IBD Market Pulse

One of the best features of the IBD that I refer to each day is the IBD Market Pulse. In an instant, I can see exactly what the Investor's Business Daily thinks I should be doing at the moment. Over time, I've noticed that they have streamlined the status messages that appear in the current market outlook as well. This makes it easy to see whether you should be active in the market or on the sidelines.

The first part of the market pulse shows you what happened today in the markets. When I looked today, it said "Mixed in lower volume".

Next, you'll find the Current Outlook. Today, the outlook is "Market in confirmed uptrend." You might also see "Uptrend under pressure" and "Market in Correction". You should be in case when the market is in correction, cautious when and uptrend is under pressure and a buyer when the market is in a confirmed uptrend. It's critical that you keep an eye on this daily.

While it's not in today's paper, the next section would keep track of distribution days on each index. This gives you a good indication of how strong the market is when there aren't very many like today. It also tells you when the market is weakening when they start piling up.

Finally, the last section tells you what leader's were up in volume and which ones were down in volume. I take a mention here as my clue that I should watch the stocks listed here, particularly the ones up in volume.

You can find the IBD Market Pulse in the Big Picture column each and every day in the IBD. Make reviewing it part of your stock market investing daily routine.