A very simple question, but the answer can go VERY complex so not sure where to start lol.
There are many far more wizardy than I am in technicals but here's what worked for me after testing several methods the masters have been doing, especially in the metals exploration space, which is the sandbox I've been mainly playing in.
If you're in a speculative market like ARO or other explorers your best bet is to use a daily chart. You can extract a huge amount of trend insight before even looking at hourly or weekly charts.
Charting it over a 12-month period should give you all the information you need to make a first-pass judgement.
My first task in the workflow is to see if there is a macro-trend forming (my purple lines). My favourite is the upward channel (like what ARO is showing now) and an upward triangle like what Example A below is currently sitting at.
Good to buy whenever prices hits the lower trend line of the pattern, ideally when the pattern is mature and has done some time running within the pattern. You'll want to use things like MACD and RSI to confirm the strength before buying in.
All these should be while the 5, 10 and 20 EMA (blue, orange and red) lines are above the 50 MA line (grey), which is also a sign of strength.
When prices fall out of the channel or triangle pattern it means the trend is falling apart and is the first warning. You'll need to start contemplating if you need to exit to preserve against an impending change in momentum. The next "trip wire" to look at is the crossing between moving averages with the second example below.
These would describe 60% of what I use to gauge opportunities and risk. So far it works reasonably well but again it's down to personal needs and you're sure to find something else that works for you to add in. Nothing is absolute to trends will fail. The idea is to find a workflow that enhances your probabilities of success. This workflow does a reasonable job for me.
There are much bigger masters than me out there in people and books so keep learning =)
P.S I'm explaining all these for you for my own benefit. I try to explain a concept, and if can't do it in an easy 10-minute read then it's probably not a good concept. Need to keep things simple for it to work repeatedly. I think you can read this in 10 minutes so it should help validate my concept lol.
Example A: upward triangle: AZY
Example B: Example of things falling apart. 5 EMA goes below 10 EMA, and 10EMA goes below 20 EMA (orange circle, which acts as a second line warning) and the critical point to jump at or before is when the three lines all cross below the grey 50 MA line (red circle, the third and final line warning which may also be too late).
