Symbol-Specific Pages: Support and DocumentationEvery symbol on Barchart.com—whether a Stock ticker symbol, a Futures contract, ETF, Fund or Forex contract—allows you to view symbol-specific data including a Quote, Chart, Barchart Opinions, and Technical Analysis. ETFs also include a Profile, and Stocks include Company Information. Find help and documentation on each page available once you're on a Symbol-specific page using the index below. This documentation explains how each page is set up, with tips on how to best use the information.
The Quote Overview page gives you a snapshot view for the selected symbol, including a summary quoteboard, chart snapshot, Today's Opinion, Support & Resistance, and recent news and commentary. Links are provided in each section to get more detail for the symbol. Real-Time and After-Hours Prices Barchart Members can get free real-time prices (provided by BATS Exchange) on individual U.S. equities quote pages. The real-time price displays along with the delayed price at the top of the quote page during trading hours, You must be logged into your free Barchart account to view real-time prices. Real-time prices are available during market hours (9:30 AM to 4:00 PM EST). After-hours prices will display, when available, and are on a 15-minute delay. Please note: The BATS Exchange currently accounts for approximately 11-12% of all U.S. equity trading each day. As a result, the real-time prices displayed may have minor discrepancies when comparing the information with other sites offering real-time data or with brokerage firms. If you require comprehensive real-time bids/asks/quotes, we offer a no-risk trial to one of our real-time products, such as Barchart Professional. Summary Quoteboard Quoteboard data fields include:
(1) = Only valid for U.S. Stocks Chart Snapshot A thumbnail of a daily bar chart is provided, with a link to open an customize a full-sized chart. You may also click on the chart image to go directly to the full-sized chart.
Today's Opinion The Opinion section gives the general rating of today's Barchart Opinion. This rating directly corresponds to the signal and percent shown on the Snapshot Opinion page, where a more precise opinion percentage will be shown. A symbol will be given one of five ratings:
Support & Resistance This section shows a snapshot view of the Trader's Cheat Sheet with the Last Price, and four separate pivot points (2 Support Levels, and 2 Resistance Points). The Last Price shown is the last trade price at the time the quote page was displayed, and will not update every 10 seconds (as the Last Price at the top of the Quote page does). The Last Price will update only when the page is refreshed.
Pivot points are used to identify intraday support, resistance and target levels. The pivot point and its support and resistance pairs are defined as follows:
where H, L, C are the current day's high, low and close, respectively. Support and Resistance points are based on end-of-day prices and are intended for the current trading session if the market is open, or the next trading session if the market is closed. Read more about interpreting Pivot Points in this "Tips on Technicals" article. Latest Headlines
A Detailed Quote includes today's activity plus the previous four days of trading prices. Included are the Open, High, Low, Last, Change, % Change and Volume figures.
You may also change the view from Daily Quotes (the past 5 Days) to show Weekly Quotes (the past 5 weeks) or Monthly Quotes (past 5 months) using the links at the top right of the page: The Detailed Quote page is divided into five sections:
Charts are available on every contract within the Barchart.com database. There are three types of charts available: Classic Charts, Technical Charts and Interactive Charts.
 Classic Charts are instantly recognizable as they have a green grid background, as shown to the right. When first displayed, a Classic Chart contains six months' worth of Daily price activity with the open, high, low, close, and change for each bar presented in a display box above the chart. Each data point can be viewed by moving your mouse through the chart. This is also true for all information displayed on the chart, including the results of studies, stock splits, earnings and dividends data.  Technical Charts are recognizable by their white background. When first displayed, a Technical Chart contains six months' worth of Daily price activity with the open, high, low, and close for each bar presented in a display box above the chart. Each data point can be viewed by moving your mouse through the chart. 
The vertical bars below the chart represent Volume and are color-coded to indicate market activity for the day:
On futures charts, the horizontal purple line above the Volume bars represents Open Interest.
Technical Charts have the option to create
Spread Charts , with the ability to choose from a number of common spreads (such as Corn 1-2, Soybeans Crush, and Wheat Butterfly), or allowing you to enter your own custom spread calculation (supporting all futures, equities, index and forex symbols). Interactive Charts allow you to add trend lines and personal annotations, then save all your changes in your My Charts page for the next time you view the chart. You can also pop the chart out to a separate window in your browser. Every Chart page contains key elements that allow you to easily modify the chart. ABOVE THE CHART
BELOW THE CHART A chart form resides below the chart. This is where you can change the symbol, style, time frame, and other chart settings. If you are logged in to your My Barchart account and viewing a Classic or Technical chart, you will also see a drop-down list for any Chart Templates you've previously saved. Simply select one from the list and the settings on the template will be applied to the current chart.
