StockCharts.com - Blogs

We've just released the new 3.0 version of our MarketCarpet visual scanning tool.  Check it out!

(Click here for the live version.)

The new version has the following changes from the older version:

• It uses HTML5 instead of requiring the Java plugin
• It can be used by tablets and smartphones
• It loads much faster
• It contains 60 days of data instead of just 45
• It initially shows you the stocks in Market Cap mode where each box is sized according to the underlying stock's market capitalization
• It allows you to hide the "Mini-chart/Top 5" sidebar if you want
• It automatically scales the box colors as you stretch/shrink/move the date slider
• It shows you the ticker symbol of the stock your mouse is hovering over
• It shows you many more ticker symbols when you turn them on with the menu option
• It allows you to put the popup information box underneath the "Bottom 5" list if you want
• The color scaling is less jarring
• and much, much more!

Again, the MarketCarpet lets you quickly find outliers and clusters of similarly performing stocks.  It is like a PerfChart that can contain up to 500 different lines.  For more, please see our (currently out-of-date but soon-to-be-updated) documentation pages and videos.

Let us know what you think of these changes using our feedback page.

We are removing our Text-based P&F charts and our Java-based Dynamic P&F charts from the site today.  Our graphical P&F charts will continue to work just like they always have.

The removal of our Java-based Dynamic P&F charts continues our progress towards a Java-free experience for our users.  Recent security issues with Java have caused us to accelerate our progress in removing/replacing our Java-based tools.  We recently replaced our Java-based PerfCharts and Yield Curve tools with HTML5-based equivalents.  (Expect that to happen to our MarketCarpet tool shortly.)  Unfortunately, the usage for our Java-based Dynamic P&F charting tool has been very low for years and so we've decided not to re-write it.

The decision to remove of our Text-based P&F charts was much more difficult.  We would love to keep that tool around however, unfortunately, it is based on out-dated technology that Micrsoft no longer supports.  That technology has become a serious security concern for us and thus we made the difficult decision to shut down this popular P&F charting tool for now.  We have looked into several possible ways to move that program on newer, more secure servers but so far we haven't had any luck.  There is a small chance we will be able to rewrite that program at some point in the future as well.

The good news is that our graphical P&F charts do not have any of the problems/issues that these two other charts have.  Our Graphical P&F charts will remain an integral part of StockCharts.com for the foreseeable future.

If you feel strongly that we should bring back text-based P&F charts, please let us know by clicking on the following link and signing the online petition that we've created for this issue:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stockcharts-text-based-pf-charts/

- Chip

Earlier this year we converted our Interactive PerfCharts tool from Java to HTML5.  This month, we've done the same for our Dynamic Yield Curve.  As I mentioned before, Java continues to be a problematice solution for client-side interactivity.  It has always been a struggle to support Java because some of our customers have had a very hard time installing and upgrading it successfully.  The large number of recent securuty issues was the final straw that forced us to start migrating our Java-based tools to the new kid on the block, HTML5.

The pros of HTML5 are many - built-in to the browser, loads faster, not owned by one company, very flexible, etc.  The downside of HTML5 - lack of support in older browsers - continues to fade.  Still, if you are using IE 7 or IE 8, you'll need to upgrade.

Once you do, you can click on the Dynamic Yield Curve link on our homepage to see the new version.  If you've never played with this tool, it's worth taking some time to look at.  The Yeild Curve is a great indicator of future trouble in the stock market and this tool shows you how that has worked in the past as well as what the current curve looks like.

We'll continue to migrate our interactive tools away from client-side Java in the coming months.  As always, stay tuned...

- Chip 

Today I'm thrilled to announce a new partnership between StockCharts.com and Stocks & Commodities magazine.  StockCharts.com members can now freely search for and view all articles from all current and past issues of Stocks & Commodites magazine.  They can also view the currently edition of the magazine simply by using a new link on the "Members" page.

This means that when you now search for a topic such as "MACD" using the "Search" feature on our website, your search results will not only contain articles from our website, but now also articles from the complete Stocks & Commodities archives going back to 1982(!).  Clicking on any of those search results will take you directly to a PDF file of the actual magazine article for that topic.

In addition, as I mentioned, there is now a new link on the "Members" homepage that will take StockCharts members directly to the Stocks & Commodities website where you can read the latest issue of the magazine as well as their companion magazine Working Money.

And what is the cost for all this additional content?  Zero.  Zip.  Zilch.  Nada.  It is totally free to StockCharts.com members.  (And, just to be clear, we did not give anyone's name or address to S&C either.  Our Privacy Policy forbids that.)

I'd like to thank and acknowledge Jason Hutson and everyone else at Stocks & Commodities for their help with this project.  As many of you know, we have been fans and supporters of that magazine for years and I heartily recommend it to everyone I talk to.

Please let me know what you think of this new partnership in the comments section below.

- Chip

Today marks another historic step in the continuing growth of StockCharts.com.  We are happy to announce the start of Beta testing for our first HTML5 charting tool - Interactive PerfCharts!  Check it out:

So, I can hear what you are thinking right now.  You are thinking:

       "Umm...  Chip, you've had that exact same tool on your site for over a decade.  What's going on?"

Yes, that's true.  This new version is intentionally identical to our older version with one important exception - No Java Required!

