The Best Charts for Swing Trading

There are so many options and information for traders in today’s online world, that most new traders fall into analysis paralysis.  What are the best charts, what is swing trading, where do I start?

There are endless charts for swing trading, no matter the asset class. Swing trading involves taking on a position for a matter of days, with no real-time limit set to the trade. Once you get past the year mark, however, that may just be an investment.

In today’s post, I want to share the best charts to use for swing trading.

The Best Charts Platform for Swing Trading

First and foremost, I believe that TradingView has created the best charts for stocks.  It is FREE and powerful. (No affiliation with TRADEPRO Academy). There is a PRO version of the platform as well that comes at a monthly cost, for extra charting templates and multiple indicators. Keep in mind, you do not need the paid version of Trading View for multi-timeframe analysis. However you might not be able to split the screen into multiple timeframes as the image below suggests.

Why do we recommend Trading View?  Because their entire platform is online-based, and complete with all of the most common (and not so common) indicators a trader needs.  In addition to that, you can also share your trading ideas with the community, as well as view ideas from other traders.  The community and collaboration feature is very helpful and friendly -, especially for new traders.

By far the best feature of TradingView charts is that they allow you to create custom templates, indicators and much more.  It really is a complete platform and hands down the best charts available.  Give it a try, you will not regret it.

Not to mention, the platform has all asset classes from all across the world that traders can get technical access to. This includes US equities, FOREX, Cryptocurrency and Futures. Not limited to these.

The platform also allows traders to connect to their brokerages to the platform. There is a limited number of accessible brokerages. If yours does have compatibility with Trading View you can use their software to place trades!

The connecting brokers include, but may not be limited to: CQG, AMP, OANDA, Forex.com, iBroker, Tradovate.

My Favorite Time Frame for Swing Trading

One question that new traders have is what are the best time frames for analysis when you are swing trading.

To answer this, I will share my settings and how I use them in my trading strategy. The short and sweet answer is multi-timeframe analysis.

The multi-timeframe analysis is pivotal to anyone’s trading analysis. No matter if you are day trading, swing trading or even investing and using technicals.

Trend Direction Identification

Weekly and daily charts:

When it comes to timeframe analysis its always wise to start at a larger timeframe. Something more extended to see the larger picture of the market and to identify the overall trend. At TRADEPRO academy, we like to use the weekly to show us the overall direction of the stock or index in question.

The power of an overview timeframe down to a smaller time frame, such as the daily. If that once you drop down in timeframe’s you can zero in on the trade location and follow the micro trend with more precision.

After having identified the general weekly trend, we know which way the stock is going and we can begin to analyze the position in question. If the trend is strong to the upside or downside we may look for a pullback location to get on the side of the trend and ride it out. If the trend looks like it’s coming to an end based on technicals, support, resistance or volume we may begin to qualify a fade.

It’s important to keep in mind that at this point all we have is an idea. Every trade should start with an idea. Based on that idea we continue with our trading plan and begin to put together an actionable trade.

At this point, we shift down to the daily chart to further the analysis. We will then identify, are we in a primary move in the trend direction, or in a corrective move against the trend.  This will then help us pinpoint a more narrow area of interest that I will look for trade entries. This is what we call the micro trend from the overall move we saw in the weekly timeframe. If the micro trend coincides with the overall trend, whether it’s up or down. We may have qualified a longer-term trade if both trends is pointing in the same direction. And they are giving us the opportunity to catch a larger move.

However, there are cases in which the micro trend is in the opposite direction of the longer-term trend. This may be considered a micro trend fade and a shorter length trade opportunity. Once this trade is over, the micro trend may have pulled back just enough for traders to jump on the overall trend’s side and ride a longer trade.

Notice that so far, I have not made any trades – it is all just cycle and trend analysis, with the benefit of identifying a target entry area for my swing trading strategy.

For more information, check out the Swing Trading Package. 

Notice in the example below, we have chosen Apple (AAPL) to analyze. On both the weekly, we can see that higher highs and higher lows are beginning to form for the uptrend. Just based on some technical used, we can see that there is still strength to the upside and we are in a pullback territory for the longs. An area of interest for the trade maybe around $193-196/share.

Trade Entry

Four hours, one hour and fifteen-minute charts:

The multi-timeframe analysis. Above we explained the importance of dropping down to smaller and smaller time frames. This is done to find better entry and it shows you the price movement on a more intricate level. An important note is, the multi-timeframe analysis reflects the length of the trade. Meaning if you are using a weekly, daily and four-hour chart. You are more likely to hold onto or look for a position for an extended period of time.

On the other hand, if you start at a four-hour and work down to a fifteen-minute. You are probably going to hold the trade for a few days on the higher end of the trade.

Once we have identified the target entry area based on the daily chart as seen in the example of Apple above, we will switch to the four-hour chart and see what the price action is telling me.  if the price continues to move to the upside based on the AAPL stock, we will identify a pullback level at which we could jump in with little risk. And a lot of continuation potential. Following the trend is the less risky trade in more scenarios, as opposed to fading. The key is to look for entries when price action is moving against the trend, but slowing down.

From there we will switch to the one hour to further drill down into an entry zone.

The fifteen-minute gives us the option to nail down a price with laser precision, but if you are not trading full time and have another job, you can easily get also get an entry on the hourly chart.  The only difference is that you may have to take a larger risk on your trade, but you can compensate this with taking less position size to reduce your total risk to your strategy parameters.

Swing Trading Charts Setup

Below is an in-depth view of the process we have described above, from start to finish on Apple. Beginning with the weekly chart and ending at the 1-hour chart. Top left is a weekly chart, top right a daily, bottom left a four-hour and bottom right a one-hour chart.

Beginning with the one-week chart, we first identify the direction of the trend on Apple. It’s an uptrend, printing higher highs, and higher lows. It has not managed to print a new all-time high. Volume increases to the upside. Based on the basic market structure, the next support level to hold should be above the previous peak lower around $175. Based on the previous high that held resistance a more aggressive long area is at 190-194.

Down to the daily timeframe, we can further dissect the trade level and refine it. The trend is still to the upside, so we are looking for a pullback for the long. On the weekly, we identified an area around $194. Based on the daily, that level has stayed the same. Price actually bounced off that level recently for the move higher. This was based off the previous peaks of resistance that held.

As we continue to move down the timeframes, into the four-hour we see the entry-level begins to inch closer to the price at $196/share. Again based on the price action of the low holding support right where a previous resistance broke.

The final timeframe, the one-hour. We continue to refine the entry-level to $197/share. Based on where previous support held time and time again and higher highs and higher lows form.

Conclusion

So there you have it, a detailed explanation on how to identify and follow a trend, and further drill down into entry zones and executions.

When it is all said and done, a swing trading strategy is the most important part, followed by your discipline in executing it.

Once you have your rules, you can use the information above to help you cycle through different chart timeframes to pin-point your entry with laser precision.

There is no one best timeframe for swing trading, but rather the multi-timeframe analysis to help you identify the entry based on a top-down technical analysis.

If you would like help creating your trading plan, or to learn more of the tools that professional traders use to analyze and execute setups, check out our subscription packages.

If you are new and want to learn how to swing trade, the options pro membership is an affordable, but powerful way to get started.

If you want to day trade in a live room and learn how the professionals make money reading order flow, the day trader pro package is the perfect solution for you.

The information contained in this post is solely for educational purposes, and does not constitute investment advice.  The risk of trading in securities markets can be substantial.  You should carefully consider  if engaging in such activity is suitable to your own financial situation.  TRADEPRO Academy is not responsible for any liabilities arising as a result of your market involvement or individual trade activities.