Interactive Charts allow you to turn your electronic charts into your own personal trading notebook. What a great way to keep track of your thinking processes, when you save your Interactive Chart to My Charts. Each time you return to your saved chart on your My Charts page — whether it's 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days, or 5 weeks later — you see all the studies, trend lines and other notations you've made.
System Requirements for Interactive Charts We recommend using Firefox (version 9 or below) or Chrome when viewing the charts. Firefox (version 10 and above) has a reported bug that interferes with the Java needed to run the charts. You can download these browsers for free at: Interactive Charts are built on the Java platform. At a minimum, you must be running Java 1.6 (or newer). To check you current version of Java, and to install the latest version if needed, please visit www.java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp. The following message will be displayed ONLY IF you are NOT running the latest version of java for your operating system: 
If an old version of Java is detected, you can click the link to "test the currently installed version of Java" as shown above. If your installed version of Java is working properly, you will see a message similar to the following. This indicates you should NOT have to download and install a new version of Java:
Features The Quick Chart Bar | Basic Chart Settings | The Crosshair / Data View Window The Quick Chart Bar
Basic Chart Settings
Interactive charts include a chart form below the chart that control the symbol, style, time frame, bar type, and chart size.
Interactive Charts include a Size setting — either Inline 700x450, Pop up 600x360, or Pop up 990 x 650. Choosing the Pop up setting, then clicking the "Draw Chart" button will pop the chart out of the framework of the Barchart.com site. You can use the pop up setting to start multiple chart instances, all in separate windows, each with different symbols and settings. The Crosshair / Data View Window
Click anywhere on the chart, and the crosshair and data view window are activated. The crosshair allows you to zero in on a particular bar or point on the chart, and the data view window displays the corresponding prices for that point in time. The data view window is docked at the bottom of each pane, either on the left or the right. Charts with multiple panes will have multiple data view windows. A typical example is shown below (where the top data view window shows the symbol prices and the price for the Exponential Moving Average (EMA), and the bottom data view window shows the value for the Volume study located in the second pane.)
If you need to move the data view window out of the way to see bars behind it, just click on it. The data view window will move to the opposite side of the page. Chart Panes
When you first request a chart, it has two panes: one at the top, showing the symbol's price data, and one at the bottom, showing Volume and Open Interest. Multiple panes may be needed if you intend to add additional studies that require a price scale independent of the symbol's price scale. The example below illustrates a chart with 4 panes. You can see that the panes below the symbol's data each have different price scales (making it undesirable to "overlay" those studies on top of the symbol's bars in the top pane).
Interactive Charts can have as many panes as you desire. Panes are added and deleted when you add or delete studies, and you can set the desired height of each pane using the Studies tool. Learn more about "Standalone" and "Overlay" studies. Scrolling the Data
When you first display an Interactive Chart, you will see a scroll bar on the horizontal axis, which represents the time series. The scroll bar, by default, is positioned all the way to the right. This means you are viewing the most recent price bars for the chart.
To view older data on the chart, simply move the scrollbar to the left. As you do this, you will notice that the vertical price scale is also adjusted for the new data being displayed:
You will also notice that two of the bars on the chart have special "caps" on them. This identifies the bars as having the highest and lowest price points currently in view on the chart. As you scroll through the horizontal time axis, new bars will be "capped" to quickly show you the highest and lowest prices for the period you are viewing.
The Tool Box | Studies | Trend Line | Text | Symbol The Toolbox
Back to Tools Studies
Interactive Charts allow you to add an unlimited number of studies to a chart. Studies are added to a chart pane. There are two types of studies: Overlay and Standalone.
When you click on the Studies tool icon in the tool box, a Chart Configuration window appears:
You will use the Chart Configuration window to
Please refer to the complete help document for Interactive Charts Studies to assist you in using this feature. Trend Line
The Trend Line Tool enables you to draw any kind of line on the chart, such as a trend line, the upper and lower lines of a channel, support and resistance lines, etc.
