i guess most of us here are technicians since we have been trained to trade using technical tools but i'd be honest, though i have my success stories to tell, i believe that knowledge in fundamentals is really a must.

my question is, would absolute traders be offering any basic course on this as well?

gurus?

In one word: NO.

Tigas ng "NO" ni Sir Bonner.

Our gurus are right in "not to mix FA and TA" because its really confusing (especially in dealing A particular stock). One classic example is URC, it's fundamentally a buy because of good Q1 earnings, yet technically it was not a buy because there was a bearish pattern (some said it's H&S while I interpret it as descending tri), true enough it went down.

Philippine market is notoriously reputated as a "perceptive market" - meaning our stock market trade based on perceptions (even fundamentalist here trade based on 'perceived potential earnings of a particular stock'. In this kind of scenario, obviously TA had the edge. TA reveals the emotion swing of the stock; moreover, TA spot participation & distribution stage which is very very important for entry & exit point (FA cannot spot this, it only can give a 'fair valuation of particular stock' whether its over-valued or under-valued).

Nonetheless, some basic FA are useful for general guideline purposes only like interest rates and inflation rates of which "interest rate" is the most important. Let me explain, generally if interest rates are low people wouldn't park their money at the bank (for obvious reason that they want higher return). They have 2 options: invest in real estate properties or stock market of which the latter is more liquid. In my opinion, you can have both ... by simply buying property stocks ... which particular property stocks? ... that you have to use TA.

Secondly, if inflation rates are low (purchasing power increases) people tend to consume more. Question, if you have extra pesos to dispose or consume what are the probable things you will buy? Text loads .. more loads, electronic gadgets, food, appliances, groceries, etc. Again, which particular stocks? ... that you have to use TA.

Furthermore, there are chain reactions. If property market is booming, bank stocks would follow also because of increase in bank loan portfolios for amortization, etc.

Take note, these basic FA should be used as general guidelines only. You may agree or disagree with my opinion .... mine is only suggestion. :wink:

Guys, I'm not a hater of FA. I realize it's something that many learn during college and many use currently to create reports for their clients, especially if it's institutional clients. They put value in valuation (parang ang redundant nun).

But I will also look inconsistent when we already taught you TA with the notion that FA and TA shouldn't mix.

Just as it is written in John Murphy's book, I'm a technician with a basic knowledge of how fundamentals work. However I also believe that fundamentals kick in much later than technicals.

If you want to use fundamentals as a filter, that is your choice. But the reason why I was adamant about letting you all mix it with TA is this: we all will say, we won't mix that, we just use it to filter the good issues from the bad. Been there, done that. Subconsciously, whatever you retain from the fundamental reports of the different companies will spring up while doing technicals. So even if the charts tell you it will go one way, your subconscious mind will say something else based on what you've read. Magpakatotoo lang tayo. Pwedeng mangyari ito and mangyayari ito uli. It has to me.

Some may be turned off (a term I use mildly) by my being a purist and totally shunning FA. But understand where I come from. I've been trading the stock market since 1995. I started as a fundamentalist, listening to rumors, reading those FS which give me the EPS, PE, etc. But why am I now a purist technician? Think about it.

I think TA has opened the world of trading to non-business and non-economic majors like myself. That is the value of TA. While FA may have its own merits, TA has brought stock trading to the ground. Thanks also to guys like Bonner and Danny. For me, FA is just a background. The real meat is that, "Price discounts everything."

The mind sticks to habits. So the lesser you know of FA, the better you are in TA