Technical analysis is a method used to evaluate financial markets and securities by analysing statistics generated by market activity, such as price and volume. Unlike fundamental analysis, which focuses on a company's financial and economic fundamentals, technical analysis is based on the idea that past market trends and activity can potentially predict future market performance.

Technical analysis can be applied to any financial market, including stocks, bonds, commodities, and currencies. There are many different techniques used in technical analysis, such as chart patterns, technical indicators, and trend analysis.

Chart patterns involve analyzing the visual patterns that appear on price charts, such as head and shoulders patterns or trend lines. Technical indicators are mathematical calculations based on market data that can be plotted on a chart to help identify trends or potential changes in direction. Trend analysis involves identifying the overall direction of the market or security and making trading decisions based on that trend.

If you would like to learn more about technical analysis, you can watch this 6 minute video that explains the use of technical analysis, covering some of the basic concepts and the most commonly used tools and techniques.

The second video available at right is a 60-minute version of the shorter one shown above. It goes into more detail about each aspect of technical analysis. It touches on:

• definition for an uptrend,
• share price downtrends to beware of,
• support and resistance levels,
• chart patterns,
• candlestick charts,
• chart indicators (eg. Moving Average, MACD, RSI, P-SAR),
• sample strategies,
• Fibonacci,
• Elliott Wave,
• Gann and
• charting software.