Watch the video below to see what the patterns in the stock market charts suggest to technical analyst Louise Yamada.

Source: CNBC, November 5, 2009.

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On the 22-year anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash yesterday, stocks marched to one-year highs, with the Dow Jones Industrial Index reclaiming the 10,000 level and the S&P 500 Index breaking through 1,100 (although it then declined again to fall shy of this number by two basis points by the closing bell).

First, some comments from regular contributor Kevin Lane, technical analyst of Fusion IQ.

“The S&P 500, which recently broke above a downtrend line (purple line in the chart below), is closing in on its 50% retracement level from the 2007 peak to the 2009 lows near the 1,120 level. This level may cause some minor profit-taking and retracement; however, only a move below 1,000, which would put the S&P 500 back below its recently broken downtrend line and near-term support, would be viewed as a negative. So, until a break of 1,000 occurs, price

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Knowing what to buy and what to sell is important.

But knowing WHEN to buy or sell could very well be the question of all questions when it comes to trading.

Fundamentals of course are ultimately the key in determining the price or value of a stock. And statistics have shown that companies receiving upward earnings estimate revisions outperform the market, while companies receiving downward earnings estimate revisions underperform the market.

But a quick look at a chart can often times give you insight as to when the market is ready to react to those fundamentals.

Just because you think you've found a solid company, doesn't necessarily mean it's ready to go up as you'd anticipated.

We've all been in this position at one time or another:

How many times have you read about, heard about or researched a certain stock, determined that the fundamentals were bullish (or bearish) only to then take a position and ...

By Jeffrey Kennedy

The following is an excerpt from Jeffrey Kennedy’s Trader’s Classroom Collection. Now through August 17, Elliott Wave International is offering a special 45-page Best Of Trader’s Classroom eBook, free.

To be a consistently successful trader, the most important trait to learn is emotional discipline. I discovered this the hard way trading full-time a few years ago. I remember one day in particular. My analysis told me the NASDAQ was going to start a sizable third wave rally between 10:00-10:30 the next day… and it did. When I reviewed my trade log later, I saw that several of my positions were profitable, yet I exited each of them at a loss. My analysis was perfect. It was like having tomorrow’s newspaper today. Unfortunately, I wanted to hit a home run, so I ignored singles and doubles.

I now …

I am expecting a significant stock market correction at any time.

If you’re a regular reader of my columns, that won’t come as a surprise to you. And I’m not alone in that camp either. Analysts, strategists and investment directors all over Wall Street have been hesitant to put new capital into the markets.

For example, one hedge fund manager told me that he just can’t buy stocks at these levels - despite complaints from his partners who expect him to be fully invested.

And a technical analyst friend reports that the vast majority of his institutional clients are bearish.

And why not? We’re still hemorrhaging jobs… housing still stinks… and U.S. retail and food sales plummeted 9% in June, compared with June 2008.

But the market keeps going up.

This is what is known as climbing the wall of worry. Let me explain what this means - and what it means for us when it

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By Jeffrey Kennedy

The following is an excerpt from Jeffrey Kennedy’s Trader’s Classroom Collection. Now through August 10, Elliott Wave International is offering a special 45-page Best Of Trader’s Classroom eBook, free.

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Aspiring traders typically go through three phases in this order:

Methodology. The first phase is that all-too-familiar quest for the Holy Grail – a trading system that never fails. After spending thousands of dollars on books, seminars and trading systems, the aspiring trader eventually realizes that no such system exists.

Money Management. So, after getting frustrated with wasting time and money, the up-and-coming trader begins to understand the need for money management, risking only a small percentage of a portfolio on a given trade versus too large a bet.

Psychology. The third phase is realizing how important psychology is – not only personal psychology but also the …

Precious Metals

Gold jumped up about midway through trading in the Far East and continued its rise through London and the Comex open to an intraday high just north of $955. But at around 10 a.m. in New York the yellow metal got knocked down below $950 where it stayed through the Globex close, finishing at $949.10/oz., up $11.40. Overnight, gold is little changed.

Platinum experienced a sharp sell-off late in Hong Kong, but clawed its way back to post a decent gain for the day, closing at $1181/oz., up $9. Overnight, platinum is slightly higher.

Silver made big gains through Hong Kong and early London trading that were far too substantial to get wiped out by the 10 a.m. sell-off in New York, after which it remained range-bound between $13.60 and $13.65 and closed near the middle at $13.63/oz., up 22 cents. Overnight, silver is trending lower. (Click here for

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By Jeffrey Kennedy

Close to ninety percent of all traders lose money. The remaining ten percent somehow manage to either break even or even turn a profit – and more importantly, do it consistently. How do they do that?

That’s an age-old question. While there is no magic formula, one of Elliott Wave International’s senior instructors Jeffrey Kennedy has identified five fundamental flaws that, in his opinion, stop most traders from being consistently successful. We don’t claim to have found The Holy Grail of trading here, but sometimes a single idea can change a person’s life. Maybe you’ll find one in Jeffrey’s take on trading? We sincerely hope so.

The following is an excerpt from Jeffrey Kennedy’s Trader’s Classroom Collection. For a limited time, Elliott Wave International is offering Jeffrey Kennedy’s report, How to Use Bar Patterns to Spot Trade Setups, free.

Why Do Traders Lose?

If you’ve been trading for a long time, …