Reading Charts . Lesson 1 of 12

How To Set Up A Company Share Price Chart

A beginner TradingView walkthrough before you start looking for buy or sell signals.

Before you can read a chart, you need to know how to set one up properly. A lot of chart lessons jump straight into indicators, patterns, and complicated trading language. That is not the right starting point. First, you need a clean chart that shows price, time, trend, and volume clearly.

This lesson shows you how to open TradingView, search for a company, choose the right chart type, set the timeframe, add volume, add one basic moving average, and save the layout. After that, you will learn the simple difference between a possible buy signal and a possible sell signal without overcomplicating it.

Part One

Open TradingView and go to Supercharts

Open your browser and go to tradingview.com. From the top menu, choose Products, then click Supercharts. This opens the main charting screen. If a chart already appears, that is fine. You are going to replace it with your own company chart in the next step.

TradingView may ask you to create an account. You do not need to connect a broker or place trades to use the chart. For this lesson, the free charting view is enough.

Part Two

Search for the company ticker

Every listed company has a short code called a ticker. Apple is AAPL. Microsoft is MSFT. NVIDIA is NVDA. To open a chart, click the symbol search box in the top left of TradingView and type the ticker.

For US shares, you may see more than one result. Choose the result from the correct exchange. For example, Apple will usually appear as NASDAQ:AAPL. JPMorgan may appear as NYSE:JPM. If you are unsure, choose the result with the main US exchange next to it.

Part Three

Set the chart to candlesticks

The chart type controls how price is displayed. Beginners often start with a line chart because it looks simple, but a line chart hides useful information. A candlestick chart shows the open, high, low, and close for each period.

At the top of TradingView, click the chart type button and select Candles. This should be your default chart type for learning technical analysis.

Part Four

Set the timeframe to 1D

The timeframe controls what each candle represents. On a 1D chart, each candle represents one trading day. On a 1W chart, each candle represents one trading week. On a 5m chart, each candle represents five minutes.

For beginners, start with the daily chart. Click the timeframe selector near the top left and choose 1D. The daily chart is slow enough to reduce noise, but detailed enough to show trends, pullbacks, breakouts, and support areas.

Timeframe	Best Used For	Beginner Verdict
5m / 15m	Short-term trading	Too noisy at first
1H / 4H	Swing trading detail	Useful later
1D	Daily trend and signals	Start here
1W	Long-term direction	Use for context

Part Five

Turn on volume

Volume shows how many shares were traded during each candle. Price tells you what happened. Volume helps you judge how much participation was behind the move.

Most TradingView layouts already show volume at the bottom of the chart. If you cannot see it, click Indicators, search for Volume, and add it. Keep volume visible at all times.

Part Six

Add one moving average

Do not overload the chart with indicators. Start with one simple trend guide: the 200 day Simple Moving Average. It smooths out price movement and helps you see whether the stock is generally trading above or below its longer-term trend.

Click Indicators, search for Moving Average, and add it. Open the settings and change the length to 200. You can leave everything else simple for now.

Part Seven

Save your beginner layout

Once your chart shows candlesticks, the daily timeframe, volume, and the 200 day moving average, save the layout. This means every company chart you open can use the same clean setup.

Click Save or the layout cloud/save icon near the top right of TradingView. Name the layout something simple, such as Beginner Stock Chart.

Part Eight

The first simple buy signals to notice

Now that the chart is set up, you can start learning what a possible buy signal looks like. A buy signal is not a guarantee. It simply means the chart is showing early signs that buyers may be taking control.

At this beginner stage, focus on three simple ideas: price moving up from support, price breaking above resistance, and price holding above the 200 day moving average.

Beginner Buy Signal	What It Looks Like	Why It Matters
Bounce from support	Price falls to an area, stops falling, then turns up	Buyers may be defending that level
Break above resistance	Price moves above a level it previously struggled to pass	Demand may be stronger than supply
Holding above the 200 day average	Price stays above a rising 200 day moving average	The longer-term trend may still be healthy

Part Nine

The first simple sell signals to notice

A sell signal is the opposite. It does not mean a stock must crash. It means the chart is showing early signs that sellers may be taking control, momentum may be weakening, or the previous trend may be breaking down.

At this stage, focus on three simple warning signs: price falling from resistance, price breaking below support, and price falling below the 200 day moving average.

Key Takeaways

What to remember from this lesson

01	Start with the platform setup before trying to read advanced indicators.
02	Use TradingView Supercharts, search the correct ticker, and choose the correct exchange.
03	Use candlesticks on the daily timeframe for your beginner setup.
04	Keep volume visible because it shows how much participation is behind a move.
05	Start with one moving average, the 200 day SMA, instead of loading the chart with too many indicators.
06	Basic buy and sell signals begin with support, resistance, breakouts, breakdowns, trend, and volume.

Practice Task

Set up three charts before moving on

This lesson is only finished once you can repeat the setup without guessing.

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End of Lesson

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