Stock Research Tools and Trading Education

Stock research is a daunting task that must be done on at different levels on a daily basis. If you are buying and selling stocks without the proper analysis and insight, you are probably losing a lot of money - a lot more money than you should be.

Stock analysis isn't an expert science by any means, but if you don't know what stock tools are available to you to help you make buying and selling decisions, then you won't do very well at all. Stock prices are constantly moving. They are living, breathing entities that move for a reason.

Your research will reveal trends, changes in those trends, and provide signals for buying and selling stocks at the correct time.

Stock Research Tools Available to All Investors

When you sign up for a brokerage account (an account that allows you to buy and sell stocks, options, and other investment options), they generally provide all of the research tools you need to make an informed decision. They also provide basic information on how to use these tools, but they don't tell you exactly which tools to use and how to make your final decision to make a purchase or get out of a trade.

Tool #1: Stock Charts

The first tool that you should be using every day is stock charts. A stock market chart shows all of the pricing data for a particular stock traded publicly on the stock market. You can see real time and historical data and use the candles to signal swings in the trend.

With that said, when you are studying an individual stock for a potential trade, you should not only look at the individual stock in the chart, but also look at the overall market index to see if it is in an uptrend. You should also look at the associated stock sectors which contain the stock you are looking at to make sure other similar securities are trending the same.

Tool #2: Chart Studies and Indicators

Charts have built in studies or technical stock market indicators that help you determine many features of a stock. These studies are designed to show trend shifts and potential price movements in either direction.

There are literally thousands of signal and trend studies available to help investors make good trading decisions.

Tool #3: Stock Market Software Applications

Stock research can be tested and practiced by utilizing various stock market software applications. There are games, trading simulators, and tracking aids to help improve and perfect your trading activities.

Before you ever trade your first dollar, you should be very proficient with stock research. The best way to do this is to use software designed to be as realistic as possible to test theories and apply what you learn along the way.

There are also many tools that help track your portfolio, provide real live data on stocks you are tracking, and help organize your portfolio and potential stocks on your list.

Stock Analysis Education

Research techniques and strategies for stocks are available to help give you a winning edge in the vast stock market. In the course of your investing activities, you will come across several of these strategies that people use to make all of their decisions.

Don't settle on just one chart tool or study to make your decisions. Try several of them and use the ones you are most comfortable with.

Some parts of analysis are best done by hand. Determining the trend of a stock's price over time can help keep you safe during an active trade, or can tell you if it is safe to invest. Here's some information regarding how to determine a stock trend.

Another great thing you can do with a stock to make sure the share price is in check with where it should be, you should always determine the value of stocks before buying them. Some stocks get hyped up and the price is driven up and up when it shouldn't go up at all. Understanding stock valuation will help you avoid trading these overinflated stocks.

Learn more about stock analysis by using studies proven to help make stock market predictions.

Stock research is a must if you want to make money from your investments. Do the learning first, then apply it to your stock market investing. Don't learn from the mistakes you make by not thoroughly researching a stock before you trade.