Stock Charting Software

Stock charts which allow for analyzing and predicting financial data are an integral part of stock trading because they help to identify trends thus promoting the buying and/or selling of certain stocks. When reading through websites designed for the stock market, one can see that much of the information is shown using charts and graphs. These days, it's important for both beginners and seasoned stock veterans to be able to read and interpret data from many different types of charts. Due in large part to the use of the Internet for trading, most stock charts are available on software applications, many of them for free.

The three charts most commonly used would be the line chart, the bar chart and the candle stick chart.

One advantage to the line chart is in it's simplicity. It uses a line to connect the dots which represent the closing price of a stock and while it's good for a beginner, it also doesn't show price movement so is not useful for trend research.

The bar chart offers more complete data like showing price fluctuations within a single day through the high and low bars. In addition, the bars can be colored to show the rise and fall of stock prices while a trend line of a bar chart shows the complete extent of the fluctuation. Stock charting software will allow you pick the colors, the specific types of charts and other useful tools to hone in on the exact information you are looking for.

The candle stick chart is perhaps one of the oldest and most widely used stock charts. It depicts a candle with a wick protruding from each end with the opening and closing determined by the length and position of the candle. It differs from a bar chart in that it spotlights the relationship between opening and closing prices

There is stock charting software available for every time of investor and if you need more information, most stock charting software has options you've never even thought of. You can track different features of your stock on the same graph, set up alerts when the price moves, get live streaming quotes or follow it performance history.