Move the Trend Line
Change the Line Length or Move the End Points
Drawing Horizontal or Vertical Lines You can turn any angled line into a perfectly horizontal or vertical line.
Delete a Line EITHER:
OR:
The Trend Line tool offers 4 additional options, available when you right-click on the line:
To access these options, right-click on the line drawn on the chart, then choose the option(s) you want from the menu shown. You may select as many of the options as desired:
Text Tool
The Text Tool enables you to make notes anywhere you want on the chart.
Move the Text Box
Symbol Tool
The Symbol tool allows you to place any of eleven different symbols on the chart. Your symbol choices include graphics for marking 1, 2, and 3 points; an up, down, left and right arrow; a thumbs up and a thumbs down symbol; and small crescent shapes to mark high points and low points.
Move a Symbol
Delete a Symbol EITHER:
OR:
Additional Right-Click Options The Symbol tool allows you to quickly CHANGE a symbol displayed on the chart. Simply right-click on the symbol drawn on the chart, then choose the new symbol you want from the menu shown:
Rectangle Tool
The Rectangle tool lets you place a rectangle anywhere on the chart to highlight an area of interest to you, such as a new high or low. This tool is especially helpful for highlighting sideways channels.
Move a Rectangle
Delete a Rectangle EITHER:
OR:
Ellipse Tool
The Ellipse tool allows you to place a circle or ellipse anywhere on the chart to highlight an area of interest to you.
Move an Ellipse
Delete an Ellipse EITHER:
OR:
Fibonacci
Fibonacci is a trend line tool, used to identify support and resistance. Fibonacci is drawn by placing a trend line between two points (usually a trough and opposing peak). Seven horizontal lines are then drawn. The lines intersect the trend line between the two reference points at the Fibonacci levels of 0.0%, 23.6%, 38.2%, 50.0%, 61.8%, and 78.6% and 100.0%. Background Thousands of years ago, mathematicians discovered that a certain number kept appearing throughout the natural world. It was the ratio describing how flower petals grew around their central stem, how a snail's shell swirled around its origin and how a galaxy extended from its core. More importantly for the financial community, this ratio described how consecutive numbers related to each other. This "golden ratio" of .618 was applied to numbers by the thirteenth century mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci. The Fibonacci sequence starts like this: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, ..., where any number in the sequence is equal to the sum of the preceding two numbers. The ratio of any two consecutive numbers starts out by oscillating around .618 and approaches it exactly as the sequence continues. So what does this have to do with trading? Actually, Fibonacci numbers are really one aspect of trading with Elliott Waves and Gann Angles. As we know, markets trend up and down, pause to retrace (consolidate, correct) then continue onward. These retracements often reclaim constant percentages of the original trend's move and can be predicted with good accuracy by the Fibonacci sequence. The ratios of consecutive numbers at the start of the sequence are 1.00, .50 and .67. Market technicians have long known that market retracements tend to end at the 50% level as well as at one and two thirds. A retracement of 100% of the move provides a very strong support/resistance line. All of these are Fibonacci levels. The one and two thirds levels are really approximations of the Fibonacci ratio 61.8% and its inverse. As you can see, Fibonacci levels are simply refined versions of what traders have been using for years. (Reference: "Real World Technical Analysis", published by Commodity Research Bureau)
Moving / Recalculating the Fibonacci Lines You can MOVE and recalculate Fibonacci lines to a different position on the chart. First, click on the trend line. The First and Second Point values are indicated as end points as shown here:
You can either use your mouse pointer to move one of the end points - this automatically recalculates the Fibonacci levels and adjusts the position of the line on the chart - or you can position your mouse pointer ON the line itself and drag/drop it to a different position on the chart.
Delete a Fibonacci Line EITHER:
OR:
Additional Right-Click Options The Fibonacci is initially drawn showing the prices associated with each calculation. You can remove the prices from the Fibonacci, if desired. Simply right-click on the Fibonacci Line drawn on the chart, then uncheck the Show Prices option from the menu:
Erase Tool
Use the Erase tool to delete any lines, marks or text that you've added to the chart.
