Reading a Stock Quote & Charts

You open Zerodha. You see:

Reliance Industries: ₹2,453.50 ▲ +23.40 (0.96%)

What does this mean? Let's decode it.

1. The Stock Quote (The Basics)

A. Current Price (LTP - Last Traded Price)

₹2,453.50 = The price at which the last trade happened.

B. Change

+23.40 = Today's price is ₹23.40 higher than yesterday's close.

C. Percentage Change

0.96% = (23.40 / 2,430.10) x 100.

Green = Up, Red = Down

2. Advanced Quote Data

A. Open, High, Low, Close (OHLC)

Term	Meaning
Open	Price at 9:15 AM (Market open)
High	Highest price during the day
Low	Lowest price during the day
Close	Price at 3:30 PM (Market close)
Prev. Close	Yesterday's closing price

Example:

• Open: ₹2,430
• High: ₹2,480
• Low: ₹2,420
• LTP: ₹2,453
• Prev. Close: ₹2,430

Interpretation: Stock opened flat, rallied to ₹2,480, dipped to ₹2,420, and is now at ₹2,453.

B. Volume

Volume = Number of shares traded today.

• High Volume + Price Up = Strong buying interest.
• High Volume + Price Down = Strong selling pressure.
• Low Volume = No one cares (Risky for traders).

C. Market Cap

Market Capitalization = Share Price x Total Shares Outstanding.

Example:

• Reliance Price: ₹2,450
• Shares Outstanding: 676 Crore
• Market Cap = 2,450 x 676 Cr = ₹16.56 Lakh Crores

Categories:

• Large Cap: > ₹20,000 Cr (Reliance, TCS).
• Mid Cap: ₹5,000 - ₹20,000 Cr.
• Small Cap: < ₹5,000 Cr.

D. P/E Ratio (Price-to-Earnings)

P/E = Share Price / Earnings Per Share (EPS).

Example:

• Reliance Price: ₹2,450
• EPS: ₹120
• P/E = 2,450 / 120 = 20.4

Interpretation:

• P/E = 20: Market is willing to pay ₹20 for every ₹1 of profit.
• High P/E (> 30): Expensive or high-growth expectations.
• Low P/E (< 15): Cheap or out-of-favor.

Compare P/E with:

• Industry average.
• Historical P/E of the same company.

E. 52-Week High/Low

• 52-Week High: ₹2,800 (Highest price in last year).
• 52-Week Low: ₹2,100 (Lowest price).

Use: If current price (₹2,450) is near 52-week low → Potentially undervalued or in trouble.

3. Understanding Charts

A. Line Chart (Simple)

Connects closing prices over time.

• Rising Line = Uptrend.
• Falling Line = Downtrend.

B. Candlestick Chart (Most Popular)

Each "candle" shows 4 things: Open, High, Low, Close.

Green Candle (Bullish):

• Body: Open (bottom) to Close (top).
• Close > Open (Price went up).

Red Candle (Bearish):

• Body: Open (top) to Close (bottom).
• Close < Open (Price went down).

Wicks/Shadows: Thin lines above and below the body show High and Low.

Example:

• Open: ₹100
• High: ₹110 (Top wick)
• Low: ₹95 (Bottom wick)
• Close: ₹105

Result: Green candle. Body from 100 to 105. Wicks to 95 and 110.

C. Support & Resistance

Support = Price level where stock tends to stop falling (Demand zone).

• Example: TCS keeps bouncing back from ₹3,200. Support = ₹3,200.

Resistance = Price level where stock tends to stop rising (Supply zone).

• Example: TCS struggles to cross ₹3,800. Resistance = ₹3,800.

Strategy:

• Buy near Support (Low risk).
• Sell near Resistance (Book profit).
• Breakout: If price crosses resistance with volume → Strong uptrend.

D. Moving Averages

Moving Average (MA) = Average price over N days.

Common MAs:

• 50-Day MA: Short-term trend.
• 200-Day MA: Long-term trend.

Golden Cross: 50-MA crosses above 200-MA → Buy Signal. Death Cross: 50-MA crosses below 200-MA → Sell Signal.

7-Day Action Plan

Day 1: Open your broker app. Pick any stock. Read the full quote (Open, High, Low, Volume, P/E).
Day 2: Switch to Candlestick chart. Identify 3 green and 3 red candles. Understand why.
Day 3: Find Support and Resistance for a stock you follow. Mark them on the chart (Use drawing tools).
Day 4: Compare P/E of 3 companies in the same sector (E.g., HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI).
Day 5: Check 52-Week High/Low for Nifty 50 stocks. How many are near their highs?
Day 6: Learn about RSI (Relative Strength Index). Values > 70 = Overbought (Sell signal).
Day 7: Paper trade. Pretend to buy ₹10,000 worth of a stock. Track it for a week.

Quiz

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💡 Final Wisdom: "Charts are the footprints of money." Learn to read them, but don't predict the future. Markets are unpredictable.