Also important are sentiment indicators such as Put/Call ratios, bull/bear ratios, short interest, Implied Volatility, etc. Other avenues of study include correlations between changes in Options ( implied volatility) and put/call ratios with price. Examples include the moving average, relative strength index and MACD. Technicians also look for relationships between price/volume indices and market indicators. These indicators are used to help assess whether an asset is trending, and if it is, the probability of its direction and of continuation. Technical analysts also widely use market indicators of many sorts, some of which are mathematical transformations of price, often including up and down volume, advance/decline data and other inputs. Technicians using charts search for archetypal price chart patterns, such as the well-known head and shoulders or double top/bottom reversal patterns, study technical indicators, moving averages and look for forms such as lines of support, resistance, channels and more obscure formations such as flags, pennants, balance days and cup and handle patterns. Using charts, technical analysts seek to identify price patterns and market trends in financial markets and attempt to exploit those patterns. Technicians employ many methods, tools and techniques as well, one of which is the use of charts. More technical tools and theories have been developed and enhanced in recent decades, with an increasing emphasis on computer-assisted techniques using specially designed computer software.įundamental analysts examine earnings, dividends, assets, quality, ratio, new products, research and the like. Other pioneers of analysis techniques include Ralph Nelson Elliott, William Delbert Gann, and Richard Wyckoff who developed their respective techniques in the early 20th century. Azzopardi combined technical analysis with behavioral finance and coined the term "Behavioral Technical Analysis". With the emergence of behavioral finance as a separate discipline in economics, Paul V. Charles Dow reportedly originated a form of point and figure chart analysis.
Early technical analysis was almost exclusively the analysis of charts because the processing power of computers was not available for the modern degree of statistical analysis. It is exclusively concerned with trend analysis and chart patterns and remains in use to the present. Edwards and John Magee published Technical Analysis of Stock Trends which is widely considered to be one of the seminal works of the discipline. Schabacker published several books which continued the work of Charles Dow and William Peter Hamilton in their books Stock Market Theory and Practice and Technical Market Analysis. However, Dow himself never advocated using his ideas as a stock trading strategy. He believed patterns and business cycles could possibly be found in this data, a concept later known as " Dow theory".
Journalist Charles Dow (1851-1902) compiled and closely analyzed American stock market data, and published some of his conclusions in editorials for The Wall Street Journal. In Asia, technical analysis is said to be a method developed by Homma Munehisa during the early 18th century which evolved into the use of candlestick techniques, and is today a technical analysis charting tool. Some aspects of technical analysis began to appear in Amsterdam-based merchant Joseph de la Vega's accounts of the Dutch financial markets in the 17th century. The principles of technical analysis are derived from hundreds of years of financial market data. 7 Combination with other market forecast methods.2.2 Comparison with quantitative analysis.2.1 Comparison with fundamental analysis.