Note: If you erase an object in error, HOLD your CTRL key and press Z. This reverses your last action and restores the object back to the chart. Saving to My Charts When you save an Interactive Chart to My Charts, you save all the studies, trend lines, annotations and other tools you've placed on the chart for your retrieval at a later time. Just go to the My Charts tab, and click on the chart you want to view and you will see the chart the way it was the last time you saved it. Remember, any time you change one of your saved charts from the My Charts program, you need to SAVE it again for any new changes to take effect. Note: If you save a Pop out Interactive chart to My Charts, it is saved as a pop out. Accessing that chart from the My Charts program will cause it to open in its own window. Read more about My Charts.Special Notes Here are some additional general pointers that will help you get the most from the Interactive Charts program.
Troubleshooting Internet Explorer 9 has experienced issues with Java that may cause the browser to lock up or crash, preventing the charts from loading. We recommend using Firefox or Chrome to view our web site. Both of these browsers work really well, and are lighter on your systems resources. You can download them for free at: Firefox - http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
Question: I get the following error when trying to view an Interactive Chart:
Resolution:
Interactive Charts come with sixty two different studies that can be added to a chart. There are two types of studies: Overlay and Standalone.
Available Studies | Add a Study | Delete a Study | Add a Pane | Delete a Pane
Please refer to Technical Chart Study Help for information on individual studies, their parameters, and application. The following Standalone Studies are available in Interactive Charts:
The following Overlay Studies are available in Interactive Charts:
Back to Interactive Charts Studies Menu Add a Study
Back to Interactive Charts Studies Menu Delete a Study
Back to Interactive Charts Studies Menu You may want to add a Standalone study whose price axis is radically different than any of the other panes already shown on the chart. When this is the case, you will want to add a new pane to the chart before adding the study.
Back to Interactive Charts Studies Menu
Back to Interactive Charts Studies Menu Panes are assigned a size, anywhere from 1 (smallest) to 5 (largest). This determines the amount of space the pane will take up within the confines of the chart height. Note: The chart dimensions are set in the Universal Chart Settings area, located at the bottom of the chart page.
Back to Interactive Charts Studies Menu When a chart has three or more panes, you may change the order in which panes appear. Note: The pane that contains the symbol's price data MUST appear at the top of the chart. You will not be able to change the position of this pane.
Back to Interactive Charts Studies Menu Each study is calculated using specific parameters. When a study is added, the parameters are displayed in the Chart Configuration box. You can change the value of any of the parameters. Note: When you change a study's parameter, it changes it ONLY on the chart to which it is applied.
Back to Interactive Charts Studies Menu Each study plots one or more lines on the chart using a standard set of colors. When a study is added, the colors that will be used are displayed in the Chart Configuration box. You can change any of these colors. Note: When you change the color for a study's line, it changes the color ONLY on the chart to which it is applied.
Back to Interactive Charts Studies Menu
Installation Java 6 isn’t installed by default. Java 6 is available as a simple Software Update, so if your system is up to date, Java 6 is installed, else upgrade your system. Note that Java SE 6 won’t appear for users on 32-bit Intel machines (Intel Core and Intel Core Duo) even if their systems are fully up to date. Activation Even though Java 6 is installed, Java 5 is still used by Mac OS X. You have to activate Java 6 by yourself. To do this, you need to run : You will get the following window:
Verification You can check that Java 6 is correctly activated. You need to run a terminal (Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal) and to type the command: java -version You should get this message:
Technical Charts are recognizable by their white background. When first displayed, a Technical Chart contains six months' worth of Daily price activity with the open, high, low, and close for each bar presented in a display box above the chart. Each data point can be viewed by moving your mouse through the chart.
Features of Technical Charts include:
Volume When Volume is selected (either on the chart form or as a stand-alone study), the bars are color-coded to indicate market activity for the day:
On futures charts, the horizontal purple line above the Volume bars represents Open Interest.
