What is technical analysis?

Introduction

Technical analysis is one of the most widely used methods for dissecting how markets move by examining past and present price behaviour.

For new traders, learning technical analysis provides structure by helping you recognise trends, plan entries and exits, and overall make more educated decisions. In this lesson, you will learn what technical analysis is, the principles behind it, and the most common chart types and indicators.

What is technical analysis?

Technical analysis is a trading approach that studies price action and trading volume to forecast potential future movements. It relies on visual tools, such as charts and indicators, to analyse market behaviour, and identify trading opportunities.

Unlike fundamental analysis, which focuses on economic factors, technical analysis relies entirely on past price behaviour to anticipate future movements. Traders use these insights to make decisions about opening, managing, or closing positions.

Core principles of technical analysis

1. 1. Price reflects everything: Market prices already factor in information like economic events, market sentiment, and trader behaviour
2. 2. History repeats itself: Price patterns and market reactions often recur because traders respond similarly during certain conditions
3. 3. Markets move in trends: Prices typically move in one of three directions: upward, downward, or sideways

Types of charts

Charts offer a visual representation of how price changes over time. This is essential for reading market structure, spotting trends, and recognising shifts in momentum. Choosing the right chart type can impact how you interpret trends and make entry/exit decisions.

Line chart

A line chart connects closing prices across a selected timeframe.

Why traders use it:

• • Simple and easily comprehensible
• • Ideal for beginners
• • Great for tracking overall market direction

Limitations:

• • Only shows closing prices
• • Lacks detail on intraday movements

Bar chart

A bar chart displays each period’s open, high, low, and close (OHLC). Each bar shows:

• • Open: left tick
• • Close: right tick
• • High: top of the bar
• • Low: bottom of the bar

Why traders use it:

• • Offers more detail than a line chart
• • Helps identify volatility and price ranges

Limitations:

• • May appear complex for new traders

Candlestick chart

The candlestick chart is the most popular chart type among traders due to its clear visual structure. Each candlestick displays:

• • Open and close (the candle body)
• • High and low (the wicks or shadows)

Why traders use it:

• • Easy to read at a glance, shows whether buyers or sellers are in control
• • Detects turning points (swing highs and swing lows)
• • Forms patterns such as Doji, Hammer, and Shooting Star

Limitations:

• • Short term predictive power offers limited value for long-term planning
• • While it can be visually engaging, it requires some experience to interpret them

Popular technical analysis indicators

Indicators allow traders to interpret price movement and strengthen their analysis. Here are four commonly used tools across major trading platforms.

Moving Average (MA)

A moving average shows the average price over a set number of periods.

Why traders use it:

• • Helps identify trend direction
• • Smooths out short-term price fluctuations
• • Crossovers may signal potential trend changes

Relative Strength Index (RSI)

RSI measures momentum and identifies potential overbought (above 70) and oversold (below 30) conditions.

Why traders use it:

• • Helps anticipate reversals
• • Confirms trend strength

Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD)

MACD indicates the relationship between two moving averages and provides insight into trend momentum.

Why traders use it:

• • Spot potential trend shifts
• • Observe momentum changes
• • Look for signal line crossovers

Volume

Volume shows how much of an instrument is traded during a given timeframe.

Why it matters:

• • High volume supports strong price movements
• • Low volume may indicate weakening momentum
• • Useful for confirming breakouts

How technical analysis can help you

Through technical analysis, you can understand how the market performs, to be able to make informed decisions while trading.

Identify trends

Charts help determine trends - whether price is moving upward, downward, or sideways. This forms the basis of most trading strategies.

Recognise support and resistance

Support and resistance are price levels where the market has previously struggled to move past. Support is where the price may stop falling and resistance is where price may stop rising. Traders use these levels to plan entries, exits, and stop-loss placements.

Confirm signals with indicators

Indicators can validate what you see on the chart. For example, a MA supports trend direction, RSI highlights momentum and MACD shows shifts in strength.

Manage risk more effectively

Technical analysis allows you to identify logical stop-loss levels, track volatility, and avoid trades during unstable conditions.

Combining charts and indicators

Charts provide structure, while indicators confirm what price may be signalling. Together, they create a clearer picture of market behaviour.

Here’s a simple approach to consider for beginners:

1. 1. Track trend direction using price action
2. 2. Use an MA to confirm the trend
3. 3. Check RSI or MACD for momentum
4. 4. Use support and resistance for entry and exit planning
5. 5. Place a stop-loss based on chart structure

Keeping your approach simple at the beginning helps you avoid over-analysis.

Conclusion

Technical analysis offers a clear and visual way to study the markets. By learning how charts work and how indicators support decision-making, you can better identify trends, spot potential reversals, and manage risk more effectively.

For beginners, mastering the basics like trend direction, chart types, indicators, and key levels, creates a strong cornerstone for developing a consistent trading approach. In the following lessons we will explore trends, support and resistance, and more to help you refine your technical analysis skills.