50 Technical Analysis Terms (Explained Simply)

 

1. Support

A price level where a stock usually stops falling and bounces up.

2. Resistance

A price level where a stock usually stops rising and falls down.

3. Breakout

Price moves above resistance → strong bullish sign.

4. Breakdown

Price moves below support → strong bearish sign.

5. Trendline

A line drawn on charts that shows the direction of the trend.

6. Uptrend

Stock making higher highs and higher lows.

7. Downtrend

Stock making lower highs and lower lows.

8. Consolidation

Stock moves in a small range before a big move.

9. Volume

Number of shares traded; confirms strength of a trend.

10. RSI (Relative Strength Index)

A momentum indicator showing overbought/oversold levels.

11. MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence)

Shows trend strength and possible trend reversals.

12. Moving Average (MA)

Average price over a period (20, 50, 200 days).

13. SMA (Simple Moving Average)

Normal average of prices.

14. EMA (Exponential Moving Average)

Gives more weight to recent prices → reacts faster.

15. Golden Cross

50-day MA goes above 200-day MA → strong bullish signal.

16. Death Cross

50-day MA goes below 200-day MA → strong bearish signal.

17. Fibonacci Retracement

Levels (38.2%, 50%, 61.8%) where price tends to bounce or reverse.

18. Bollinger Bands

Upper and lower bands that show volatility.

19. Candlestick

Price movement represented visually in a single candle.

20. Bullish Candle

Closing price higher than opening.

21. Bearish Candle

Closing price lower than opening.

22. Doji

A candle where open ≈ close → indecision.

23. Hammer

Bullish reversal candle (small body, long lower wick).

24. Shooting Star

Bearish reversal candle (small body, long upper wick).

25. Engulfing Pattern

One candle completely covers the previous candle → reversal signal.

26. Head and Shoulders

Pattern indicating trend reversal from uptrend to downtrend.

27. Inverse Head and Shoulders

Pattern showing reversal from downtrend to uptrend.

28. Double Top

Two peaks at same level → bearish reversal.

29. Double Bottom

Two bottoms at same level → bullish reversal.

30. Flag Pattern

Short consolidation in a strong trend.

31. Pennant

Small triangular consolidation after a big move.

32. Wedge

Price squeezes tighter → breakout approaching.

33. Cup and Handle

Bullish continuation pattern.

34. Ascending Triangle

Higher lows, flat top → bullish breakout likely.

35. Descending Triangle

Lower highs, flat bottom → bearish breakdown likely.

36. Symmetrical Triangle

Price squeezes from both sides → big move coming.

37. ATR (Average True Range)

Measures volatility.

38. ADX (Average Directional Index)

Shows how strong a trend is.

39. OBV (On-Balance Volume)

Uses volume to confirm price trends.

40. VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price)

Average price weighted by volume — used for intraday.

41. PSAR (Parabolic SAR)

Dots above/below price showing trend direction.

42. Pivot Points

Levels used to identify support/resistance for intraday.

43. Divergence

Price moves one way but indicator moves opposite → reversal signal.

44. Momentum

Speed of price movement.

45. Oscillator

Indicator that moves within a range (e.g., RSI, Stochastics).

46. Stochastic Oscillator

Shows overbought/oversold based on speed of movement.

47. Gann Levels

Mathematical support/resistance levels based on angles.

48. Market Structure

Overall pattern: uptrend, downtrend, sideways.

49. Liquidity Zone

Price areas where heavy buying/selling happens.

50. False Breakout

Fake breakout where price breaks a level but quickly reverses.