Mike Estrey

Many stockmarket technical analysts and chart watchers use the well known Relative Strength Index (RSI) as a reliable overbought/oversold indicator, but there are various other highly useful tools out there, and an excellent and simple one is the Williams Percent Range technical indicator.

Most CFD traders in the UK relate commodities to the harder metals and oil issues, but many CFDs are available in the important area of ‘softs’.

Every so often, especially when markets are extremely volatile, the financial press remarks on the VIX index, which is considered one of the best ‘fear and greed’ indicators in the US market.

Transactions in crude oil are carried out all over the world, and there can be a bewildering variety of contracts and vehicles at different prices, so it can be confusing for traders looking for a suitable benchmark.

Traders in CFD’s have a wide choice of indices, including the Nasdaq, Dow Jones and S&P500. Each index is calculated differently, and it is therefore worth tracking them independently.

Examining the CRD Index is a good way of judging overall trends within the commodities market. Measuring price movements of basic commodities in markets presumed to be influenced early on by economic changes is one of the indicators worth following.

There are many different variations of orders in the stock market, with Market (at best), Limit Orders and Stop Orders forming the primary types. Variations of this include Market if Touched, One Cancels the Other, Fill or Kill, Good for the Day and Good if Cancelled. Being aware of these order types and variations will increase the precision and security for any trader.