Indicators / Technical Studies Studies are found at the bottom of the chart form. You may add an unlimited number of studies to a Technical Chart. Studies are added to a new pane underneath the chart, except for those that are classified as "overlay" studies (Bollinger Bands, Simple, Weighted, Triple and Exponential Moving Averages, etc.). The Study drop-down list groups Overlays at the top of the list, and all other "stand-alone" studies at the bottom. View Technical Chart Study Help You can change technical indicator parameters directly from the charting application. First, select the study from the list. Then click on the indicator name to expand the selection. Click the
Nearest Futures and Continuation Charts
The information is back-dated to the start of the period, so on a 5-minute chart information in the period dated 12:45 includes all trades between 12:45 and 12:49 inclusive. A trade at 13:00 would be included within the next bar dated 13:00. Technical Charts allow you to choose from a number of common commodity spread chart calculations. You may also create your own custom spread chart by selecting up to three commodity contracts and multipliers, or by entering your own custom spread expression. The calculated results are displayed as a line chart:
To access spread chart settings, simply click the text highlighted in yellow at the top right of the chart form. Click the text again to toggle back to the standard chart form:
When opened, the chart form displays additional fields for spread charts:
When first displayed, a Classic Chart contains six months' worth of price activity with the open, high, low, close, change, and volume for each bar presented in a display box above the chart. Each data point can be viewed by moving your mouse through the chart. This is also true for all information displayed on the chart, including the results of studies, stock splits, earnings and dividends data. Features of Classic Charts include:
Splits are represented by the blue triangles on the bottom of the chart. Earnings are represented by the green triangles on the bottom of the chart. Dividends are represented by the purple triangles on the bottom of the chart. When you create a bar chart with an overlay, the first three numbers are the high, low and closing prices for the day, followed by "res = " which is short for results, then the results of the study selected as the overlay. Volume is represented by horizontal lines beneath the open, high, low, close barchart. A green volume bar represents the last price increased compared to the previous trading session and a red volume bar represents the last price decreased compared to the previous trading session. Studies Views Classic Chart Study Help To change the value of a study, first select it from the list. The parameter values used in the study display next to the study name. Enter the NEW parameters you wish to use for the study in the boxes to the right: Nearest Futures and Continuation Charts
The information is back-dated to the start of the period, so on a 5-minute chart information in the period dated 12:45 includes all trades between 12:45 and 12:49 inclusive. A trade at 13:00 would be included within the next bar dated 13:00.
My Barchart subscribers can generate a historical quote, chart, technical report, opinion, advanced opinion, snapshot opinion or price projection on any active stock symbol or commodity contract within our database.
For more information, see the help pages for My Barchart.
Historical data for stock symbols goes back to the start of our database - circa 1990. However, in order to generate a Trader's Cheat Sheet or any of the Opinions, a symbol needs a minimum of six month's data for the calculations.
The Technical Analysis Summary contain the results of 12 common technical analytics over different periods of time.
The analytics used are:
Time Frames
The Trader's Cheat Sheet is a list of 44 commonly used technical indicators with the price projection for the next trading day that will cause each of the signals to be triggered. The Trader's Cheet Sheet is based on end-of-day prices and intended for the current trading session if the market is open, or the next trading session if the market is closed.
The projected trigger prices of the signals are listed from highest price at the top of the page to lowest price at the bottom. These are shaded in green if the common interpretation of the signal is bullish, and shaded in red if the common interpretation of the signal is bearish. Each projection on the trading calendar can be examined to determine if the price change to each trigger level will tend to confirm or reverse the price move. Green areas above the current price will tend to provide support to confirm the upward move. Red areas below the current price will tend to provide resistance to confirm the downward move. Green areas below the current price will tend to provide support to limit the downward move. Red areas above the current price will tend to provide resistance to limit the upward move. The complete Cheat Sheet can be used to give an indication of market timing: green below the current price and red above will tend to keep trading in a narrow band, whereas green above the current price, or red below can produce a breakout where each new price level is confirmed by a new signal. Some of these signals such as Fibonacci Retracements have a fixed bullish or bearish interpretation. Others such as crossovers of a short-term and a long-term moving average are interpreted as a reversal of the current signal. Some of these projections will produce trigger prices so far removed from the price action that they can be ignored. The closer the trigger price to the current price, the more quickly it will come into play. A price projection of 0.00 is valid for a technical indicator if the calculation determines it will be impossible to trigger the signal. Barchart defines the 14-Day %K Stochastic Stalls as follows:
Barchart defines the 14-Day %D Stochastic Stalls as follows:
My Barchart members have the option to export the data to an Excel spreadsheet or as a .csv file. Note: A security needs to have at least 5 days of trading activity in order to generate a Trader's Cheat Sheet.
