Developing a stock trading strategy requires taking into account many prevailing factors. Over the next few weeks we’ll be looking at what things you need to take into account both at the macro and the micro level.

The first thing to look at is the overall state of the economy (local and global) and to understand that your stock trading strategies will be different during different market phases or cycles.

You will need a method of identifying the different market phases more sophisticated than simply bull or bear. We’ll look at how to identify the different phases in the next series of posts.

Here we’ll just list them.

Bear: A sustained downtrend.

Bear Pullback: A consolidation of the Bear Market.

Bull Transition: A transition from Bear to Bull.

Bull: A sustained rising trend.

Bull Pullback: A consolidation of the Bull Market.

Bear Transition: A transition from Bull to Bear.

Dave J.

Hi,

I just added a review of Trading Master Plan, a comprehensive guide to technical analysis and money management while trading.

It’s a great guide and you can try it our for 10 days for just $4.95. Well worth a look.

Check our our Trading Master Plan Review here.

Todd B

Choosing the best online stock broker depends on what type of trader you intend to be and what services you require.

I have just published a couple of articles on Ezine articles to help you decide.

Choosing the Best Online Stock Broker

How to Compare Online Stock Brokers

Dave J

Using moving average indicators is the bedrock of stock trading analysis. From simple moving averages to more complex models, using moving average indicators gives you a good basis for your trading strategy.

I’ve just added a couple of articles on this as follows:-

Stock Moving Average

MACD Analysis

Dave J

Hi,

How to read stock charts is not difficult but it’s important to understand the basics. I’ve just added a couple of articles on how to read stock charts and spot stock trading trends.

You can check them out here:-

Reading Stock Charts

Stock Trading Trends

Todd B

One good way to re-enter an uncertain market is to use Exchange-traded Funds (which are a basket of shares) rather than trade in individual stocks.

We often use this approach when markets are in a transitional phase as they have been since March 2009.

There are a number of EFTs based on markets and sectors so it is a good way to place a small toe back in volatile markets.

Check out the chart below:-

stockcharts.com

As you can see the ETF went into a clear uptrend March with a pullback in June before returning to an uptrend. A trade triggered in March as the MACD line crossed the signal line would have provided an excellent return.

We’ll be doing more posts and articles on reading charts and using trading indicators as we go along. You can be sure we’ll be returning to EFTs.

Todd B

Hi,

I’ve just added an article on technical analysis.

Using Technical Analysis For Stock Trading

Obviously, Technical Analysis is a large topic. We’ll be adding more articles and blog posts as we progress but I’ve also suggested a couple of good books you might want to get hold of, particularly if you are new to stock trading.

Dave J

Hi,

I’ve just added three more articles regarding analysing the overall markets and particular companies to aid your stock trading. You can read them here:-

• Analyzing The Stock Markets
• Key Economic Indicators For Traders
• Using Fundamental Analysis For Stock Trading

Dave J

Hi,

I’ve just added some more articles on online stock trading covering an introduction to the markets, online brokers and the tools required for online trading.

• Online Stock Trading Markets
• The Main Stock Trading Markets
• Online Stock Trading Brokers
• Online Stock Trading Tools

Feel free to check them out.

Dave J

Hi,

I’ve just added the first three stock trading information articles to the site looking at what an online stock trader does, the different types of trader and how they differ from an investor. You can check them out here:-

• Online Stock Trading
• Online Stock Trader
• Online Stock Trader Types

Dave J