Comparing Notional Value vs. Market Value

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Notional Value vs. Market Value: An Overview

The notional value and market value both describe the value of a security. Notional value speaks to how much total value a security theoretically controls—for instance through derivatives contracts or debt obligations. Market value, on the other hand, is the price of a security right now that can be bought or sold on an exchange or through a broker.

Market value is also used to refer to the market capitalization of a publicly traded company and is determined by multiplying the number of outstanding shares by the current share price.

Key Takeaways

  • Notional value is the total value controlled by a position or obligation; e.g. how much value is represented by a derivatives contract.
  • Market value is price of a security set by buyers and sellers in the marketplace through supply and demand.
  • For example, a call option representing 100 shares of XYZ stock with a strike price of $40 may trade in the market for $1.20 per contract (100 x $1.20 = $120 market value), but represents a notional value of $4,000 (100 x $40).

Notional Value

The notional value is the total amount of a security’s underlying asset at its spot price. The notional value distinguishes between the amount of money invested and the amount of money associated with the whole transaction. The notional value is calculated by multiplying the units in one contract by the spot price.

For example, assume an investor wants to buy one gold futures contract. The futures contract costs the buyer 100 troy ounces of gold. If gold futures are trading at $1,300, then one gold futures contract has a notional value of $130,000.

Notional value can be used in futures and stocks. But it is more often seen and used in the following five ways: through interest rate swaps, total return swaps, equity options, foreign currency exchange and foreign currency derivatives, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

With interest rate swaps, the notional value is used to come up with the amount of interest due. With total return swaps, the notional value is used as part of several calculations that determine the swap rates. With equity options, the notional value refers to the value that the option controls. With foreign currency exchange and foreign currency derivatives, notional value is used to value the currencies.

Notional value accounts for the total value of the position, while market value is the price at which the position can be bought or sold, as set by the market.

Market Value

Market value is very different from notional value. Market value is the price of a security that buyers and sellers agree on in the marketplace. The security’s market value is calculated by determining the security’s supply and demand. Unlike the notional value, which determines the total value of a security based on its contract specification, the market value is the price of one unit of the security.

For example, assume that the S&P 500 Index futures are trading at $2,700. The market value of one unit of the S&P 500 Index is $2,700. Conversely, the notional value of one S&P Index futures contract is $675,000 ($2,700*250) because one S&P Index futures contract leverages 250 units of the index.

A company’s market value is a good indication of investors’ perceptions of its business prospects. The range of market values in the marketplace is enormous, ranging from less than $1 million for the smallest companies to hundreds of billions for the world’s biggest and most successful companies.

Market value can fluctuate a great deal over periods of time and is substantially influenced by the business cycle. Market values may plunge during the bear markets that accompany recessions, and often rise during the bull markets that are a feature of economic expansion.

The Bottom Line

Market value and notional value each represent different sums that are important for investors to understand. The notional value is how much value is represented by an obligation or contract—for instance, an options contract that controls 1,000 bushels of wheat or a corporate bond with a face value at maturity of $1,000. The market value of these obligations, however, will vary due to supply and demand and prevailing market conditions. For instance if the options contract is very far out of the money, its market value may be close to zero, or if interest rates rise substantially the market value of the bond will be for less than $1,000.

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Fibonacci and the Golden Ratio

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There is a unique ratio that can be used to describe the proportions of everything from nature’s smallest building blocks, such as atoms, to the most advanced patterns in the universe, like the unimaginably large celestial bodies. Nature relies on this innate proportion to maintain balance, but the financial markets also seem to conform to this “golden ratio.” 

The golden ratio is derived from the Fibonacci numbers, a series of numbers where each entry is the sum of the two preceding entries. Although this sequence is associated with Leonardo of Pisa, the Fibonacci numbers were actually formulated for the first time by the Indian mathematician, Virahanka, 600 years prior to their introduction to the Western world.

Here, we take a look at some technical analysis tools that have been developed to take advantage of the pattern.

Key Takeaways

  • The golden ratio is an irrational number that is equal to (1+√5)/2, or approximately 1.618…
  • The ratio is derived from an ancient Indian mathematical formula which Western society named for Leonardo Fibonacci, who introduced the concept to Europe.
  • Nature uses this ratio to maintain balance, and the financial markets seem to as well.
  • The Fibonacci sequence can be applied to finance by using four main techniques: retracements, arcs, fans, and time zones.
  • Fibonacci numbers have become famous in popular culture, although some experts say their importance is exaggerated.