Unique to Barchart.com, Opinions analyzes a stock or commodity using 13 popular analytics in short-, medium- and long-term periods. Results are interpreted as buy, sell or hold signals, each with numeric ratings and summarized with an overall percentage buy or sell rating.
Each Opinion requires six months' worth of trading activity and run the prices through 13 different technical indicators. A link is provided at the top right of the page to Show or Hide Signal Strength and Direction. (View help for Signal Strength and Direction.) After each calculation the program assigns a Buy, Sell or Hold value with the study, depending on where the price lies in reference to the common interpretation of the study. For example, a price above its moving average is generally considered an upward trend or a buy. Each study links to a chart to give you a graphical interpretation of the result of the study. When on the Barchart Opinion page, a link is provided at the top right of the page to Show or Hide Signal Strength and Direction. Calculations
A Sell is assigned -1 point A Hold is assigned 0 points To keep the results in a more logical format, we factor the overall opinion by 1.04 to keep the end result in eighths, with the exception of a 100% buy or sells. This is why the opinions will be displayed {8%, 16%, ... 88%, 96% and 100%} rather the true calculated value over the number thirteen. At the bottom of the Opinion page is the price the Opinion studies are based on, along with the Support, Pivot Point, and Resistance numbers. Opinions are updated every ten minutes throughout the day, using delayed data from the exchanges. Barchart Opinions show traders what a variety of popular trading systems are suggesting in terms of going long or short the market.
The Opinions takes up to 2 years worth of historical data and runs these prices through thirteen different technical indicators. After each calculation the program assigns a buy, sell or hold value for each study, depending on where the price lies in reference to the common interpretation of the study. Each study links to a chart to give you a graphical interpretation of the result of the study. Note: A security needs to have at least 101 active trading days in order to generate an Opinion reading. Calculations
A Sell is assigned -1 point A Hold is assigned 0 points The indicator value is determined by adding up the totals for the different groups and dividing this sum by the number of studies in the group, The indicator is expressed in terms of a percentage. If the total is greater than zero, then this is a Buy. If the total is zero, then this is a Hold. If the total is less than zero, then this is a Sell. To keep the results in a more logical format, we factor the overall opinion by 1.04 to keep the end result in multiples of 8 percentage points, with the exception of a 100% buy or sell. This is why the opinion indicators will be displayed as 8%, 16%, ... 88%, 96% and 100%, for example, rather the exact percentage value. Signal StrengthThe signal strength is a measurement of the strength of the signal compared to its historical performance. The strength can be one of the following five readings:
Maximum is the strongest this signal has been in the historical period and Minimum is the weakest the signal has been in the historical period. Stronger signal strengths are less likely to change directions over the short-term than a weak signal. For example, a Maximum buy signal is less likely to change to a hold or a sell signal than a Weak buy signal. A hold signal does not have a signal strength. Signal Direction The Signal Direction indicates whether the Buy or Sell signal is strengthening or weakening. The buy/sell direction can be one of the following five readings:
Hold Signal Direction The Signal Direction for a hold signal can be one of the following five readings:
Barchart Opinions add market-timing information by calculating and interpreting signal strength and direction.
The page is divided into multiple sections:
A link is provided at the top right of the page to Show or Hide Signal Strength and Direction.
Chart and Indicator Performance Analysis Each indicator has a link to view a chart with the indicator applied. Clicking on the $ icon will show the performance summary of this trading strategy over the past 5-years: 
Signal Strength
Maximum is the strongest this signal has been in the historical period, and minimum is the weakest the signal has been in the historical period. The stronger a signal strength, the less volatile the signal. For example, a maximum buy signal is less likely to change to a hold or a sell signal than a weak buy signal. A hold signal does not have any strength. Signal Direction: The signal direction is a short-term (3-day) measurement of the current movement of the signal. Regardless if signal is a buy or sell, the direction is an indication of whether the most recent price movement is going along with the signal. The buy/sell direction can be one of the following five readings:
A buy signal with a "strongest" direction means a buy signal which is becoming stronger. Similarly, a sell signal with a "strongest" direction is becoming stronger. The direction goes with the signal. Hold Signal Direction The signal direction of a hold signal is a short-term (3-day) measurement of where the signal is heading, be it toward a buy signal or a sell signal. The hold direction can be one of the following five readings:
A bullish hold signal indicates that the signal is heading toward a buy configuration, and a bearish hold signal indicates that the signal is heading toward a sell configuration.
