The Stock Market Barometer

The Stock Market Barometer by William Peter Hamilton is one of the most influential works in financial market analysis. As the fourth editor of The Wall Street Journal and the leading interpreter of Charles Dow’s theories, Hamilton explains how the stock market acts as a barometer of future business activity, forecasting economic expansions and contractions long before they appear in public statistics.

This book lays out the complete logic of Dow Theory, including primary trends, secondary reactions, confirmation signals, volume behavior, price structure, and the interaction of industrial and rail averages. Hamilton uses real historical examples—panic periods, bull campaigns, war cycles, and post-war recoveries—to demonstrate how the market reflects collective expectations and economic conditions.

The book includes all of Hamilton’s original insights, such as:

• The three phases of bull and bear markets
• How to identify primary trend reversals
• Why secondary reactions are essential for trend confirmation
• How business conditions correlate with market movement
• How to read the market as a predictive economic indicator

Hamilton writes in a timeless, analytical style, delivering principles that still underpin modern technical analysis and macro market interpretation. This is required reading for traders who want to understand the foundational structure behind trend analysis, market psychology, and economic forecasting.

✅ What You’ll Learn:

• The complete foundations of Dow Theory
• How the market anticipates economic change
• The three phases of bull and bear markets
• How to distinguish primary and secondary trends
• How industrial and rail averages confirm or contradict each other
• How volume and price action reveal market intention
• Long-term pattern logic underlying market cycles
• How business cycles and market cycles interact
• How to identify major turning points using price behavior
• How to interpret the market as a predictive instrument

💡 Key Benefits:

• Learn the core philosophy behind modern technical analysis
• Understand trend logic long before indicators existed
• Gain clarity on market structure, psychology, and phases
• Improve timing using Dow Theory confirmation rules
• Build a deeper macro perspective on business cycles
• Study concepts used by every major technical analyst today

👤 Who This Book Is For:

• Traders and investors wanting a foundational understanding of market structure
• Students of Dow Theory and macro market interpretation
• Technical analysts studying long-term trend principles
• Market historians and researchers
• Intermediate and advanced traders refining their analysis framework
• Anyone wanting to understand why the stock market forecasts the economy

📚 Table of Contents:

• CYCLES AND STOCK MARKET RECORDS
• WALL STREET OF THE MOVIES.
• CHARLES H. DOW, AND HIS THEORY
• Dow’s THEORY, APPLIED TO SPECULATION
• MAJOR MRKET SWINGS
• A UNIQUE QUALITY OF FORECAST
• MANIPULATION AND PROFESSIONAL TRADINQ
• MECHANICS OF THE MARKET
• ”WATER” IN THE BAROMETER
• “A LITTLE CLOUD OUT OF THE SEA, LIKE A MAN’S HAND”-1906
• THE UNPUNCTURED CYCLE
• FORECASTING A BULL MARKET-1908-1909
• NATURE AND USES OF SECONDARY SWINGS
• 1909, AND SOME DEFECTS OF HISTORY
• A ”LINE” AND AN EXAMPLE-1914
• AN EXCEPTION TO PROVE THE RULE
• ITS GREATEST VINDICATION-1917
• WHAT REGULATION DID TO OUR RAILROADS
• A STUDY IN MANIPULATION-1900-1
• SOME CONCLUSIONS-1910-14
• RUNNING TRUE TO FORM-1922-1925
• SOME THOUGHTS FOR SPECULATORS

The Stock Market Barometer By William Peter Hamilton