Visual analysis, also known as technical or chart analysis, is one of the best ways to invest in today's markets—and it's not as hard as you might think. This proven approach allows you to follow almost any market, without having to be an expert on any of them, and it can give you an enormous advantage over those who prefer to use some form of economic or fundamental analysis.

With over forty years of market experience and a number of bestselling financial books to his name, John Murphy, one of the world's foremost technical analysts and educators, knows what it takes to make it in this field. Now, with the Second Edition of The Visual Investor—which has been completely updated for current markets—Murphy shares his invaluable insights on this subject with you.

Written in a straightforward and accessible style, this updated guide will introduce you to "visual" investing by explaining a variety of charting techniques that professionals have used for decades, and shows you how specific visual tools can put you in a better position to successfully trade commodities, currencies, bonds, and stocks in both domestic and global financial markets. With the real-world examples and comprehensive charts found here, you'll quickly discover how to:

• Tell the difference between markets that are trending and those that are not

• Locate important breakouts or breakdowns

• Spot significant support and resistance levels

• Implement asset allocation and sector rotation strategies through exchange-traded funds and mutual funds

• Utilize moving averages to keep track of trends

• Incorporate essential price patterns into your investment analysis

Along the way, Murphy takes you through the ins and outs of reading price and volume charts that can help you make sensible investment decisions, and highlights how you can track the ups and downs of financial markets by visually comparing charts—instead of relying upon complex mathematical formulas and confusing technical concepts.

Knowing why a market is moving is interesting, but not crucial to investment success. In order to trade profitably, all that really matters is what the markets are actually doing. Visual analysis is the best way to determine this, and with the Second Edition of The Visual Investor as your guide, you'll learn how to put this effective approach to work for you to enhance the performance of your portfolio.

The Visual Investor, Second Edition breaks down technical analysis into terms that are accessible to even individual investors. Aimed at the typical investor--such as the average CNBC viewer--this book shows investors how to follow the ups and downs of stock prices by visually comparing the charts, without using formulas or having a necessarily advanced understanding of technical analysis math and jargon. Murphy covers all the fundamentals, from chart types and market indicators to sector analysis and global investing, providing examples and easy-to-read charts so that any reader can become a skilled visual investor.

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Maybe they should have said a thousand dollars. After all, we're talking here about using pictures to make money."

—from The Visual Investor

As the host of CNBC's popular Tech Talk with John Murphy and the author of two landmark books, Technical Analysis of the Futures Markets and Intermarket Technical Analysis, John J. Murphy is one of the leading names in technical analysis today. He now brings his expertise and insight to The Visual Investor, a comprehensive and thoroughly accessible guide to visual analysis. Highlighting its essential components, Murphy takes you through the ins and outs of reading price and volume charts, "pictures" that can help you make sensible investment decisions—and a healthy profit. Special emphasis is placed on sector and global investing through mutual funds. Murphy shows you how to chart and analyze the mutual funds themselves.

Visual analysis enables an investor to analyze a stock or industry group without complicated mathematical formulas and technical concepts. Instead, it tells you—simply and quickly—whether or not the fundamentals of a particular stock are bullish or bearish from the direction in which the price is moving. As Murphy points out, the key to visual analysis is being able to discern whether this stock price is going up or down, not why it is behaving the way it is: "Knowing the reasons behind a stock's movement are interesting . . . [but] all that really matters is a picture, a simple line on a chart."

The Visual Investor brings the complexities of technical analysis into sharp focus, enabling you to make sense of these lines. Providing an in-depth overview, Murphy covers all the fundamentals, from chart types and market indicators to sector analysis and global investing. With actual examples and easy-to-read charts, you'll learn to:

• Spot significant support and resistance levels
• Understand the role volume plays in confirming price action
• Use moving averages to help keep track of trends
• Discern the difference between markets that are trending and those that aren't
• Determine whether a market is overbought or oversold using oscillator systems

To get started on your own visual analysis, The Visual Investor contains a complete resource section that lists important publishing and educational resources, as well as software products and data vendors.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 267-271) and index.

What Is Visual Investing?

The Trend Is Your Friend.

Pictures That Tell a Story.

INDICATORS.

Your Best Friend in a Trend.

Is It Overbought or Oversold?

How to Have the Best of Both Worlds.

LINKAGE.

Market Linkages.

Stock Sectors.

Relative Strength and Rotation.

MUTUAL FUNDS.

Sectors and Industry Groups.

Mutual Funds.

Global Investing.

CONCLUSION.

Getting Started.

Resources.

Appendices.

Glossary.

Index.