WANTED: TECH. ANALYSIS SOFTWARE RECOMMENDATIONS
Giri Padmanabhan
I am looking for recommendations on various technical analysis software
packages available in the marketplace today. I would appreciate hearing pros
and cons of each if possible. My needs are as follows:
1) Primary use for end-of-day analysis
2) powerful charting
3) ease of use
4) Useful features of each
5) What you like about the package that you use
6) MS-WINDOWS interface
7) Ablility to download end-of-day data
8) breeath of technical inmdicators built-in
9) others..
Packages I have seen advertised in Investor business daily so far include
MetaStock for windows, SuperCharts 3.0, Wall Street Analyst 2-CD, Telescan
Investor's Platform. Your recommendations/experiences are valuable to all.
I am willing to post a summary of all responses. Please take a moment to
respond.
Thank you in advance,
--
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Giri Padmanabhan :: Auspex Systems :: gi...@auspex.com (408) 986-2379
"Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not those of Auspex"
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watc...@terraport.net
A program to consider is AIQ. The information provider is Dial Data for end of
day market information. The stock information can then be downloaded from AIQ
to Metastock for further analysis. The program runs in Windows and has
considerable flexibility in analysis of stocks, groups and market sectors, with
written commentary on each stock and the market, providing buy and sell signals.
A GoldTrader
trend lines, dynamic support & resistance. Then you will need an
oscillator to spot possible turning points, and moving averages to
confirm trends. Most importantly you will need some sort of system
of Stops that follow price.
1. Trend Lines
2. Momentum Oscillator
3. Crossover
4. Stops
To draw Trend lines you'll need a through understanding of
repetative price patterns. We all have heard of the bible Edwards &
Magee, well it probably got that name because its a text book, bible
sized monster. The truth is its an encyclopedia. Better to start
with John R Hill's books (704) 697-0273 about interpeting Bar Charts.
You'll see why. He shows you how to see the balance of the forces
at work in the market. SuperCharts has paintbar and show me studies
that can be used to spot chart patterns. MetaStock does not have
pattern recognition indicators or anything to spot chart patterns.
No matter what SuperCharts and MetaStock, promise you in there
ads, they do not extend trend lines to the right. As any scientist
can explain the present is center the past can be diagramed as to the
left. The right has not arrived yet. Both systems Super & Meta can
draw trend lines on history up to a tick ago. That is in the past.
Neither will project trend lines into the future, which is the
purpose of this form of analysis. This gives you insite as to what
the programs are not about. Traders need numbers to set objectives
for profit taking as well as add to positions. Even the SmarTrader
demo disc, extends trend lines right. SuperCharts may alert to the
right, I don't know.
The CompuTrac people have come out with some SmartCharts that
have the same MetaStock shortfalls.
Everyone fools with the Stochastic's Indicator, it is so pure
that they can alter the formula use the wronge cycle inputs just make
it look all wrong and slow and late. But it still, correctly read,
will forcast changes in momentum as the turning point is approached.
" Lane's Stochastics," is to momentum what a crossover system
like MACD is to moving averages. You can optimize moving averages
every day. You can use years that are simular to the current year.
You can do all sorts of mental masterbation. But year in and year
out, MACD will keep you in persisting directional price movements
(trends). Simple!
All three chart pacakages have MACD or a bunch of crossover
systems you can use to to confirm trends. But not use to place
orders. These 16 bit programers systems don't even let you know
tomarrows crossovers. You must check your charts and say gee we got
an alert we were supposed to get out today. What good is that! Do
you see how prices spike when they break a trend line. Or turn
around when they bounce off. They would be hard to catch even if you
were on the floor, without some advance knowledge of where the
turning point is supposed to be. Try to make a living on yesterdays
alert.
You should also be aware that non trading programers, try to
make systems out of things that are not how they work, so these so
called systems, should not be used to evaluate one indicater to
another. For example. Supercharts uses there version of Stochastics
as a MACD type crossover system, leading to many false trades. Sto is
not a trend following system. Stochastics predicts changes in
momentium which can lead to a change in trend. The easy language
people tell me it would cost about $7,000 to write the correct Lane
Stochastic System into SuperChart format. No easy thing I suppose!
The well intended MetaStock Programmers use it as if it was a single
line RSI.
