Shares Explained

Shares and the stock market explained simply!

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How to choose a share

You may wonder how to choose a share. First of all it helps if you know what market you are going to buy shares from, then you can start picking shares from your chosen market.

Traders go through two main processes when choosing shares. These processes are called fundamental and technical analysis. Continue reading to learn about the two types of analysis and how you can start applying them to your trading.

Fundamental analysis

Fundamental analysis is about evaluating companies financial health. This is an important stage in picking a stock. Simply put, you do not want to be buying shares in companies who are making losses as their share price is very likely to go down.

Read more on fundamental analysis.

Technical analysis

Technical analysis is the analysis of a company’s stock performance through the use of stock price charts. Technical analysis involves studying chart patterns, technical indicators and resistance lines to find out whether a stock is likely to rise or fall.

Countless studies have been undertaken on technical analysis to find the most profitable chart patterns, thus resulting in courses, books and e-books, which all offer you technical analysis techniques and strategies for making regular consistent profits.

Note: Technical analysis is not often used by long term investors as they are interested in the long term price movement of a stock, not the short term price patterns. Find out more about different styles of trading.

Read more on technical analysis.

Next steps

The reason for going through these two processes is to gage the long term (fundamental) and short term (technical) prospects of a stock. If both fundamental analysis and technical analysis point in the right direction then it likely to be a good time to enter the stock trade.

To help with fundamental and technical analysis there are stock market fantasy trading accounts which provide screening (fundamental analysis) and trading software that provide charting facilities (technical analysis).

We strongly recommend you start with practice trading and then take a course in trading shares before trading with real money. You can browse our recommended courses here.

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Read our full review of plus500...

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Stock Market Basics

Shares explained
Stock charts explained
Stock dividends explained
Stock Split Explained
Stock attributes
Why do shares move up and down?
How do I read a stock quote?
Understanding company financial statements
Rights issue of shares

The Process of Buying Shares

The process of buying shares
Why buy shares
Age limit for trading shares
Custodial account
Tax rules on shares
Styles of trading
Buying (going long)
Shorting stock (going short)
Stop losses explained
Picking shares
Fundamental analysis
Technical analysis
Portfolio/Watchlist
Practice accounts
Brokerage accounts
Trading software
Newsletters

Stock Market Basics

Stock market explained
Stock exchanges
Indexs
Sectors
Bull/bear market
What market to buy shares
Factors that affect the stock market
When does the stock market open?

Stock Market Games

Stock market 60
Stock market suicide

Stock Market Trading Guide

Step by step guide to trading shares
Trading software
Newsletters/tipsites
5 golden rules when trading shares
The risk:reward ratio
Leverage

Advanced Stock Market Trading

IPO (Initial Public Offering)
Automated trading
Bonds/gilts
Exchange traded funds (ETF's)
FOREX
Mutual Funds
Penny shares
Spread betting
Options Explained

Start Trading Today

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Plus500 review

Trading courses

Recommended trading courses

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