Reading stock charts can be daunting at first, but here's how to make sense of it all. Make this your go-to guide to understanding stock charts.

Stock charts can appear overwhelming at first, but once you understand what they are and the story they can tell about a stock's price movements, you may come to love them. What Is a Stock Chart?

Before any investor puts serious money in the stock market, it's extremely important to understand the basics about a stock's price, value and movement. Fortunately, there's nearly unlimited data… ...

Besides understanding stock charts, there are other analytical tools you should use, and a financial advisor can help you find and benefit from these valuable resources. What Is a Stock Chart?

Putting It All Together: Using Stock Charts in Your Research Now that you understand the basic components of a stock chart and the key data points, how do you use this information in your research?

Understanding stock-chart reading basics is important for all investors, not only technical stock analysts — or those who study charts and stock patterns in order to predict future stock prices.

Note what's especially disturbing about the second chart there. Bond yields are at 140-year lows and stock valuations are at all-time highs.

When you enter the stock market on any given day, those are the odds you’ll have, which means that buying around a peak is most likely to be followed by a decline.