some terms that you will want to get use to like resistance ( a certain price point that the stock repeatedly will go up to but not break through) and support ( a certain price point that a stock will repeatedly go down to but always seems to bounce back from).



When researching and studying different styles of charting stocks you will hear about chart patterns such as flags, pennants,channels,1-2-3 bottom and tops, head and shoulder, the list goes on and on.



You will also hear of charting tools that may help you decide when there is a good opportunity. Some of these are: Moving averages, Bollinger Bands, stochastics, Oscillators, RSI, Williams % R, MACD...again the list goes on. There have been many books sold on these(I have actually read many of them) individual methods. These can be very contradictory and hard to evaluate.

My rule is KISS, you know Keep It Simple Student, because anyone involved in studying the market always continues to be a student. HERE IS HOW I HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL. I use the 21 day and the 14 day exponential moving average on a high,low,open,close style bar chart.



I start out by applying them to the DOW, S & P 500 and the NASDAQ exchanges, this gives me a very good idea of which direction the major indices are moving.

I figure out what the trend is, then I study and analyze all the stocks in the S & P 500(I do this at night after the market has closed) that are in my price range and decide which chart is showing me the best opportunity. The reason I use these stocks are because they are high volume stocks which means that they are very actively bought and sold and for me that makes them a bit more predictable.

When I find the charts that are interesting to me I then check the news on them to make sure there wasn't any major news out on them after the market closed that could effect the price of that stock the next day.


I then put in an order to purchase that stock at a price higher than the previous days high, anywhere from 7 to 10 cents higher. Why you ask? because I want to know that the momentum is going to continue and that my study of the stock was, at least on the open correct.

Once my stock hits my predetermined price and is purchased I continually watch it on a daily basis making sure it is continuing up the 14 and or 21 day moving average, along with watching for any breaking news on my stock that could drastically change the price of the stock.

Now for maybe the most important part WHEN TO EXIT YOUR POSITION. Not only is it important to buy right it is also as or more important to know when to sell. There are a couple of ways to do this. When starting out and you just made a nice profit and are getting nervous, GET OUT!! TAKE YOUR PROFIT!! but do yourself a big favor, find out why it was a good trade, what are the things you did right, NEVER beat yourself up when you look at the stock the next day and it went up another 10%. You made a profit, be happy and look to the next opportunity.
What I do is look at the chart and news everyday and ask myself would I buy this stock today? If my answer is yes then I hold it, if my answer is no I put in my order to sell, I take the emotion out of it. It is that cut and dry for me. Like I said earlier KEEP THE EMOTION OUT OF THE TRADE.

When Charting Stocks I never look to get in at the very bottom and out at the very top, I like to take my profit out of the middle, it is less risky.

I love the art of technical trading. I work on polishing my craft everyday. I created this Blog to find others that feel the same way and to exchange ideas and to invite people that maybe have just started or are just curious of how this can work for them.

I painted this subject with a broad brush, so do some reading on the subject of technical analysis there is not a shortage of reading material out there believe me. Let me know your thoughts.
I will continue to post in more depth on the subjects of Charting Stocks and even let you know what I am trading and the results(doing this really helps me stay focused). Currently I am on the sidelines looking for my next opportunity. Let me know how you are doing.

I am currently what I would call a part time trader, I am 43 years old, have six children and I do have another job (Realtor) but my passion is trading. I have been studying the different aspects of trading for over 15 years. I have taken my share of lumps playing options and futures, I now totally concentrate on just the stock market, it is what suits me best and where I am most comfortable. Last year 2009 was my best, I made approximately 80% on my money, and its all about being DISCIPINED and PATIENT! and over the last 6years trading has added a nice supplement to my income. I do take money out of the market because it makes it more real. Nothing nicer than seeing a check come from your brokerage firm. I know...I know Warren Buffet never sells a stock, well if I had a plane to fly all over the world to check out businesses that I might be interested in buying then maybe I wouldn't sell either. The only thing I think I have in common with Warren Buffet is that we both love what we do.

I hope this has helped you in some way or at least peaked your interest, again stayed tuned and jump in and participate....I would love to hear from you.

By the way I always advise people who are just starting out to take a month or Ten and practice, there are many brokerage companies that will set up ficticious accounts for you to do dry runs and get a feel for the process without the risk. You will know when your ready for the real thing.

Until next time...When we will talk about specific entry and exit points and my most current position(s) in the market.......... Happy Charting!!