5 easy steps to getting S&P 500 historical data

There are two options you have for getting some free historical stock data for the S&P 500. First you need to decide  how much data you need. If you're looking for years of data, see option 1. If you already have a database full of historical data, and just want to keep it up to date, see option 2. Option 2 is best for 1 day to 1 month of data.

Option 1
This is best to get large amounts of historical stock data. The process can take a little while, but is free, and reliable.

1. go to S&P historical stock data
2. download the spreadsheet provided on the website
3. get the list of stock symbols from the website. otherwise you can provide your own.
4. Paste the symbols into the spreadsheet.
5. Press the 'Download' button, and you're done!

You now should have a list of files containing historical stock data in metastock 7 format on your PC. The default location is c:\historicaldata\


Option 2
This is best for keeping your existing data up to date. About 1 day to 1 month of historical data.

1. go to S&P 500 historical data
2. get the list of stock symbols from the website. otherwise you can provide your own.
3. click on the 'Daily Download' page.
4. Paste the stock symbols into the text box.
5. Press the 'Download' button, and you're done!

The historical stock data will be in a text box in your browser. Simply copy this into a text file, and import it into your charting software program.

How do I find specific historic stock data?

There are many resources online to download historical stock data. They range from the free, all the way to the expensive paid subscriptions. From tick by tick data, to daily, weekly, and even monthly. To make it even more confusing, there at least 20 different data formats: metastock, EzyCharts, FCharts, CSV, just to name a few. And worse yet, is that not all websites cater for stock exchanges outside the US. If you live in the US, and only trade American stocks, the world is your oyster. You have your pick of free, and paid resources online to easily get your hands on some data. Those of us outside this zone will have a much harder time getting decent data for our back testing.


The best resource I've found so far, is at stockhistoricaldata.com. First of all, it is free. Absolutely free. You don't have to pay a single cent for this data.


Secondly, they support multiple data format types: Advanced Get, EzyCharts, FCharts, Metastock 7 and 8 columns, standard spreadsheet, CSV, Stock Screener Pro, and Supercharts. If you're confused, and not quite sure what format is most appropriate, I recommend metastock 7. This is the standard formats most charting software programs accept. You won't go wrong with this format. And if you've downloaded the wrong format, No worries. Simply revisit the site, and get the data again in the correct format.


Thirdly, the data is sourced from yahoo finance, a reputable and reliable source of historical data. You're probably wondering at this point why don't you just go directly to yahoo and download the data from there yourself? Well, yahoo does provide the data, freely, but they have chosen to make it as hard as possible for you to get the data in the format needed for charting software programs. It is alot of work to reformat the raw data available from yahoo into the format needed. Luckily this is easily automated, and has already been done for you.


Lastly, and this is the best aspect of stockhistoricaldata.com, is that it supports many stock exchanges from all over the world. Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Torronto Stock Exchange (TSX), London Stock Exchange (LSE), and many more. And of course, also stocks from the US stock exchanges, the Dow Jones, NASDAQ, NYSE, and AMEX. So people all over the world, regardless of what country they live in, can get their hands on some reliable historic stock data for their local stock exchange.


I hope this guide has helped in your stock trading. Good luck with all your future trades.

Beginning Stock Trading

In the olden days, people used to hide their money under their mattress. Those days are gone. We work hard for our money. Now our money should be working for us. Savings accounts, and term deposits yield some interest, but there are better ways to make your money work for you. Stock trading not only sounds impressive, but can yield impressive results as well. In today's information age, it is easier than people think to start trading stocks. There are so many books out there to educate beginner investors prior to trading stocks. If people don't want to spend money buying books, then there are other free resources available online to educate you. Brokers have also made it really easy for people to apply for a brokerage account, and start trading within a few days.


When you buy a stock, you are becoming part owner of the stock's company. You don't necessarily have the power to drive the direction of the company, or make executive decisions for the company, but are entitled to its profits in the form of dividends.


The most important aspect about stock trading is risk. Remember, there are no guarantees when it comes to owning stocks. Stock prices can go up, but they can also go down. You can make money as easily as you can lose money. Some people would argue it is easier to lose money than make money. This is true, as 90% of traders lose money on the stock, and foreign exchange. To lower the risk of losing money in the stock market, traders can diversify their portfolio. Never put all your money into one stock. Not only is this a bad idea from a diversification perspective, but also a bad money management strategy. Try to trade stocks in different areas, and spread the risk around.


There are a wide variety of stocks to choose from. Beginner investors can often feel overwhelmed by the choices and options available. It is often best to steer clear of penny stocks at first. They can be tempting, as the idea that they can triple, or quadruple overnight may be too much to resist. And with a small amount of money, a new trader can own a significant number of stocks, compared to an established company. However, these companies can be more volatile, and unpredictable. For beginners, it's best to stick to blue chip stocks. The bigger companies are more well known, and stable. If you cannot afford to buy stocks in blue chip companies, maybe you shouldn't be stock trading. You should only be trading using money you can afford to lose. If the you lost all your investment, run the risk of financial problems, you should steer clear of stock trading until later on.


Stock Trading is a risky business. Remember to arm yourself with as much ammo as you can before joining the battle. The best ammo is knowledge. Good luck with all your future trades.

Why Backtesting is Critical for Stock Trading

So you’ve decided to give stock trading a go. You’ve read a few books on technical analysis, and learnt the basics on candlestick patterns, moving averages, oscillators, and other technical indicators. You’ve either found a stock trading system, or developed your own. Whether it’s a simple moving average crossover, or a complex system involving Fibonacci, probability, trend lines, and oscillators, you will need to test your system. How will you know if your trading system can be profitable in the future if it isn’t profitable for at least some period in the past.

We all know the past doesn’t necessarily represent the future. All books, and websites online have that disclaimer. And it is true; Just because a trading system performs well in the past doesn’t mean it will remain profitable in the future. However, you may also want to look at it from this point of view. If a trading system continually loses money every year for the past 10 years, what’s the likelihood that it will magically become profitable over the next few months? If the graph showing capital over time looks like a slippery slide, it is highly unlikely that it will look like a mountain once you start trading with real capital.

If the current market is ranging sideways, then you would be more comfortable going live with your real money if your back tests showed it was profitable at least part of the time when the market previously ranging sideways. However, don’t expect profits in a ranging market if the system’s a trend following system. Not all systems are profitable 100% of the time. Some are only profitable during trending periods. Others are only profitable during ranging markets. There is no system that will be profitable in all different market conditions. You will need to use your common sense when performing back testing.

There are many software programs available for download online that will test your trading systems for you. Simply code in your buy and sell conditions, and the program will run through all the data it has, and spit out a report with the details of each trade placed, and the profit or loss outcome. I personally recommend Amibroker, as this is what I used after some research online. I am not affiliated with the software company in any way. I just think that it is the most value for money software you can get online. It is decently priced, and has all the critical functions you need. I don’t believe you should spend 6 thousand dollars on a piece of software, and then another 6 to attend the training course. Amibroker is a few hundred dollars, and will do the trick nicely. There is a huge support network online through forums that are happy to help you with any trouble you have with the software.

You don’t have to choose Amibroker. Any other charting software will do. Once you’ve got that, its simply a matter of writing up your buy and sell conditions, importing Historical Stock Data into the software, and back testing your trading systems.

Good Luck with all your future trades.