The way we used parobolic with CompuTrac especially on a new
trade, before you might come up with some other form of stop
placement. Was to make a chart that started on the day we made the
trade, and run parobolic on that. Then the study followed your actual
trade and gave you the stop called a switch and reversal to use the
next day. Then we'd just call the broker every night before we could
even think of sleeping and give them the next days stop. Used only in
the direction of trend, parobolic was very useful. These new
programs are sterile, impotant. They are a result of inbreading.
They copy each others weaknesses. What we need to know is tomarrows
parobolic price. They all calulate todays, after the market closes.
How can you use a switch and reversal if it crossed in the past. You
can nether get in or out, as that time and price passed before the
close they figure it on. It can be used to test systems which cannot
be traded, which I think is the mind bent of programers, but cannot
be used for trading.
SuperCharts won't let you enter a few days data and run a study.
For some reason on SuperCharts 2.1 they need 50 days data to do
anything, like show you one days open interest. Or 50 days to plot
Stochastic which in the original formula you only needed 9 days to
get the first plot. How can you use Parobolic if it has to start 50
days before your trade? The market could have switched and reversed
many, many times, before you placed your trade. Parobolic unusable.
MetaStock has a default key that cannot be deleted that takes
you back to Meta values. SuperChart lets you set your own defaults
on just about everything, they can be adjusted for each chart &
security. But not the otherwise excellent Expert Analyst.
SmarTrader has QuickCharts that can load 50 charts at a time
with indicaters for a quick scan.
SuperCharts has Wall Street Analyst. This is helpfull to teach
novices how to read indicators. And just like all "Wall Street
Analyst's," it is most bullish at the top and most bearish at the
bottom. As part of a complete program it is OK, do not plan to use
this striped down version of SuperCharts alone. The novality soon
wears off. Its highest and best use would be as a tool for market
letter writters. It will just pop you out a standard technical
opinion based on Bill Cruzes stock market defaults.
Once configured you could with one click on a mouse give a
complete conventional read of any security. She's pretty much a
trend following system. It is usefull for confirming action
previously taken. Lets say we have had a top prices, are falling the
weekly chart confirms a change in trend. The SuperCharts is still
feeding you 45 days of data from before the change and you have no
way to change it.
It is usefull for confirming action previously taken.
SuperCharts won't let the rest of your computer keep dates
day/mouth/year or anyway you want them. If you want to use
SuperCharts you have to keep a seperate computer showing dates the
way Bill Cruz wants to see them or it won't work.
Am I getting to what you want to know, or am I just blowing smoke
at the best software packages on the planet. MetaStock for Windows
5.0 has been returned after our evaluation. SuperCharts 3.0 is a
fantastic program the expert analysis would help anyone trying to
learn what these oscillators mean, how to trade with them.
We run Windows95 on a clone mailorder laptop with plenty of add on
RAM memory. We used to spend $3000 on trading software to trade
Futures. Now that there are so many Stock traders the prices are
down around $300. This is great value. Morgage the house get the best
you can afford.
Aloha, A GoldTrader
Lou Haas
grammar: its masturbate and mortgage.
KWALITY SOFTWEAR FOR SAIL: sheep, IBM spel chekker, wurks crate!
Norm Larsen
What about QTRADER 3.0? Whats the review on this software?
http://www.winternet.com/~jottis
Norm Larsen
Richard L. Langill
compares with the other more advertised programs, but it provides all
the data that I require with sophistocated technical trading strategies.
Chuck Davidson
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Norm,
I just downloaded a copy of the QTRADER demo. I was quite impressed
with its' ease of use, and maneuverability. Its' attention to futures will be
most appreciated by futures traders. It is obvious that the futures
features (say that three times) were not merely an afterthought, as so
many seem to be. As a software distributor, it is the type of program we
would be pleased to include in our offerings.
While QTRADER is a DOS based program, we have all learned that a
Windows interface, does not a superior program make.
Chuck Davidson
Wall Street Software (214)388-9860 Voice
6212 Samuell Blvd Suite 317 (214)388-9831 Fax
Dallas, Texas 75228-7119 (214)349-0241 BBS
wal...@fastlane.net kws...@prodigy.com
http://www.fastlane.net/homepages/wallst/wallst.html
Isoft
from http://www.wolfe.net/~isoft.
--Steve