A bullish candlestick pattern that consists of three candles that have demonstrated the following characteristics:1. The first bar is a large red candlestick located within a defined downtrend.2. The second bar is a small-bodied candle (either red or white) that closes below the first red bar.3. The last bar is a large white candle that opens above the middle candle and closes near the center of the first bar's body.As shown by the chart, this pattern is used by traders as an early indication that the downtrend is about to reverse. A morning star pattern can be useful in determining trend changes, particularly when used in conjunction with other technical indicators. Many traders also use price oscillators such as the MACD and RSI to confirm the reversal.
Calculated by averaging the high, low, and closing prices, and multiplying by the daily volume. Comparing that result with the number for the previous day tells you whether money flow was positive or negative for the current day. When a stock is purchased at a higher price (an uptick), this is considered positive money flow. When the next trade is at a lower price (a downtick), this is considered to be negative money flow. If more shares were bought throughout the day on the uptick than the downtick, net money flow is positive because more investors were willing to pay a premium for the stock. If money flow is negative when a stock's price is rising, this could spell trouble.
An investment strategy that aims to capitalize on the continuance of existing trends in the market. The momentum investor believes that large increases in the price of a security will be followed by additional gains and vice versa for declining values. This strategy looks to capture gains by riding "hot" stocks and selling "cold" ones. To participate in momentum investing, a trader will take a long position in an asset, which has shown an upward trending price, or short sell a security that has been in a downtrend. The basic idea is that once a trend is established, it is more likely to continue in that direction than to move against the trend.
A theory suggesting that prices and returns eventually move back towards the mean or average. This mean or average can be the historical average of the price or return or another relevant average such as the growth in the economy or the average return of an industry. This theory has led to many investing strategies involving the purchase or sale of stocks or other securities whose recent performance has greatly differed from their historical averages. However, a change in returns could be a sign that the company no longer has the same prospects it once did, in which case it is less likely that mean reversion will occur. Percent returns and prices are not the only measures seen as mean reverting; interest rates or even the price-earnings ratio of a company can be subject to this phenomenon.
A little known technical indicator developed by John McGinley in 1990. The indicator attempts to solve a problem inherent in moving averages which use fixed time lengths (ie. a 10 or 21 period moving averages), a problem that causes those moving averages to be outrun in fast markets. The speed of the market is not consistent; it frequently speeds up and slows down. Traditional moving averages fail to account for this market characteristic. The McGinley Dynamic solves this problem by incorporating an automatic adjustment factor into its formula which speeds or slows the indicator in trending or trading markets.
The McClellan Summation Index is a long-term version of the McClellan Oscillator. It is a market breadth indicator, and interpretation is similar to that of the McClellan Oscillator, except that it is more suited to major trends. Usually, a small number of stocks making large gains characterizes a weakening bull market. This gives the perception that the overall market is healthy, but in reality it isn't, as rising prices are being driven by a small number of stocks. Conversely, when a bear market is still declining, but a smaller amount of stocks are declining, an end to the bear market may be near.
A statistical technique used to reduce the differences between variables in order to classify them into a set number of broad groups. In finance, this technique is used to compress the variance between securities while also allowing the person to screen for several variables. It is related to discriminant analysis, which, in simplified terms, tries to classify a data set by setting a rule (or selecting a value) that will provide the most meaningful separation. Although this technique requires a fair bit of mathematics, it is relatively simple. MDA allows an analyst to take a pool of stocks and focus on the data points that are most important to a specific type of analysis, shrinking down the other differences between the stocks without totally factoring them out. For example, MDA can be used for selecting securities according to the statistically-based portfolio theory set forth by Harry Markowitz. Properly applied, it will factor out variables like price in favor of values that measure volatility (beta) and historical consistency. Edward Altman is famous for using multiple discriminant analysis in creating the Altman-Z score.
A charting trend in which a stock price's high and low for the day exceed those of the preceding day. Depending on where the outside reversal occurs, it may signal either a bearish or bullish price movement. If the reversal occurs at the stock's resistance level, it is viewed as bearish. In contrast, if it occurs at the stock's support level, it is viewed as bullish.