3 Ways to Identify Support and Resistance - 5 Chart Examples

By: Elliott Wave International

Today's lesson considers three ways to identify price support and resistance in the markets you trade.

  1. Previous highs and lows
  2. Trendline support
  3. Fibonacci Ratios

These examples are adapted from Jeffrey Kennedy's Trader's Classroom service.

1) Uptrends terminate at resistance while downtrends terminate at support. Previous highs and lows often act as resistance and support.

In ALCOA Inc (AA), the September 2012 selloff found support near the previous July 2012 low.

The February 2013 peak occurred following a test of resistance at the January peak at $9.33. Continue reading "3 Ways to Identify Support and Resistance - 5 Chart Examples"

How The Oscars May Affect The Way You Look At The Markets

This past weekend I saw a great movie titled, The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, both of whom are nominated for Academy Awards, as is the movie itself.

The Imitation Game chronicles the life of Alan Turing, who is largely credited with developing the computers we use today. The story revolves around the incredible work that was done at Bletchley Park in England to break the German Enigma code. At the time, the Enigma code and machine were thought to be unbreakable. The breaking of this code helped shorten and end the war. Otherwise, I would be writing this post in German and not English (I was born in England right after WW2).

If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend seeing it and witnessing the extraordinary genius of a remarkable man named Alan Turing.

Why would I discuss and recommend a movie when MarketClub and INO.com are financial websites dealing with stocks and futures? The reason I bring this up is because I wanted to share with you some math today that can help you in the market.

Now don't worry this is not high-level mathematics, it has more to do with a remarkable sequence of numbers known as the Fibonacci sequence. Continue reading "How The Oscars May Affect The Way You Look At The Markets"

Chart of The Week - Corn to Move Higher

By: Chris Wilkinson of Longleaftrading.com

Corn has been in an upward trend since it put in its lows at the beginning of October. From there the chart has traded a series of measured Fibonacci levels all the way into profit targets each time. Last week's correction brings us right at the next Fibonacci sequence to take a long position and stick with this trend.

For a review of the previous Fibonacci sequence that traded into profit targets we draw the Fib tool from the lows of November 19th (362.5) up to November 28th highs (393.75). With this drawn you can see the market pulled back and found support right on the 50% level and traded directly into its first and second profit targets, the -23.6% Fib level and the -61.8% Fib level. See the Chart below.

4 Hour Chart Corn

Now that the previous move has corrected we continue to draw the next series until we get to one that fails the 61.8% level. A failure happens when we get a strong close on a large time candle. An hourly close or higher is sufficient to call it a failure. Normally smaller time frames will trade back and forth around those levels so I look to larger time frames for confirmation. If a failure happens it is assumed the trend is over and the next one begins in the opposite direction.

The next move found by using the Fibonacci tool is drawn from the support of the previous move. We use the lows of December 3rd (377.25) and draw it all the way up to the new highs on December 29th (417). See Chart Below. Continue reading "Chart of The Week - Corn to Move Higher"

Today's Fibonacci Points For Apple Inc. and Gold

Yesterday was one of those "OMG" days where everybody ran for the exit at the same time. When that happens, there is indiscriminate selling of almost every market and this can present an opportunity for smart traders to step in and either add to positions or take new positions in the direction of the major trend.

Such is the case in Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and spot gold (FOREX:XAUUSDO). Both of these markets have pulled back into Fibonacci levels that should offer good support and a turnaround opportunity. In today's video, I will be examining the recent pullback in gold and Apple, which is flirting with the $100 a share level.

I'll also be looking at Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), who just made a new high for the week today after it announced some very positive earnings yesterday. I will share with you my upside target zone for this market and it may surprise you. I'll also be looking at two of my favorite stocks, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Are they a buy right now?

Have a great weekend everyone and every success with MarketClub,
Adam Hewison
President, INO.com
Co-Creator, MarketClub

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Implodes

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) was one of the top performing stocks in 2013. Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) reported on Thursday that total revenue and sales at its established US stores fell in the all-important holiday season due to intense discounting by rivals, supply problems for key products and generally weaker traffic in December. After starting out the trading year of 2013 at $12, this stock performed like the energizer bunny and kept going and going and going for most of the year. It hit a high of $44.60 on November 13th, a month before the all-important holiday season reality set in.

What Does This Company Do?

Best Buy Co., Inc.(NYSE:BBY) operates as an e-commerce and physical retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, Europe, Canada, and China.

Was Best Buy's Implosion Predictable?

No one can predict with 100% certainty what's going to happen in any given market. What technical analysis can do, and does do very well, is put the odds in your favor and give you a high degree of confidence that something is going to happen. It also acts to protect your capital when things go wrong in a market. That is done through the use of money management and discipline, both of which I talk about frequently on this blog. Let me illustrate for you how two simple technical tools would have helped you avoid today's disaster in Best Buy. Continue reading "Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Implodes"