XS Online Trading Courses

Tools and Indicators for News Trading

Charts don't come with a "what's happening" label built in, that's what indicators are for.

They turn price and volume into something you can actually read, whether that's spotting a trend, a breakout, or a market that's gotten a bit too excited.

In this lesson, we'll go through the ones worth having on your chart, and why each one earns its spot.

Economic News Platforms

Before you can trade the news well, you need a solid foundation on your chart. There's no magic indicator or secret system that does the work for you, it all comes down to picking a few tools that actually help you read what's happening, and building from there.

Here are five indicators worth starting with, whether you're trading stocks, options, forex, futures, or crypto:

Why start here?

• Volume and price (candlesticks) are the foundation. Almost every other indicator out there is really just built from these two, under the hood.

• A line chart hides too much. Candlesticks give you far more information about what price actually did.

• Moving averages help smooth things out so you can see the trend more clearly, without getting lost in every small wiggle.

Popular Platforms Used by Traders

There's no single "best" platform, it really depends on what you trade and what you're looking for. Here's a quick breakdown by asset type.

Economic Indicators and Their Importance

There's no single "must-watch" list here, it's a bit subjective, but there are 10 economic indicators worth knowing and understanding why they matter.

These indicators are a solid place to start, but keep in mind political factors matter just as much as economic ones, and shouldn't be looked at separately.

Crude Oil Prices: The 2014 - 2016 Crash

Oil went from $115 a barrel in June 2014 to under $35 by early 2016. That's not a dip, that's a freefall, and it took less than two years.

Here's why it matters for you as a trader: oil prices don't just affect gas stations. They ripple through entire economies, and those ripples show up in currency pairs.

What caused it:

• Supply went up. Producers kept pumping even as prices dropped.

• Demand went down. China's economy was slowing, and that hit oil harder than almost anything else.

• Investment dried up fast. Oil companies cut spending on new production from $700 billion in 2014 to $550 billion in 2015, in a single year.

Oil isn't just a commodity, it's a signal. When it moves this violently, it's usually telling you something bigger is shifting in the global economy, and currencies tied to oil-producing nations are usually the first to feel it.

Using Pending Orders and Alerts

Pending orders let you set up a trade in advance, so you don't have to sit at your screen all day waiting for the "right" price. You tell your broker what you want, and it fires off automatically once the market gets there.

Three types of orders:

• Market orders: Execute right away, at whatever price is available at that moment.

• Limit orders: Wait for a better price than what's currently on offer.

• Stop orders: Wait for the market to confirm a move, even if that means entering at a worse price.

Limit orders

Stop orders

Why use pending orders?

• Saves time: No need to sit and watch the screen all day

• Avoids slippage: Since the order only fires once your exact price is hit, unlike market orders which can fill at a worse price than expected.

Key Takeaways

• Volume, candlesticks, and moving averages are the foundation everything else builds on.

• Pick a platform that fits how you trade, Ninja Trader for futures, Thinkorswim for options, TradingView to start simple.

• Keep an eye on the bigger picture too: GDP, inflation, interest rates, and oil prices all matter.