What is technical analysis?
Technical analysis is a means of examining and predicting price movements in the financial markets, by using historical price charts and market statistics. It is based on the idea that if a trader can identify previous market patterns, they can form a fairly accurate prediction of future price trajectories.
It is one of the two major schools of market analysis, the other being fundamental analysis. Whereas fundamental analysis focuses on an asset’s ‘true value’, with the meaning of external factors and intrinsic value both considered, technical analysis is based purely on the price charts of an asset. It is solely the identification of patterns on a chart that is used to predict future movements.