1.1.4 Strengths and weakness of Technical Analysis

1.1.4.1 Importance of Technical Analysis

Not Just for stocks

Technical analysis has universal applicability. It can be applied to any financial instrument – stocks, futures and commodities, fixed-income securities, forex, etc

Focus on price

Fundamental developments are followed by price movements. By focusing only on price action, technicians focus on the future. The price pattern is considered as a leading indicator and generally leads the economy by 6 to 9 months. To track the market, it makes sense to look directly at the price movements. More often than not, change is a subtle beast. Even though the market is prone to sudden unexpected reactions, hints usually develop before significant movements. You should refer to periods of accumulation as evidence of an impending advance and periods of distribution as evidence of an impending decline.

Supply, demand, and price action

Technicians make use of high, low and closing prices to analyze the price action of a stock. A
good analysis can be made only when all the above information is present
Separately, these will not be able to tell much. However, taken together, the open, high, low
and close refl ect forces of supply and demand.

Support and resistance

Charting is a technique used in analysis of support and resistance level. These are trading range in which the prices move for an extended period of time, saying that forces of demand and supply are deadlocked. When prices move out of the trading range, it signals that either supply or demand has started to get the upper hand. If prices move above the upper band of the trading range, then demand is winning. If prices move below the lower band, then supply is winning.

Pictorial price history

A price chart offers most valuable information that facilitates reading historical account of a security’s price movement over a period of time. Charts are much easier to read than a table of numbers. On most stock charts, volume bars are displayed at the bottom. With this historical picture, it is easy to identify the following:

• Market reactions before and after important events
• Past and present volatility
• Historical volume or trading levels
• Relative strength of the stock versus the index.

Assist with entry point

Technical analysis helps in tracking a proper entry point. Fundamental analysis is used to decide what to buy and technical analysis is used to decide when to buy. Timings in this context play a very important role in performance. Technical analysis can help spot demand (support) and supply (resistance) levels as well as breakouts. Checking out for a breakout above resistance or buying near support levels can improve returns.

First of all you should analyze stock’s price history. If a stock selected by you was great for the last three years has traded fl at for those three years, it would appear that market has a different opinion. If a stock has already advanced significantly, it may be prudent to wait for a pullback. Or, if the stock is trending lower, it might pay to wait for buying interest and a trend reversal.