Reading charts was really difficult at first. I didn't even know what candles, support lines, and resistance lines were, but these days I'm starting to understand them.

When I first turn on a trading platform, I see a candlestick chart on the screen. That's a candlestick chart, and surprisingly, it's pretty simple. If it's green, it means the stock price went up; if it's red, it means it went down. The thick part of each candle is called the body, which shows the opening and closing prices during that period. The longer the body, the more the stock price moved significantly during that time. Attached to the body are thin lines called shadows or tails, which indicate the high and low prices.

The most useful tools I use are support lines and resistance lines. I realized this by observing that stock prices tend to bounce back at certain price levels, and connecting those bounce points creates a support line. Basically, it's a psychological threshold indicating that the price doesn't usually go below this level. Conversely, there's a pattern where the price keeps rising but then repeatedly drops at certain points, and connecting those points forms a resistance line. Using support and resistance lines makes it much easier to identify good times to buy and sell.

If the stock price jumps near a support line, there's a high chance it will go up again, so it can be a good buying opportunity. But if it breaks through the support line and keeps falling, you should be cautious. On the other hand, if the price drops near a resistance line, it might be a good time to consider selling. Interestingly, support and resistance lines are not fixed. Once a support line is broken downward, that line can turn into a resistance line.

Moving averages are also important. The moving average, often mentioned in news, is a line that shows the average stock price over a certain period. There are 5-day, 20-day, 60-day moving averages, and so on, which help you see short-term and long-term trends at a glance. When the short-term moving average is above the long-term one, it's called a golden cross, indicating that the recent prices have been rising steadily. Conversely, if it's below, it's called a death cross, meaning prices have been declining.

For beginners, the most useful concepts are the golden cross and death cross. A golden cross occurs when the short-term moving average crosses above the long-term one, signaling increased buying interest, so you might consider buying. A death cross is when the short-term crosses below the long-term, indicating strong selling pressure, so you should be careful.

Trading volume is also essential. By looking at the On-Balance Volume (OBV) indicator, which is a cumulative volume indicator, you can gauge the strength of buying and selling pressure. If the stock price rises but trading volume hardly increases, it means buying interest is weak, which could be a warning that the price might fall soon. Conversely, if the price rises along with increasing volume, it indicates a genuine upward trend.

At first, all of this might seem complicated, but ultimately, these tools serve the same purpose: to trade smarter and reduce mistakes. When you look at candlestick shapes, support and resistance lines, moving averages, and volume indicators together, you can make more accurate judgments. Especially support and resistance lines are fundamental concepts, so make sure to understand them thoroughly. Once these basics are built, you'll naturally understand more complex analyses later on.