History of the Mathematics

Mathematicians, scientists, and naturalists have known about the golden ratio for centuries. It’s derived from the Fibonacci sequence, named after the Pisan mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci, who lived from around 1175 A.D. until around 1250 A.D.

Although Fibonacci introduced these numbers to the Western world, they were actually discovered by Indian mathematicians hundreds of years earlier. The poet Pingala used them to count the syllables of Sanskrit poetry around 200 B.C., and the method for calculating them was formulated by the Indian mathematician Virahanka around 800 years later.

In this sequence, each number is simply the sum of the two preceding numbers (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.).

Fibonacci borrowed heavily from Indian and Arabic sources. In his book Liber Abaci, he described the Hindu-Arabic numeral system represented by the numbers 0 through 9. He called this the “Modus Indorum,” or the method of the Indians.

But this sequence is not all that important. The essential part is that as the numbers get larger, the quotient between each successive pair of Fibonacci numbers approximates 1.618, or its inverse 0.618. This proportion is known by many names: the golden ratio, the golden mean, ϕ, and the divine proportion, among others.

So, why is this number so important? Well, many things in nature have dimensional properties that adhere to the ratio of 1.618, so it seems to have a fundamental function for the building blocks of nature.

The exact value of the golden ratio can be calculated by:

ϕ = (1+√5) / 2

Examples of the Golden Ratio

Don’t believe it? Take honeybees, for example. If you divide the female bees by the male bees in any given hive, you will get a number around 1.618. Sunflowers, which have opposing spirals of seeds, have a 1.618 ratio between the diameters of each rotation. This same ratio can be seen in relationships between different components throughout nature.

The golden ratio also appears in the arts, because it is more aesthetically pleasing than other proportions. The Parthenon in Athens, the Great Pyramid in Giza, and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa all incorporate rectangles whose dimensions are based on the golden ratio. It seems to be unavoidable.

But does that mean it works in finance? Actually, financial markets have the very same mathematical base as these natural phenomena. Below we will examine some ways in which the golden ratio can be applied to finance, and we’ll show some charts as proof.

Trading and Investing With the Golden Ratio

The golden ratio is frequently used by traders and technical analysts, who use it to forecast market-driven price movements. This is because the Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio have a strong psychological importance in herd behavior. Traders are more likely to take profits or cover losses at certain price points, which happen to be marked by the golden ratio.

Curiously, the widespread use of the golden ratio in trading analysis forms something of a self-fulfilling prophecy: the more traders rely on Fibonacci-based trading strategies, the more effective those strategies will tend to be.

Thanks to books like Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, the golden ratio has been elevated to almost mystical levels in popular culture. However, some mathematicians have stated that the importance of this ratio is wildly exaggerated.

The Golden Ratio and Technical Analysis

When used in technical analysis, the golden ratio is typically translated into three percentages: 38.2%, 50%, and 61.8%. However, more multiples can be used when needed, such as 23.6%, 161.8%, 423%, and so on. Meanwhile, there are four ways that the Fibonacci sequence can be applied to charts: retracements, arcs, fans, and time zones. However, not all might be available, depending on the charting application being used.

1. Fibonacci Retracements

Fibonacci retracements use horizontal lines to indicate areas of support or resistance. Levels are calculated using the high and low points of the chart. Then five lines are drawn: the first at 100% (the high on the chart), the second at 61.8%, the third at 50%, the fourth at 38.2%, and the last one at 0% (the low on the chart). After a significant price movement up or down, the new support and resistance levels are often at or near these lines.

Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020

2. Fibonacci Arcs

Finding the high and low of a chart is the first step to composing Fibonacci arcs. Then, with a compass-like movement, three curved lines are drawn at 38.2%, 50%, and 61.8% from the desired point. These lines anticipate the support and resistance levels, as well as trading ranges.

Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020

3. Fibonacci Fans

Fibonacci fans are composed of diagonal lines. After the high and low of the chart is located, an invisible horizontal line is drawn through the rightmost point. This invisible line is then divided into 38.2%, 50%, and 61.8%, and lines are drawn from the leftmost point through each of these points. These lines indicate areas of support and resistance.

Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020

4. Fibonacci Time Zones

Unlike the other Fibonacci methods, time zones are a series of vertical lines. They are composed by dividing a chart into segments with vertical lines spaced apart in increments that conform to the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.). Each line indicates a time in which major price movement can be expected.

Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020

What Is the Relationship Between the Fibonacci Series and the Golden Ratio?

The golden ratio is derived by dividing each number of the Fibonacci series by its immediate predecessor. In mathematical terms, if F(n) describes the nth Fibonacci number, the quotient F(n)/ F(n-1) will approach the limit 1.618… for increasingly high values of n. This limit is better known as the golden ratio.

Why Is the Fibonacci Sequence So Important?

The Fibonacci sequence is a recursive series of numbers where each value is determined by the two values immediately before it. For this reason, the Fibonacci numbers frequently appear in problems relating to population growth. When used in visual arts, they are also aesthetically pleasing, although their significance tends to be highly exaggerated in popular culture.

Why Is 1.618 So Important?

The number 1.61803… is better known as the golden ratio, and frequently appears in art, architecture, and natural sciences. It is derived from the Fibonacci series of numbers, where each entry is recursively defined by the entries preceding it. The golden ratio is also used in technical analysis because traders tend to behave in a predictable way near the psychologically-important Fibonacci lines.

The Bottom Line

Fibonacci studies are not intended to provide the primary indications for timing the entry and exit of a position; however, the numbers are useful for estimating areas of support and resistance. Many people use combinations of Fibonacci studies to obtain a more accurate forecast. For example, a trader may observe the intersecting points in a combination of the Fibonacci arcs and resistances.

Fibonacci studies are often used in conjunction with other forms of technical analysis. For example, Fibonacci studies, in combination with Elliott Waves, can be used to forecast the extent of the retracements after different waves. Hopefully, you can find your own niche use for the Fibonacci studies and add it to your set of investment tools.

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Using Bullish Candlestick Patterns to Buy Stocks

Written by admin. Posted in Technical Analysis

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Candlestick charts are a type of financial chart for tracking the movement of securities. They have their origins in the centuries-old Japanese rice trade and have made their way into modern-day price charting. Some investors find them more visually appealing than the standard bar charts and the price actions easier to interpret.

Candlesticks are so named because the rectangular shape and lines on either end resemble a candle with wicks. Each candlestick usually represents one day’s worth of price data about a stock. Over time, the candlesticks group into recognizable patterns that investors can use to make buying and selling decisions.

Key Takeaways

  • Candlestick charts are useful for technical day traders to identify patterns and make trading decisions.
  • Bullish candlesticks indicate entry points for long trades, and can help predict when a downtrend is about to turn around to the upside.
  • Here, we go over several examples of bullish candlestick patterns to look out for.

Click Play to Learn How to Use Bullish Candlestick Patterns to Buy Stock

How to Read a Single Candlestick

Each candlestick represents one day’s worth of price data about a stock through four pieces of information: the opening price, the closing price, the high price, and the low price. The color of the central rectangle (called the real body) tells investors whether the opening price or the closing price was higher.

A black or filled candlestick means the closing price for the period was less than the opening price; hence, it is bearish and indicates selling pressure. Meanwhile, a white or hollow candlestick means that the closing price was greater than the opening price. This is bullish and shows buying pressure.

The lines at both ends of a candlestick are called shadows, and they show the entire range of price action for the day, from low to high. The upper shadow shows the stock’s highest price for the day, and the lower shadow shows the lowest price for the day.

Image by Julie Bang © Investopedia 2020


Bullish Candlestick Patterns

Over time, groups of daily candlesticks fall into recognizable patterns with descriptive names like three white soldiers, dark cloud cover, hammer, morning star, and abandoned baby, to name just a few. Patterns form over a period of one to four weeks and are a source of valuable insight into a stock’s future price action. Before we delve into individual bullish candlestick patterns, note the following two principles:

  1. Bullish reversal patterns should form within a downtrend. Otherwise, it’s not a bullish pattern, but a continuation pattern.
  2. Most bullish reversal patterns require bullish confirmation. In other words, they must be followed by an upside price move which can come as a long hollow candlestick or a gap up and be accompanied by high trading volume. This confirmation should be observed within three days of the pattern.

