Decisions to buy or sell by predicting the movement of the market is called ‘Market timing’ strategy and is a very controversial topic, and its viability has been a subject of debate for years.

Some analysts claim to predict market movements precisely. But some quite many people have tested their services and burnt their fingers. So we are not sure whether the paid services of these market predictors are worth availing.

Another important point we have to note is that each investor is unique and their capacity to take risks, expectations of returns, investment period, and investment objectives all vary from investor to investor. What may be good for one may not be the same for another person. This being the case, calls to buy or sell may not make sense as it may not be based on the preference of an individual.

You may now ask what about the market predictions we see in newspapers and websites? One has to take such comments in the right context. Analysts comment on the trend of the market in general and are not stock specific. They may only specify sectors that are likely to have a positive or negative impact due to national and international economic events. It is the responsibility of the investors to do some research on their own and examine whether these factors have to be considered while taking decisions on investments.

Then there are calls to buy or sell specific stocks appearing in television channels and newspapers. What we see or read is their opinion on the prospects of the stock based on historic data. One has to evaluate the stock based on their investment objectives and decide whether the recommended stock is suitable for investment.

There may be big investment companies or investors who have the experience and the system to predict the market and make huge money. But then, they will not let out the information.

The only option for an ordinary investor is to use information in the public domain or from their brokers or subscribe to paid software or develop a system of their own to get better returns.

Market reports usually combine technical and fundamental data. Investors therefore must at least have a basic knowledge about them. Tons of free resources on investment for beginners are available on the internet and it is important to get oneself educated by reading and understanding the basics before trying to understand a report on market analysis.