5 Big Stock Charts You Need to See

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Well, we couldn't have asked for a much better start to 2013. Just a couple of trading days into the New Year, the S&P 500 has managed to rally 2.33% -- and it's up more than 4% from Monday's open. The Nasdaq Composite is even managing to do one better, up around 4.75% over that same period.

Remember, we're talking about three trading sessions here.

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Today, as we look to wrap up the first trading week of 2013, investors and traders have good reason to start feeling optimistic about stocks. I've been saying for the last few months that there's a mountain of cash sitting on the sidelines (and away from stocks) right now. When it eventually has to resort to investing in equities again, we could be looking at the start of a big leg higher.

And now, between the increased money printing at the Fed and the historic low yields risk-free assets like treasuries are offering in return, that money is starting to trickle back into stocks; investor sentiment is trickling in with it. "New month, new market" has been a mantra that equities have followed to a T for the last year and change, so it follows that Mr. Market is showing us a distinctly more bullish side now that the calendar has flipped over to 2013.

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That's why, today, we're taking a technical look at five big tradable charts that could pad your portfolio in the new year.

If you're new to technical analysis, here's the executive summary.

Technicals are a study of the market itself. Since the market is ultimately the only mechanism that determines a stock's price, technical analysis is a valuable tool even in the roughest of trading conditions. Technical charts are used every day by proprietary trading floors, Wall Street's biggest financial firms, and individual investors to get an edge on the market. And research shows that skilled technical traders can bank gains as much as 90% of the time.

Every week, I take an in-depth look at big names that are telling important technical stories. Here's this week's look at the charts of five high-volume stocks to trade for gains.

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