A perfect example of this relationship between key news and the prices of these assets is the impact that the speculation surrounding the stimulus plans of the Federal Reserve had on equity markets on May 20.

The S&P 500, a benchmark index, didn't have the greatest day, finishing down 0.1 percent at 1,666.26 at 4 p.m. in New York, according to Bloomberg. The group of stocks increased as much as 0.3 percent early in trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also ended the day more than 0.1 percent lower at 15,335.30.

Strong M&A activity
One factor that helped push these stocks higher earlier in the day was a group of announcements that companies made regarding their plans to make acquisitions, the media outlet reports. According to data provided by the news source, the total takeover deals announced by firms during the day surpassed $10 billion.

One major acquisition that managed to draw significant visibility was the purchase of blogging service Tumblr by social media giant Yahoo Inc, according to Reuters. Yahoo announced that it will pay $1.1 billion for the blogging service, and emphasized its commitment to making the deal work.

In an interview with Reuters, chief executive officer Marissa Mayer stated that together, the two companies will have more than 1 billion online users, which could be helpful in keeping visitors to either site involved for greater periods of time and also attracting more people to harness what these websites have to offer.

Federal Reserve speculation
After stocks rose in value, Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, caused these equities to retreat by stating that the U.S. economy has improved substantially, according to Bloomberg.

Evans, who is a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, said that the key concern now is "how much confidence we have that the improvements that have been made will continue and be sustained," the media outlet reports.

The balance sheet of the U.S. central bank has surpassed $3 trillion, as the financial institution has engaged in economic stimulus that some have declared to be draconian due to its scope. At present, the Federal Reserve is purchasing $85 billion in debt-based assets every month in an effort to bolster the existing money supply and support existing economic growth.

Fiscal tightening and asset markets
Any tightening of this policy could potentially negatively impact the sentiment of investors and as a result, cause equities to decline.

"This big question is precisely when we'll see the market react to the imminent tighter monetary conditions," Fawad Razaqzada, market strategist at GFT Markets, wrote in emailed comments, according to MarketWatch. "The longer the rally continues arguably, the bigger the reversion we face, but if the economic backdrop is robust enough, then perhaps the resulting pain will be short-lived."

This comes after the S&P 500 has enjoyed a period lasting 127 days where the group of stocks dropped no more than 5 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The rally in the key group of stocks has been not only long-winded, but also robust. The S&P has surged 146 percent since its recent low in 2009.

"This move in the market has defied all the skeptics," E. William Stone, chief investment strategist for PNC Wealth Management, told the media outlet during a phone interview. "While all of us know where there will be some pullback at some point, it's hard to be the person to bet that tomorrow will be the case."

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THE IMPORTANCE OF BERNANKE’S TESTIMONY

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony to Congress will be important in setting the tone for the markets (particularly the dollar, equities and US treasuries), as traders hunt for clues on when the Fed is likely to ease its rate of asset purchases.

The greenback surged last week, with the dollar index reaching a three-year high, on the back of traders’ expectations that improving US economic data will lead the Fed to begin tapering its programme of quantitative easing, possibly as early as the middle of this year.

Minutes from the FOMC’s latest policy meeting in May will follow Bernanke’s testimony. However, it is likely that Bernanke’s testimony may take the edge off this release, in terms of market impact.

FOMC POLICYMAKER UNCERTAINTY

Bernanke’s testimony is crucial, given the mixed messages from Fed officials in recent weeks. For example, Charles Plosser has suggested decelerating the rate of asset purchases, also suggesting that the Fed shortens the duration of the bonds it currently holds.

Some FOMC members, like John Williams, are in favour of tapering asset purchases by the end of this year. On the other hand, Eric Rosengren has argued that now is not the time for the Fed to taper its asset purchases.

And this week, Richard Fisher came out in favour of slowing purchases of mortgage securities, saying the housing sector no longer needs the Fed’s support.

Sebastien Galy, an analyst at Societe Generale, says “the Fed is slowly moving out of the ultra-dovish camp, as the Bernanke clan reassesses the risks for the Fed balance sheet and the economy of ultra-easy conditions for so long.”

It appears as though the Fed is eager to push the debate into the public domain. Simon Smith, an economist at FxPro says that “[the Fed] is keen not to scare markets when the [tapering] does eventually happen, hence the propensity to talk openly about it.”

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT?

What is definitely known is that the Fed is intent on tapering asset purchases. When is less clear – it is generally accepted that it could be anytime from the middle of this year, all the way out to 2015 (assuming that the tone of economic data improves – especially unemployment and inflation).

However, it is worth noting that “the current debate over tapering QE does not stem from a satisfaction with state of the labour market or concern over inflation risks but a desire to limit the perceived financial stability costs of QE,” according to Divyang Shah, a strategist at IFR Markets.

