Bad news can send stocks sharply lower, and that initial down move based on the news is often just the first step in a steeper decline. But unless the company is destined for bankruptcy, the stock will eventually stop falling and turn up. That’s the idea behind bottom fishing. There are some trading strategies that can be used to spot when the selling has gone too far and an upward bounce should be expected. But keep in mind that bottom fishing should… Read More

Bad news can send stocks sharply lower, and that initial down move based on the news is often just the first step in a steeper decline. But unless the company is destined for bankruptcy, the stock will eventually stop falling and turn up. That’s the idea behind bottom fishing. There are some trading strategies that can be used to spot when the selling has gone too far and an upward bounce should be expected. But keep in mind that bottom fishing should only be done in a bull market when stocks have a stronger tendency to rise.#-ad_banner-# The first step is to identify when the selling may have peaked. In a downtrend, it is very common to see the selling pressure accelerate. As prices fall, more and more traders want to sell and the result is a fast down move. When the selling stops, we often see prices bounce higher, and this is a good time to buy if we can find rules that define this pattern. To find… Read More

Stock market traders have seen a strong bull market push prices up by more than 20% since the start of the year. Grain markets have delivered even bigger gains, with soybeans up more than 45% and corn up about 33% in a little more than nine months. One of the worst droughts in history is behind the move in grain prices, but those markets appear to have topped and the news has turned more optimistic. As farmers started harvesting their crops, many seem to be… Read More

Stock market traders have seen a strong bull market push prices up by more than 20% since the start of the year. Grain markets have delivered even bigger gains, with soybeans up more than 45% and corn up about 33% in a little more than nine months. One of the worst droughts in history is behind the move in grain prices, but those markets appear to have topped and the news has turned more optimistic. As farmers started harvesting their crops, many seem to be surprised that the yield is better than expected. Reports also indicate that farmers are harvesting the crop quicker than usual, and that could lead to supply building up in the short term and driving prices lower. In addition to the fundamentals, there is a bearish technical picture building in corn. Commercials, the insiders of the futures markets, have been bearish while speculators have been buying while the price has formed a topping pattern. Read More

Traders seem to like the Fed‘s decision to implement QE3 and boosted the prices of both stocks and gold. There was one very big winner in QE2, and now it’s time to buy that… Read More

In its third round of quantitative easing, the Federal Reserve will be buying at least $40 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities a month with no end in sight for those purchases. Their action decreases the risk of mortgage securities since we know… Read More

Most technical indicators are designed to predict trend changes or confirm the direction of the trend. Standard indicators, like MACD or RSI, all tend to offer trading signals at the… Read More

Politics may not be something traders want to be concerned with, but it is a factor they should be aware of. Political pundits expect this to be a close election, perhaps similar to the nail-biter we saw in 2000. That year, the… Read More

Small-cap stocks, especially microcap stocks with market caps of less than $300 million, offer traders the largest potential gains and come with the greatest potential risk. But there are several ways traders can… Read More

In response to news from central banks in Europe and the United States, stocks and gold ended the week with solid gains following big moves on Thursday and Friday. Easing has been bullish in the past, and traders have learned they… Read More

After a steep decline last fall, metal markets traded sideways for months and many traders seemed to move on to other opportunities. In recent weeks, gold broke out of a consolidation pattern, leading to higher prices. Read More

The last week of August ended with big moves on Thursday and Friday. Stocks look ready to break out of their dull trading range now, and a detailed indicator analysis favors an upside breakout. Stocks gain after Bernanke’s speech SPDR S&P 500… Read More