• In investment analysis there are two schools of thought: technical and fundamental. Technical analysis is more concerned with market emotion and looks to predict the market based on trends in historical price and volume data. Fundamental analysis compares the market value of stocks to the intrinsic value of stocks. The best stock trading indicators can be found in both schools of thought.
  
  

Support and Resistance Levels

• Charted over at least a one-year period, most assets will begin to develop a range trend. This is the difference between the highs and lows for the day and support (bottom) and resistance (top) levels over longer time periods. When a price tends to "stick" or not move beyond a particular price point, this is a sign of either support or resistance. When a stock price moves beyond the resistance level, the resistance level becomes the new support level and so on.
  
  

P/E Ratio

• Another popular ratio that incorporates both fundamental and technical analysis is the price to earnings ratio. This ratio compares the earnings for 1 stock with the market value of 1 stock. Theoretically, they should be aligned. When they aren't, it can be a sign that the stock is overbought or undersold. A high/low price to earnings ratio is indicative of an expensive/cheap stock. P/E ratios are only helpful when compared against other stocks in the same industry.
  
  

Debt to Equity

• Debt to equity is a measure of debt or risk. It looks at two line items from the balance sheet to determine how debt heavy a company is. This is important because the more debt a company has the more financial risk it is said to have. In general, it is preferable for a company to have more equity compared to debt. Again, compare against other companies in the same industry for a true comparison.