Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Secret Factor That Helps You To Spot Stock Market Trends

When you invest in the stock market, you want to make sure your investment comes back with a nice profit. That is, after all, the whole point of investing in the stock market. When you watch a certain sport such as hockey, you can begin to see patterns in the players, the games and where it will all fall into place in future games and even at the end of the season. If you have a left handed player, you will find that they will tend to try to get the puck in the net at a certain angle. A good opponent would pay attention to this and take advantage of it by swinging his stick towards the puck in a specific angle to get the puck away from his opponent before he has a chance to hit it.

The stock market actually has some patterns and trends in it that you can recognize if you pay close attention. If you know where the stock market is headed, you will be much better off than if you were not paying attention at all. Investing in the stock market seriously is not about just trying to get lucky. It is about calculated risks that will get you a return on your investment.

What is the price and what is the volume? You need to know this information. When you know these two things and put them together, you will be able to see the larger picture - where the stock market is headed. Are there more sellers in the market or more buyers in the market? Knowing the volume of the market and the price of the market can tell you how many people are involved and where it is headed.

The secret indicator you should pay attention to spot stock market trends is the daily sales volume. When it is high, and prices are rising, it is the sign that the market is rising in a strong trend. However, a high volume with falling prices means that the market is decreasing and will continue to do so. If prices are going up or down on low volume this means that investors are not keen to commit to the stock market at that price and market makers are moving the price to try to encourage trading activity.

Just keep your head in the stock investing game, you will be able to spot the latest market trends to keep your investments profitable remember the trend is your friend. You never want to be short in a rising stock market or long in a falling stock market.

By: Roger Overanout

All You Need To Know About Stock Investing For The Beginner

Investing as a beginner? Nearly everybody has heard stories about people making millions overnight using the stock market. In reality, there are many myths about investing in stocks. It is not always straightforward, sometimes even professional investors need to rely on a hunch. Stock investing can be, however, very rewarding and a lot of fun if you're prepared to take the time to learn about stock market investing.

To make money on the stock market, you are going to need patience, practice, skills, experience and education. It is vital to research the companies you are planning to invest in and find out everything you can about them. To do this there are several sources of information available to you. You can use the media, magazines or browse online for information.

Look for information on mergers, new product launches and acquisitions which might affect the stock price of the company in question. Knowing about such things beforehand can help you to avoid risky stock investing. Check how the company has been performing on the stock market over the past few years, not just how it is performing right now. Make sure you use reliable sources for information and avoid friends with "hot tips" - this is your money, after all and when you are on investing on the stock market you want to make sure you're acting from a position of knowledge. It is a bad idea to just invest in stocks at random. This is like going to a roulette table and putting every dollar you have on red.

You should begin with very small investments. If you start off with a large investment and immediately lose it, this might put you off stock investing for life. Learning the basics, increasing your confidence and getting experience is vital, some people recommend paper trading but in reality if you have not actually risked any money then you do not get a true feeling of stock market trading.

It can be a good idea to invest in a company you have some knowledge about. This will not only make it more interesting to you but you will be able to understand the way the company works and the factors that cause fluctuations in that industry.

Diversity can be a good idea when it comes to investing in stocks. You might not want to risk all your money on one company's shares. Maybe you will want to buy stocks in drug companies, electrical companies and entertainment - or a different combination. Putting all your eggs in one basket might result in losing all your investments overnight. Spreading the investment spreads the risk when it comes to stock market investment.

Do not base your purchasing solely on price. Perhaps a $3 stock may seem like a good idea if the company is doing well and expanding. But a stock costing $300 might bring you better returns. Of course, this does depend on how much you are willing to invest.

You might wish to seek advice from a stockbroker. Stockbrokers can offer good advice and obviously have much more experience than the average stock investing beginner. They do, however, charge fees, so it is up to you whether you want to use a broker or not. They can be useful but are not compulsory.

Perhaps the most important advice for the stock investing beginner is never to risk more money than you can afford to lose, no matter how safe the potential investment seems. There is always a degree of risk involved in stock investing and nothing is 100 percent guaranteed.

By: Roger Overanout

What Is A Bull Stock Market And Bear Stock Market

Understand the jargon you may not understand what the term bull market or a bear market means. Stock prices are reflected in what is known as the financial market trends. These trends can best be demonstrated in a price chart and the purpose is to pick the best investment and trading opportunities. You may ask what drives these trends. Buyers and sellers are the driving factor, they are also known as the bulls and the bears.

When we say that it is a bull or bear stock market we are talking about the driving force behind the market. The bulls are the buyers so that would make the sellers the bears. Incidentally when we use the term bull or bear we could also be talking about specific securities and sectors.

A bull market is a market that is associated with investor confidence. As a result of this increase in confidence investors are more likely buy in anticipation of making a capital gain. The most memorable and longest running bull market was seen in the 1990s. This was the time when the U.S. and other global markets saw their fastest growth spurt ever.

Just to recap, in a bull stock market the investors are buying. They are looking for more ways to increase their capital gains. So then if it is a bear market, the opposite would be true. Investors will be more pessimistic about buying and are more inclined to sell their stocks to cut their losses. A bear stock market does not come about from a small decline, but a considerable drop in prices over a prolonged period of time. From 1930 to 1932 was probably the most infamous bear market in history. This bear market was the beginning of the Great Depression. There was a much less severe bear market from 1967 - 1983, which included the energy crises of the 1970s and the unemployment surge in the 1980s.

As we already stated a bear stock market does not come about as a result of a small dip in stock prices, it indicates sizable fall in prices over a prolonged period of time. It is most commonly accepted that in order for the stock market it to be considered a bear market there has to be a price fall of at least 20% in a key stock market index from a recent peak that happens over at least two months.

To summarize a bull stock market has investor looking to buy to increase their capital gains. They will be seeking out the best investment opportunities. A bear stock market has these same investors looking to sell their stocks so they can minimize their losses. Historically the U.S. has been a bull market. That is one of the factors why we have been considered the land of opportunity.

By: Roger Overanout