How to find and use historical stock price data for your trading

There are good reasons to look for historical stock price data. It is important to analyze historical stock charts. Such analysis helps to make good decisions about actual trades.

Historical market analysis is a good trading tool, especially for traders with trades that last several days, weeks or even months. Swing stock market traders and position market traders are good examples.

You can use historical price charts a lot in daily market analysis routine. Analysis of historical market behavior during different market situations helps to better understand today’s market situation. It also helps to find the possible future developments in price for selected shares.

How to find data for stock market history graph

Any good chart analysis software should produce a history graph of any market ticker. Good analysis software typically creates a database of exchange tickers. And then it fills this database with good historical data.

Historical stock price data should be downloaded from a reliable source. The Yahoo finance web page is a good source of such historic share prices for free. It has a really large database of historical stock market data. This site has one big advantage – their data is free and in one place.

How to download data for long term stock charts

I recommend using Amibroker software. This software can download the whole history of the US stock market automatically. It has a very good tool called AmiQuote for this task. AmiQuote can also be used separately to do a historic stock quotes & data download.

But with Amibroker you will be able to use this data to produce a historical price chart. These charts will help you identify very important levels of support and resistance. Just switch time frame to weekly or monthly and you have to see these very important levels.

Stock market history graph analysis example

Here is one such long-term historical stock chart. You can see two important long-term price levels of support and resistance there: 28 USD as the support level and 36 as the resistance level. It is worth it to buy KFT stock near 28 USD with a stop loss under this level. When the stock approaches 36 USD price level it is a good time to realize profits.

Best online trading sites with stock market historical charts

It is also possible to use some online trading sites that provide share price quotes & historical charts. I personally  recommend using FinViz as the best online trading site for long term share price data and charts.

But there is one important shortcoming of these online trading sites. It is possible to see one time frame on a historical graph. You can only see a monthly or weekly chart. It is not possible to have weekly and monthly charts on one screen together. It is much better to have the two opened together for stock chart analysis.

The best chart analysis software, like Amibroker, offers such a feature and so I really recommend using some good chart & data analysis software as the main share price analysis and trading tool.