What is fundamental analysis in trading?
Fundamental analysis examines the causes of price moves: interest rates and inflation, growth and the labour market, company results, politics and commodities. Long-term investors use it to ask what a stock or currency is fairly worth. Traders use it differently: they want to know when a piece of news moves prices and in which direction.
What matters is not the news itself but its distance from expectations. An inflation rate of 3% can lift or sink a currency, depending on whether the market expected 2.8% or 3.2%. That is why every page in this section starts with the question of what was expected and what actually came out. How to read this in the calendar is explained on the page how to read an economic calendar.
Fundamental analysis or chart analysis?
The two answer different questions. Chart analysis shows where buyers and sellers have reacted so far and how the trend is running. Fundamental analysis shows why that might change. If you only read the chart, releases will surprise you, and if you only read the news, you will find poor entries.
| Feature | Fundamental analysis | Chart analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | Economic data, central banks, company results, news | Prices, candles, lines, indicators |
| Key question | Why does the price move? | Where and when does the price react? |
| Strength | Explains major turns and price jumps | Provides entry, stop and target |
| Weakness | Says little about the exact entry | Gets overrun by the news |
| At FinScans | Economic calendar, news situation in the cockpit | Signals, trend on eight timeframes |
The technical side is covered in the sections on trendlines, support and resistance and indicators.
Which news moves the markets?
The strongest moves come from central banks, followed by inflation and labour market data, growth figures and, for stocks, quarterly earnings. On top of that come events without a date, such as geopolitical crises or news from the crypto market. The pages in this section follow the categories of the FinScans calendar and the news page.
| Topic | What it covers | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Economic calendar | Previous, consensus, actual, surprise | How to read an economic calendar |
| Trading the news | Before, during and after the release | News trading |
| Central banks | Rate decisions, press conferences, speeches | Central banks and rate decisions |
| Inflation | Consumer prices, PCE price index, producer prices | Inflation data |
| Labour market | US employment report (NFP), unemployment rate, initial claims | Labour market data |
| Growth | GDP, purchasing managers' indices, retail sales, sentiment | Growth and the business cycle |
| Companies | Quarterly results and guidance | Earnings reports |
| Company news | Ad-hoc disclosures, analysts, insiders, IPOs | Company news |
| Commodities | OPEC, inventories | Energy and commodities |
| Geopolitics | Elections, conflicts, safe havens | Geopolitics |
| Cryptocurrencies | Regulation, ETFs, upgrades, hacks | Crypto news |
| Further data | Trade balance, housing, bond auctions, money supply | Further economic data |
Scheduled releases and unexpected news
For trading, what matters most is whether you can see the news coming. For scheduled releases such as rate decisions or inflation data, the time is known, only the result is not. You can prepare: reduce the position, check the stop or exit before the release.
Unexpected news such as ad-hoc disclosures, geopolitical events or a hack at a crypto exchange cannot be prepared for. The only protection is risk that is limited from the outset: a position size that can absorb a gap, and a stop at a real structure. More on this in risk management. Speeches by central bankers sit in between: the date is fixed, the content is not.
Fundamental data in the four trading styles
The longer you hold a position, the harder it is to avoid releases and the more the broad fundamental direction counts.
Fundamental data in scalping (15m, 30m)
In scalping on 15m and 30m, major releases are above all a cost risk: spreads widen and stops are filled at worse prices. Many scalpers stay out of the market in the minutes before a high-impact figure and wait for the first closed 15m candle after the release.
Fundamental data in day trading (1h, 2h)
In day trading on 1h and 2h, the calendar belongs in the daily plan. A major figure often sets the direction or the range for the rest of the day. The yardstick for the reaction is the closed 1h candle, not the first minute.
Fundamental data in swing trading (4h, 8h)
In swing trading on 4h and 8h, you hold through releases. Weekly planning around the central bank meetings and inflation data of the currencies involved determines position size and stop distance. Added to this is the risk of a gap over the weekend.
Fundamental data in position trading (12h, 1d)
In position trading on 12h and 1d, fundamental analysis is at the core of the decision. The sequence of data counts: if inflation rises for months, the central bank changes course, and that gives a currency its broad direction.
How FinScans connects technicals and news
In the cockpit, the overall assessment combines technicals and the news situation, weighted differently by horizon: short (15m to 2h) 90 to 10, medium (4h and 8h) 60 to 40, long (12h and 1d) 30 to 70. The methodology on horizons explains this in more detail. For the news situation, every report is rated bullish, bearish or neutral and weighted by its impact, as the methodology on the news situation describes.
The FinScans economic calendar shows releases with actual, forecast and previous, all times in UTC. When a high-impact release is due or has just been published, a heads-up appears at the overall assessment in the cockpit, and the box "Economic data for …" puts the figure into context. The news page can be filtered by asset class and report type, for example by earnings. FinScans signals exist for forex and crypto pairs.
The next high-impact releases and the most recently published values from the FinScans calendar:
Next dates in the FinScans calendar
Full calendar- TomorrowGBPGDP q/q●●●Forecast 0.8%Previous 0.5%in 18h
- TomorrowGBPGDP y/y●●●Forecast 1.3%Previous 1.4%in 18h
- TomorrowGBPGDP m/m●●●Forecast 0.1%Previous 0.1%in 18h
- TomorrowUSDInitial Jobless Claims●●●in 1 day
- TomorrowUSDEIA Crude Oil Stocks Change●●●Forecast -2.489MPrevious -0.865Min 1 day
- TomorrowEURECB President Lagarde Speech●●●in 1 day
All times UTC.
Recently released: actual vs. consensus
Full calendar- November 10, 2026USDCPI●●●Actual 337.476Forecast 338.683Previous 336.298
- November 10, 2026USDCore CPI n.s.a. m/m●●●Actual 0.2%Previous 0.4%
- November 10, 2026USDCore CPI●●●Actual 339.900Forecast 339.796Previous 338.896
- November 10, 2026USDCore CPI m/m●●●Actual 0.3%Forecast 0.2%Previous 0.3%
- November 10, 2026USDCPI m/m●●●Actual 0.4%Forecast 0.5%Previous 0.6%
All times UTC.
Hybrid work with the news
FinScans collects the releases, assesses published figures and summarises the news situation. Whether you exit before a release, wait for it or enter after it is your decision. The page on hybrid trading describes this workflow. Three questions are worth asking before every trade:
- Is a high-impact release for one of the currencies involved due within my holding period?
- Does the news situation in the cockpit fit the direction of the signal, or does it run against it?
- Can my position absorb a gap if unexpected news comes out?
Frequently asked questions
Do I need fundamental analysis as a day trader?
Yes, at least the economic calendar. Even if you trade only from the chart, you need to know when a major figure comes out, because in those minutes spreads widen and technical levels get broken. A day trader does not, however, need an opinion on the fair value of a currency. It is enough to know the release dates and to wait for the reaction.
What matters more, the news or the chart?
It depends on the holding period. On short timeframes the technicals usually determine the entry, and the news is mainly a risk. The longer the holding period, the more the fundamental direction counts. The overall assessment in the FinScans cockpit reflects this: 90 to 10 for the technicals on the short horizon, 30 to 70 for the news on the long one.
Where can I find the next important releases?
In the FinScans economic calendar. Without filters it shows the releases with high and medium impact from the previous day to seven days ahead, with actual, forecast and previous. The filters let you choose the period, impact, currency and category. The cockpit of an asset also shows the releases that affect its currencies.
Sources
- Murphy, John J.: Intermarket Analysis: Profiting from Global Market Relationships, John Wiley & Sons, 2004.
- Lien, Kathy: Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Market, John Wiley & Sons.