The Snapshot Opinion graphically lists overall opinion of today, yesterday, last week, and last month.
The Snapshot Opinion page also contains the Current and Previous Ratings box, which shows the overall strength and direction of the opinion taken from the Barchart Opinions page. Strength is calculated by adding the different "buy" signal strengths and subtracting the "sell" signal strengths, then factoring each number by the strength rating of the opinion. The direction rating is calculated by adding the different buy signal directions and subtracting the different sell signal directions, then factoring each number by the direction rating of the opinion. Signal strength and signal direction are independent of buy or sell ratings. The totals are then compared to the average overall totals for all stocks and given a percentage figure of where they lie in relation to the strengths and directions of all other stocks, 0-10 being the lowest and 90-100 being the greatest. The top 1% of all stocks are also highlighted yellow. The higher the rating, the stronger the overall signal strength or direction. Snapshot Opinions are updated every 10 minutes throughout the trading day.
The Trading Strategies / Performance Analysis page shows hypothetical trading results from each of the 13 technical indicators analyzed through the
Barchart Opinions. Using this page, you can see hypothetical profit or loss that would have resulted following the Buy/Sell signals given by the Opinions.
Each of the 13 indicators are back-tested for a period of five years, and the results are summarized for each indicator showing the total number of hypothetical trades, average days per trade and total profit or loss from the trades. The performance results of ALL the indicators are then summarized at the bottom of the page, to give you an Average Performance Summary of how the Opinions would have done over the past five years. In the example below, each indicator's hypothetical performance would have resulted in a profit except for the 20 Day Bollinger Bands:
To illustrate, let's look at the 50 - 100 Day MACD Oscillator from the example above. There were 9 hypothetical trades with a total profit of $16,558.00.
Indicator Performance Page
The Indicator Performance page contains the Entry Date, Action and Price of each hypothetical trade, and the corresponding Exit Date, Action and Price. It shows the number of days you would have been in the trade, and the resulting profit or loss. My Barchart members have the option to export the data to an Excel spreadsheet or as a .csv file by clicking on the "Export Data" icon Actions include Bought, Sold, and O.T.E (Open Trade Equity). Positions listed as O.T.E have yet to be closed out, waiting for the proper Buy or Sell signal from the Opinions. Using the example above, the 50-100 Day MACD Oscillator shows that a Buy of AAPL on 03/26/09 at $109.87 (following the Buy signal given by the indicator on that date) and a Sell on 8/31/10 at $243.10 (following the Sell signal given by the indicator on that date), resulted in a profit of $13,323.00 over 523 days. To view how the signal from this indicator looked on each of the Action dates, click on either the "Bought" or "Sold" link to view the chart with the 50-100 Day MACD indicator from those specific Entry/Exit dates:
Show Max Profit and Drawdown The link at the top of the Indicator Performance page allows you to show the Max Profit and Drawdown for each hypothetical trade. Max Profit and Drawdown are calculated as the greatest positive and negative difference between the opening price of the trade and the daily closing price for each day when the trade was in effect.
As on the previous Indicator Performance page, you may also view a chart of the trade with the indicator overlaid by clicking on the action of the trade (B = Buy, S = Sold, O = O.T.E). Note: Performance analysis is based on closing prices, and today's brand new Buy and Sell Opinions will not be reflected until the next trading day. Barchart allows you to view options by Expiration Date (select the expiration month/year using the drop-down menu at the top of the page). You may also choose from multiple views by clicking the appropriate link at the top of the page:
The Stacked View The Stacked View will group all Calls together, and then group all Puts together, ordered from the lowest Strike Price to the highest strike price. Calls are "stacked" on top of the Put. "In-the-money" Calls are Puts are highlighted. In-the-Money - Puts: Strike Price is greater than the Last Price
Fields displayed on the Stacked View include:
All option quotes are delayed at least 15 minutes, per exchange regulations. (1) Source: Investopedia Barchart allows you to view options by Expiration Date (select the expiration month/year using the drop-down menu at the top of the page). You may also choose from multiple views by clicking the appropriate link at the top of the page:
The Side-by-Side View The Side-by-Side View will group the Call and Put for the same Strike price together on the same line. Calls are always on the left, with Puts on the right. The Puts and Calls are ordered from the lowest Strike Price to the highest strike price. The Last Price paid for the stock symbol is listed sequentially in the table and highlighted.