The bullish reversal patterns can further be confirmed through other means of traditional technical analysis—like trend lines, momentum, oscillators, or volume indicators—to reaffirm buying pressure. There are a great many candlestick patterns that indicate an opportunity to buy. We will focus on five bullish candlestick patterns that give the strongest reversal signal.

1. The Hammer or the Inverted Hammer

Image by Julie Bang © Investopedia 2021


  • The Hammer is a bullish reversal pattern, which signals that a stock is nearing the bottom in a downtrend.
  • The body of the candle is short with a longer lower shadow. This is a sign of sellers driving prices lower during the trading session, only to be followed by strong buying pressure to end the session on a higher close.
  • Before we jump in on the bullish reversal action, however, we must confirm the upward trend by watching it closely for the next few days.
  • The reversal must also be validated through the rise in the trading volume.

Image by Julie Bang © Investopedia 2021


The Inverted Hammer also forms in a downtrend and represents a likely trend reversal or support.

  • It’s identical to the Hammer except for the longer upper shadow, which indicates buying pressure after the opening price.
  • This is followed by considerable selling pressure, which wasn’t enough to bring the price down below its opening value.

Again, bullish confirmation is required, and it can come in the form of a long hollow candlestick or a gap up, accompanied by a heavy trading volume.

2. The Bullish Engulfing

Image by Julie Bang © Investopedia 2020

The Bullish Engulfing pattern is a two-candle reversal pattern.

  • The Bullish Engulfing pattern appears in a downtrend and is a combination of one dark candle followed by a larger hollow candle.
  • The second candle completely ‘engulfs’ the real body of the first one, without regard to the length of the tail shadows.
  • On the second day of the pattern, the price opens lower than the previous low, yet buying pressure pushes the price up to a higher level than the previous high, culminating in an obvious win for the buyers.

It is advisable to enter a long position when the price moves higher than the high of the second engulfing candle—in other words when the downtrend reversal is confirmed.

3. The Piercing Line

Image by Julie Bang © Investopedia 2020

Similar to the engulfing pattern, the Piercing Line is a two-candle bullish reversal pattern, also occurring in downtrends.

  • The first long black candle is followed by a white candle that opens lower than the previous close.
  • Soon thereafter, the buying pressure pushes the price up halfway or more (preferably two-thirds of the way) into the real body of the black candle.

4. The Morning Star

Image by Julie Bang © Investopedia 2020

As the name indicates, the Morning Star is a sign of hope and a new beginning in a gloomy downtrend.

  • The pattern consists of three candles: one short-bodied candle (called a doji or a spinning top) between a preceding long black candle and a succeeding long white one.
  • The color of the real body of the short candle can be either white or black, and there is no overlap between its body and that of the black candle before. It shows that the selling pressure that was there the day before is now subsiding.
  • The third white candle overlaps with the body of the black candle and shows renewed buyer pressure and a start of a bullish reversal, especially if confirmed by the higher volume.

5. The Three White Soldiers

Image by Julie Bang © Investopedia 2021


This pattern is usually observed after a period of downtrend or in price consolidation.

  • It consists of three long white candles that close progressively higher on each subsequent trading day.
  • Each candle opens higher than the previous open and closes near the high of the day, showing a steady advance of buying pressure.
  • Investors should exercise caution when white candles appear to be too long as that may attract short sellers and push the price of the stock further down. 

While there are some ways to predict markets, technical analysis is not always a perfect indication of performance. Either way, to invest you’ll need a broker account. You can check out Investopedia’s list of the best online stock brokers to get an idea of the top choices in the industry.

Putting It All Together

The chart below for Enbridge, Inc. (ENB) shows three of the bullish reversal patterns discussed above: the Inverted Hammer, the Piercing Line, and the Hammer.

The chart for Pacific DataVision, Inc. (PDVW) shows the Three White Soldiers pattern. Note how the reversal in downtrend is confirmed by the sharp increase in the trading volume.

What Is the Most Bullish Candlestick Pattern?

The bullish engulfing pattern and the ascending triangle pattern are considered among the most favorable candlestick patterns. As with other forms of technical analysis, it is important to look for bullish confirmation and understand that there are no guaranteed results.

