Interpreting this chart:

Intermarket Technical Analysis is the study of the relationships between the four major financial markets: Stocks, Bonds, Commodities and Currencies. There are three key relationships that bind these four markets together. These relationships are:

• The INVERSE relationship between commodities and bonds
• The POSITIVE relationship between bonds and stocks
• The INVERSE relationship between the US Dollar and commodities

POSITIVE: When one goes up, the other goes up also.
INVERSE: When one goes up, the other goes down.

When these relationships occur, the markets are said to be acting "normally" and there is a good probability the current trends will continue. When one or more of these relationships break down, the markets should be watched carefully for signs of general trend reversals.

[For more detailed info, see John Murphy's book Intermarket Technical Analysis which we highly recommend.]

You can compare the performance of up to ten different stocks, mutual funds, or indices using the PerfChart tool on this page. Enter the ticker symbols you wish to chart in the boxes above and then press 'Go.' If you do not know the symbol for the security you are interested in, use the 'Symbol Catalog' link in the top right corner of this page.