Fields displayed on the Side-by-Side View include:
All option quotes are delayed at least 15 minutes, per exchange regulations. (1) Source: Investopedia Barchart allows you to view options by Expiration Date (select the expiration month/year using the drop-down menu at the top of the page). You may also choose from multiple views by clicking the appropriate link at the top of the page:
The Volatility & Greeks View The Volatility & Greeks View presents theoretical information based on and calculated using the Black-Scholes Option Pricing model. This view is similar to the Stacked view, where Calls are listed first, and Puts are "stacked" underneath, but the table displays a different set of information for the options trader to help monitor and analyze your risk. "In-the-money" Calls are Puts are highlighted. In-the-Money - Puts: Strike Price is greater than the Last Price
Fields displayed on the Volatility & Greeks View include:
All option quotes are delayed at least 15 minutes, per exchange regulations. (1) Source: Investopedia Barchart allows you to view options by Expiration Date (select the expiration month/year using the drop-down menu at the top of the page). You may also choose from multiple views by clicking the appropriate link at the top of the page:
The Spread View The Spread View presents three different spread groupings for your review: Bear Call Spreads, Bull Call Spreads, and Bull Put Spreads. Barchart calculates and displays 3 spreads in each of the breakouts which have a positive potential return Bear Call Spreads A type of options strategy used when a decline in the price of the underlying asset is expected. It is achieved by selling call options at a specific strike price while also buying the same number of calls, but at a higher strike price. The maximum profit to be gained using this strategy is equal to the difference between the price paid for the long option and the amount collected on the short option.
Data fields displayed include:
Bull Call Spreads An options strategy that involves purchasing call options at a specific strike price while also selling the same number of calls of the same asset and expiration date but at a higher strike. A bull call spread is used when a moderate rise in the price of the underlying asset is expected. The maximum profit in this strategy is the difference between the strike prices of the long and short options, less the net cost of options. Most often, bull call spreads are vertical spreads.
Bull Put Spreads A type of options strategy that is used when the investor expects a moderate rise in the price of the underlying asset. This strategy is constructed by purchasing one put option while simultaneously selling another put option with a higher strike price. The goal of this strategy is realized when the price of the underlying stays above the higher strike price, which causes the short option to expire worthless, resulting in the trader keeping the premium.
Data fields displayed include:
(1) Source: Investopedia
A Profile gives you information about a stock ticker symbol. It contains general information about the stock, such as Ticker Symbol, Exchange traded on, Company Contact Address/Phone, CEO/President, and Company Description. It also includes links to the Industry, Sector, and Index in which the stock belongs: the SIC or the Standard Industrial Classification code, industry groups, and major-market indices including the three Dow Jones indices and their composite, the Nasdaq 100, and the S&P 500, 100 and 400.
For stocks, all fundamental information is provided by Zachs Investment Research.
The Profile for an ETF includes general information about the Exchange Traded Fund, including the Ticker Symbol, Exchange on which it's traded, a Description, links to its Sectors, and the Underlying Index.
Also included is Investment Information with links to the fund family's website, and the ETF's Top 10 Holdings.
A Profile for a commodities contract contains the Contract Specifications. Specifications include:
Key Statistics are only available for stock ticker symbols. Fundamental information provided by Zacks Investment Research, Inc.
Ratios are only available for stock ticker symbols.
All financial data are taken from actual company annual reports - 10-K reports, 10-Q reports, interim reports, EDGAR filings, and public relations wire releases.
An Income Statement is only available for stock ticker symbols, either on a quarterly or annual basis.
All financial data are taken from actual company annual reports - 10-K reports, 10-Q reports, interim reports, EDGAR filings, and public relations wire releases.
A Balance Sheet is only available for stock ticker symbols, either on a quarterly or annual basis
All financial data are taken from actual company annual reports - 10-K reports, 10-Q reports, interim reports, EDGAR filings, and public relations wire releases.
News for individual stock symbols comes from The Associated Press (AP).
Commodities display news from a numnber of sources, including Brugler Ag News and InsideFutures Commentary. Forex news is delivered from The Associated Press (AP) and InsideFutures Commentary. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
to remove the indicator from the chart:
at the top right of the page.