What Is a Spinning Top Candlestick Pattern?

A spinning top, or doji, is a candlestick with a short body and two long shadows, indicating that prices fluctuated over the course of a trading period before ultimately closing near the opening price. In technical analysis, this indicates that neither buyers or sellers have the upper hand.

What Is a Bullish Belt Hold Candlestick Pattern?

A bullish belt hold is a pattern of declining prices, followed by a trading period of significant gains. In technical analysis, this is considered a sign of reversal after a downtrend. As with other forms of technical analysis, traders should be careful to wait for bullish confirmation. Even with confirmation, there is no guarantee that a pattern will play out.

The Bottom Line

Investors should use candlestick charts like any other technical analysis tool (i.e., to study the psychology of market participants in the context of stock trading). They provide an extra layer of analysis on top of the fundamental analysis that forms the basis for trading decisions.

We looked at five of the more popular candlestick chart patterns that signal buying opportunities. They can help identify a change in trader sentiment where buyer pressure overcomes seller pressure. Such a downtrend reversal can be accompanied by a potential for long gains. That said, the patterns themselves do not guarantee that the trend will reverse. Investors should always confirm reversal by the subsequent price action before initiating a trade. 

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What Is a Paper Trade? Definition, Meaning, and How to Trade

Written by admin. Posted in Technical Analysis

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What Is Paper Trade?

A paper trade is a simulated trade that allows an investor to practice buying and selling without risking real money. The term dates back to a time when (before the proliferation of online trading platforms) aspiring traders would practice on paper before risking money in live markets. While learning, a paper trader records all trades by hand to keep track of hypothetical trading positions, portfolios, and profits or losses. Today, most practice trading involves the use of an electronic stock market simulator, which looks and feels like an actual trading platform.

Key Takeaways

  • Paper trading is simulated trading that allows investors to practice buying and selling securities.
  • Paper trading can test a new investment strategy before employing it in a live account.
  • Many online brokers offer clients paper trade accounts.
  • Paper trades teach novices how to navigate platforms and make trades, but may not represent the true emotions that occur during real market conditions.

What Does Paper Trading Tell You?

The development of online trading platforms and software has increased the ease and popularity of paper trading. Today’s simulators allow investors to trade live markets without the commitment of actual capital and the process can help to gauge whether investment ideas have merit. Online brokers such as TradeStation, Fidelity, and TD Ameritrade’s thinkorswim offer clients paper trading simulators.

For example, TD Ameritrade’s paperMoney® is designed to help customers try options and different investment strategies without the worry of losing any money. Nearly everything about the simulator is the same as their feature-rich thinkorswim trading platform, except the investor is not trading real money. Investopedia provides a free simulator for trading stocks.

To get the most benefits from paper trading, an investment decision and the placing of trades should follow real trading practices and objectives. The paper investor should consider the same risk-return objectives, investment constraints, and trading horizon as they would use with a live account. For example, it would make little sense for a risk-averse long-term investor to practice numerous short-term trades like a day trader.

Also, paper transactions can be applied to many market conditions. As an example, a trade placed in a market characterized by high levels of market volatility is likely to result in higher slippage costs due to wider spreads compared to a market that is moving in an orderly manner. Slippage occurs when a trader obtains a different price than expected from the time the trade is initiated to the time the trade is made.

Investors and traders can use simulated trading to familiarize themselves with various order types such as stop-loss, limit orders, and market orders. Charts, quotes, and news feeds are available on many platforms as well.

Paper Trade Accounts vs. Live Accounts

Paper trading may provide a false sense of security and often results in distorted investment returns. In other words, nonconformity with the real market happens because paper trading does not involve the risk of real genuine capital. Also, paper trading allows for basic investment strategies—such as buying low and selling high—which are more challenging to adhere to in real life, but are relatively easy to achieve while paper trading.

The fact is that investors and traders are likely to exhibit different emotions and judgment when risking real money, which may lead them to different behavior when operating a live account. For example, consider a real trade by a new foreign exchange trader who enters into a long position with the euro against the U.S. dollar ahead of nonfarm payrolls data. If the report is much better than expected and the euro drops sharply, then the trader may double down in an attempt to recoup losses in a paper trade, as opposed to taking the loss as would be advisable in a real trade.

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