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Dow Theory

An early framework of market trends built on the writings of Charles Dow.

Market TheoriesIntermediate

Definition

Its main ideas: prices reflect all available information; markets have a primary trend lasting months to years, a secondary trend of corrections and short-term noise; and trends should be confirmed, historically by the Dow Industrials and the Transports moving together, and by volume.

Watch out for

It is a conceptual foundation for technical analysis rather than a trading system, and its original confirmation rule has not always held.

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