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Stupid Question: How To "Follow The Market"?
 

econ's picture
O
(Neanderthal, 2,416
 
Points)
 on 7/12/10 at 11:03am

I often here people say, "you should follow the market," but what exactly does this mean? Should you just be reading the WSJ, or is there much more involved? Should you just pick a small section of the market to follow (since traders and money managers are usually just responsible for a small chunk of the market)? What should I be doing, if I want to follow the market?

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LIBOR's picture

i 'follow' markets myself. I

EN
(Neanderthal, 2,156
 
Points)
 on 7/12/10 at 11:54am

i 'follow' markets myself. I don't work in any area of financial markets (I'm still an undergrad student), but here is what I do to 'follow' the market

1) I read market commentaries. I usually read market commentaries by Dennis Gartman, Dave Rosenberg, and Art Cashin. You could also check out TJ Marta or Jim Grant. Some of these you will have to pay for (or know someone that can send it to you).

2) I follow the market during the day any way I can. This means watching CNBC (I don't get Bloomberg TV at school or I'd be watching that) or listening to Bloomberg Radio (market updates every 10 minutes).

3) I read Seeking Alpha throughout the day. You can obviously flip through WSJ, USA Today, NY Times, Financial Times, IBD, whatever tickles your fancy.

4) Sign up for emails. I'm signed up for all sorts of random emails. I usually get news updates from WSJ. I also signed up for WSJ Market emails. These are sent daily and will usually cover a particular area (ie I get money rates and fx). I also get emails from US gov and stat agencies. I've signed up for emails from the Labor Department, Energy Department, etc. If you are following the market, you'll probably want Unemployment, CPI, & GDP at the minimum sent directly to you. You'll also want anything the Fed does (so sign up for Beige book, and speeches with Fed govs, etc). I also am interested in energy, so I get This Week in Petroleum sent to me. I also get Crop Progress reports from the Dept of Agriculture.

5) Look at charts. I use Stockcharts.com. This is the best site if you don't have access to Bloomberg (which I do at my college but I work all day so I could never use it). I usually go on this once in a while if I want to look at some charts.

To be honest, I don't follow any individual stocks. I like to follow the economy and the markets that are most closely tied to it (equity indices, rates, commodities, fx). It all depends on what you like. Also, keep in mind I don't work in the business, I do this as a hobby (although I do intend on breaking in to WS eventually).

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Ben Shalom Bernanke's picture

LIBOR nailed it. Follow what

AM
(King Kong, 1,425
 
Points)
 on 7/12/10 at 11:31am

LIBOR nailed it. Follow what interests you. Read the WSJ, FT, Economist. Stay up to date in current events and have an idea of what level markets are trading. Maybe start following a handful of stocks that interest you. This may help you to keep up with things. Read the stories that move these stocks.

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