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title: Entry-Level Tools description: Introduces free/low-cost tools suitable for investment beginners, helping you quickly start investment analysis

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Entry-Level Tools

For investment beginners, choosing the right entry-level tools is very important. This page will introduce you to some simple-to-operate, low-cost (or even free) tools to help you quickly start investment analysis without requiring professional background or large capital investment.

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Yahoo Finance: Obtaining Basic Market Data

Yahoo Finance is a powerful and free financial data platform that provides real-time and historical data for global stocks, bonds, funds, futures, and other financial products. For investment beginners, this is an ideal tool for obtaining basic market data.

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How to Use Yahoo Finance to Query Key Indicators

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Step 1: Visit the Yahoo Finance Website

Open your browser and visit the official Yahoo Finance website.

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Step 2: Search for Stock Code

Enter the stock code in the top search box (e.g., Kweichow Moutai is 600519.SS, Apple Inc. is AAPL), then click on the search result to enter the stock details page.

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Step 3: View P/E Ratio

On the “Summary” tab of the stock details page, you can find the P/E ratio (price-to-earnings ratio). It is usually displayed as “PE Ratio (TTM)”, which represents the price-to-earnings ratio based on the past 12 months of earnings.

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Step 4: Compare Historical and Industry Average

Scroll down the page, and in the “Key Statistics” section, you can view more valuation indicators, including historical P/E range and industry average P/E.

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Excel Templates: Volume-Price Breakout Detection

Excel is a powerful and commonly used data analysis tool. Through simple formulas and functions, we can create practical investment analysis templates. Below, we will introduce how to use Excel to create a simple volume-price breakout detection template.

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Template Design and Formulas

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Data Input Area

First, we need to set up a data input area for entering historical price and volume data of stocks.
DateOpenHighLowCloseVolume
2025-01-02150.00155.00149.50153.201,200,000
2025-01-03153.50156.80152.10154.60980,000
2025-01-04154.80159.30154.20157.801,850,000
………………

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Technical Indicator Calculation Area

Next, we need to add calculations for some commonly used technical indicators, such as moving averages and volume indicators. 
// Calculate 5-day moving average closing price
=AVERAGE(D2:D6)  // Assuming closing price is in column D

// Calculate 10-day moving average closing price
=AVERAGE(D2:D11)

// Calculate 20-day moving average closing price
=AVERAGE(D2:D21)

// Calculate 5-day average volume
=AVERAGE(F2:F6)  // Assuming volume is in column F

// Calculate volume ratio (current day volume / 5-day average volume)
=F2/G2  // Assuming column G is 5-day average volume

// Detect price breakout (whether closing price is greater than 20-day moving average)
=IF(D2>I2, "Yes", "No")  // Assuming column I is 20-day moving average closing price

// Detect volume anomaly (whether volume ratio is greater than 2)
=IF(H2>2, "Yes", "No")  // Assuming column H is volume ratio

// Detect volume-price breakout signal (price breakout and volume anomaly)
=IF(AND(J2="Yes", K2="Yes"), "Volume-Price Breakout", "No Signal")  // Assuming column J is price breakout and column K is volume anomaly

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Signal Prompt Area

Finally, we can add a signal prompt area and use conditional formatting to highlight volume-price breakout signals.
  1. Select the signal column (column L)
  2. Click “Home” > “Conditional Formatting” > “New Rule”
  3. Select “Format only cells that contain”
  4. In “Format only cells with”, select “Cell Value” > “equal to” > “Volume-Price Breakout”
  5. Click “Format”, set the background color to red and font color to white
  6. Click “OK” to complete the setup

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How to Use the Template

1

Download Historical Data

Download historical price and volume data of stocks from websites like Yahoo Finance (usually can be exported in CSV format)
2

Import Data

Open the Excel template and copy-paste the downloaded data into the data input area
3

Update Formula Range

Update the cell reference range in the formulas according to the actual number of data rows
4

View Signals

View volume-price breakout signals in the signal prompt area, which will be automatically highlighted
5

Analyze Results

Combine market news and fundamental analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of the signals and investment opportunities
You can add more technical indicators to the template according to your needs, such as Relative Strength Index (RSI), Bollinger Bands, etc., to improve signal accuracy. You can also use Excel’s chart functions to create visual charts of prices and volumes for more intuitive market trend analysis.

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Other Practical Entry-Level Tools

In addition to Yahoo Finance and Excel templates, there are some other practical entry-level tools to help you with investment analysis and decision-making.

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Free Chart Tool: TradingView

TradingView is a powerful free chart tool that provides rich technical indicators and chart types, suitable for technical analysis.
  • Provides real-time and historical data for global stocks, futures, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, and other markets
  • Rich technical indicator library (over 100 built-in indicators)
  • Multiple chart types (candlestick charts, line charts, bar charts, etc.)
  • Supports custom indicators and drawing tools
  • Community sharing and communication functions, allowing you to view analyses and opinions from other users
  1. Visit the official TradingView website and register for a free account
  2. Enter the stock code in the search box to enter the stock’s chart page
  3. Use the top toolbar to select the time period (such as 1 minute, 5 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, etc.)
  4. Click the “Indicators” button, select and add the technical indicators you are interested in
  5. Use drawing tools to mark key support levels, resistance levels, and trend lines
  6. Save your analysis charts for easy viewing and updating later

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Financial News Aggregation: Wall Street见闻

Wall Street见闻 is a professional financial news aggregation platform that provides real-time, comprehensive financial news and market analysis to help you stay updated with market dynamics.

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Investment Community: Xueqiu

Xueqiu is an active investment community that brings together the views and experience sharing of many investors. By participating in discussions in the Xueqiu community, you can learn from the experiences of other investors and gain market insights.

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Official Data Source: CNINFO

CNINFO is the designated information disclosure platform for listed companies by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. It provides authoritative information such as official announcements and financial statements of listed companies, serving as an important data source for fundamental analysis.

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Tool Combination Usage Recommendations

As an investment beginner, it is recommended to use the following tools in combination to form a complete entry-level analysis system:

Data Acquisition

Technical Analysis

Market Information

Decision Support