Technical Views: What BUY, HOLD and SELL Mean

Every card on the technical analysis screen starts with one word: BUY, HOLD or SELL. One word reads like an order ("buy it all now", "sell it all now"), but that is not what it means. The word summarises the plan beneath it, and the plan always answers three questions: where to buy, where to sell, where to give up.

Three Views in One Table

BUY: A Plan to Buy in a Zone

BUY does not mean "buy now at any price". The plan gives an entry zone, a range rather than a single price. If price is above the zone, the plan does not chase it and waits for a pullback. If price falls under the stop, the plan is void.

The first target is at least 1.5 times the risk away, measured from the top of the zone to the stop. If the nearest target is closer, the view is not BUY; the reward does not cover the risk.

All at Once or in Steps?

Neither breaks the plan; the difference is how the risk is measured.

• At Once: Buy anywhere in the zone in one go. The risk is taken at its worst, from the top of the zone to the stop.
• In Steps: Spread the purchase across the zone (part at the top, the rest toward the bottom). The average cost falls and the distance to the stop shrinks. The price: if price turns before reaching the bottom, the position stays half-built.

Whichever route you take, the stop distance sets the size. More: Risk Management

If You Already Own It

The position is held and the stop is watched as the point of giving up. Targets are not a single exit but stops for taking profit. A common approach is to sell part at the first target and carry the rest to the next: part of the gain is locked in and the rest still rides the move.

HOLD: Wait, Don't Sell

HOLD covers two situations: the indicators disagree, or the trend is sound but price is far from the entry zone. The answer is the same in both: no rush to buy, no reason to sell.

• If You Don't Own It: If a zone is given, wait for price to reach it and for confirmation: a close that holds in the zone, above-average volume. Without a zone, watch the listed supports and resistances.
• If You Own It: HOLD does not mean sell. Watch the stop if one is given, otherwise the nearest support. A break lower can turn the view to SELL.

SELL: No New Buying, Reduce Into Rallies

A SELL view publishes no entry zone and no stop, because the plan is not a buying plan. The levels listed as targets are the resistances where a rally could stall.

• If You Don't Own It: No new purchase. SELL is not a call to short either. Buying waits for the view to turn to HOLD or BUY, that is, for price to reclaim the averages.
• If You Own It: SELL does not mean "sell everything now". The plan sees rallies into resistance as a chance to reduce the position. Exiting can be staged: part at the first resistance, the rest at the next.

The screen cannot know how much to sell; your cost, the position's weight in your portfolio and your tax position decide that. For Turkish residents, gains on foreign shares are declared, and the timing of a sale can change the tax. More: Tax on Foreign Shares

Why the View Rarely Changes

The view is reviewed in every edition but changes only on a concrete trigger:

• a moving average breaking or being reclaimed,
• price falling under the stop,
• the entry zone being rebuilt.

A single sharp day does not flip the view. Indicators come from daily closes; the plan is written for readers of the daily chart, not for intraday trading. A view that flipped from edition to edition would be tracking noise, not a plan.

This article explains a method. Not Investment Advice.