As you may know, Java has become more and more difficult to use and keep up to date.  That trend only seems to be accelerating.  In addition, Java has always caused problems for people inside secure firewalls, etc.

This version of PerfCharts is based on new technology that is build directly into all modern web browsers - HTML5.  You should notice that it loads much faster and that no security warnings appear.  

(As a hidden side benefit, you might also notice that this version can be printed directly(!) - the Java version cannot.)

Anyway, we've tested it on a ton of different browser/OS configurations, but of course we cannot test them all so that's where you come in.  Click on this link, kick the tires, see if everything works just like you expect and then let me know what you think.

By the way, new technology like this requires newer web browsers.  The HTML5 version of PerfCharts works great with IE9, Firefox, Chrome and Safari as long as you have the latest updates.  This new version will not work with IE7 or IE8.  If you are using those outdated browsers, we'll send you over to the old Java version of PerfCharts instead.  (Yes, this is a hint that you need to upgrade to IE9 now.)

(Note to iPad/iPhone users: We are still adding touch support for the slider at the bottom.  It should be ready in about a week.)

We're going to run this Beta test for the next week or so and barring any unforeseen disasters, we'll roll it out to the entire website in 2 weeks.  So please try it out and send me your feedback using the support form on this page.

Thanks for your help!
- Chip

We have reluctantly decided to take a year off from ChartCon.  The logistics and effort involved in holding a conference for 400 people is significant for a small company like ours and, ultimately, we decided that we didn't want to hold a conference just for the sake of holding a conference.  We want to make sure that ChartCon is always special and very valuable for all attendees.  By taking a year off, we will be able to ensure that ChartCon 2014 will be even bigger and better.

Please note that we will be holding at least six SCU Seminars throughout the country in 2013 in cities like Orlando, Long Beach, New York, Seattle, and Dallas.  If you like the "training" aspect of ChartCon and you can't wait until 2014, consider attending one of these smaller (50-70 people) seminars instead.

See you in 2014!
 - Chip 

We are thrilled to learn that we have been called "the Best of the Best" in the latest comparison review of technical analysis websites by the American Association of Individual Investors!  You can read the full review by clicking here:

http://www.aaii.com/computerized-investing/article/the-top-technical-analysis-charting-websites?a=20130126

- Chip

We've just released a new, OPTIONAL, method for creating, using and organizing ChartStyles and StyleButtons.  As a quick reminder, ChartStyles are essentially templates for new charts.  StyleButtons are little grey squares that appear to the left of each chart and let you quickly switch the current chart to a different ChartStyle.

StockCharts Members should now see an additional arrow icon located just to the left of the top of each SharpChart.  Clicking on that arrow causes a panel to slide out from the left side of the workbench.  That panel looks similar to this:

(If you click on the little (i) icon, you can see that help information.)

First off, notice that each of your ChartStyles is listed and includes a small preview of the style to help you remember what it is.

Second, notice that you can click and drag on the "horizontal lines" icon to re-order the ChartStyles on that panel.

Third, notice that all of the ChartStyles that you drag above the "buttons" line are instantly assigned to a StyleButton.  To unassign a style, just drag it back down below the "buttons" line.

Finally, you can click the "Edit" button to rename or delete an existing ChartStyle.

In addition to the arrow icon, there is now a "+" icon below the last StyleButton.  That "+" icon lets you create a new ChartStyle very easily.

Again, all of this is OPTIONAL.  If you are comfortable using the old links for ChartStyles and StyleButtons, you can still use them just like before.  But please "kick the tires" with the new method and let us know what you think.  Hopefully, this new technique will grow on people over time and make ChartStyles and StyleButtons even more useful!

- Chip

Here's all you need to know in order to find all-star stocks:

[min(200, SCTR.sp5) > 50]

That Advanced Scan will return all stocks in the S&P 500 that have had a StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) of that has been higher than 50 for the past 200 trading days.

Again, our SCTR ("scooter") rankings quickly show you how technically strong a stock is compared to the other stocks in its group (in this case, the S&P 500 stocks).  SCTR rankings go from zero to 99.9.  For a stock to have a SCTR ranking above 50 for 200 days or more is very impressive.

Right now, here are the results of that scan:

(Extra and PRO members can change the 50 to a 75 in that advanced scan and then re-run it to see which one of those stocks has had the best SCTR ranking of all.)

You can also add the historical history of a stock's SCTR ranking to a chart using the "SCTR Line" indicator, like this:

Combining SCTRs with our Advanced Scans is one of the most powerful things you can do here at StockCharts.com.  Spend some time using that combination and see how easy it is to find your own investing all-stars.

- Chip

Today we're adding a new function to the Advanced Scan Engine called PctDiff. PctDiff will return the percentage difference between two values. PctDiff can be found in the Technical Indicators list on the Advanced Scan Workbench.

For example, PctDiff(close, SMA(50,close)) will return the percentage difference between the current closing price and the 50-day simple moving average of the close. Here is what a simple scan might look like:

 [type = stock]

and [pctdiff(close,sma(50,close)) < 5]     

Since PctDiff returns the difference between two values, it does not accept time modifiers.  Saying '2 weeks ago' PctDiff doesn't mean anything and thus the Scan Engine ignores any time modifiers.

 - Chip