Recent US economic data has softened, but is still encouraging. Retail sales notably beat expectations, rising by 0.1% in March. Consumer confidence has improved; the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index advanced to 83.7 in May, from 76.4 in aPRIL, as the mighty US consumer shakes off the impact of fiscal sequestration.

But challenges on the supply-side of the economy remain, as shown by both the Philly Fed and Empire State manufacturing surveys, which both fell below 0; industrial production also shrank by 0.5% in April. And the employment situation is mixed, with weekly jobless claims inching higher last week, after improving over the preceding weeks.

Nevertheless, Mansoor Mohi-uddin, an FX strategist at UBS, believes that there is still positive underlying growth momentum, pointing to the Philly Fed survey’s inventories sub-index, which rose from -26.3 to 0.7. And although housing starts fell by 16.5% in April, the forward-looking measure of building permits jumped by 14.3% month-on-month.

But Mohi-uddin believes that “it is still too early to expect the Fed to [taper asset purchases] in the summer.” This line of reasoning is underscored by the benign inflation outlook in the US. Core inflation – as measured by Private Consumption Expenditure, which is the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation – has eased to 1.1% on an annualised basis.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal by Jon Hilsenrath, a prominent Fed watcher, suggested that FOMC members are not alarmed by the deflation risks, and are satisfied that inflation expectations are stable. Traders consider the benign outlook as supportive of continued monetary stimulus. FxPro’s Smith reasons that “it seems unlikely that the Fed will step back from its commitment to buy $85 billion of securities per month in the near-term, with the economy still mixed and inflation pressures easing.”

Whether or not Bernanke will choose to communicate his personal views on when asset purchases will be tapered remains to be seen. Some speculate that any change to the Fed’s asset purchases will only come when Bernanke holds a press conference after the policy meeting, which would give him an opportunity to fully explain the FOMC’s rationale.

These press conferences are usually held in March, June, September and December, when the Fed also updates its economic forecasts. Mohi-uddin thinks that “June seems too early, while September and December seem more likely for the Fed to start reducing its pace of easing if the US economy re-accelerates.”

But staying focused on Bernanke’s testimony on Wednesday, Kathleen Brooks, research Director at Forex.com, says that there are two key questions that traders want answers to: “How will he explain the uptick in initial jobless claims last week? How will he react to the drop in core inflation to a two-year low at 1.7% for April? His answers to these potential questions from Congress could determine the medium-term outlook for the buck.”

Sharply bearish gold forecast
One estimate that is worth noting was made recently by Ric Deverell, head of commodities research at Credit Suisse AG, who has predicted that the precious metal will fall to $1,100 per ounce one year from now, and to less than $1,000 an ounce five years from now, according to Bloomberg News.

He noted his sharply bearish position, telling reporters in London that "gold is going to get crushed," Bloomberg reports. "The need to buy gold for wealth preservation fell down and the probability of inflation on a one- to three-year horizon is significantly diminished."

Last month, the commodity fell into a bear market, falling 20 percent from its high set in 2011. Before experiencing sharp drops in 2013, the metal notched 12 straight years of gains.

Additional market predictions
Deverell is not the only market expert providing dire sentiment for the precious metal, as Deutsche Bank AG has predicted that the metal could drop to as low as $1,050 per ounce in 12 months, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicted on April 23 that it will drop to $1,390 an ounce, according to Bloomberg News. Also, a poll of investors conducted by Credit Suisse in London on May 15 projected that gold will be worth less than $1,400 per ounce in 2014.

Prior rush to gold
Many market experts have fled to gold as a safe-haven asset amid widespread economic uncertainty, and in addition, data provided by the International Monetary Fund reveals that the amount of gold held by the world's central banks has risen to its highest level in eight years, Bloomberg reports.

The World Gold Council estimates that these financial institutions purchased 534.6 metric tons of the metal in 2012, and might buy even buy even more this year, picking up 550 metric tons, according to the news source.

New normal
Now, many believe that the situation has changed, and after the sharp depreciation the metal has experienced recently, some market experts have declared that it is no longer the safe haven it once was, Bloomberg News reports.

Credit Suisse wrote in a report released on January 3 that gold is a "wounded bull," according to the media outlet. He said that in the near term, the price of the metal could fall to as little as $1,350 per ounce in the next few weeks.

Central bank challenges
"When gold is going up, it looks like a great idea to buy more gold," Deverell stated, Bloomberg reports.

He added that many central banks are purchasing the precious metal in order to diversify their existing reserves, but in the event that the commodity has a period of sustained price declines, the officials of these financial institutions will not be happy with the loss of principal that would result, according to the news source.

"And when it's going down, do you really think risk-averse central bankers are going to try and catch the knife? No."

'Bargain-buying'
Deverell referred to the recent surge orders for physical gold items such as jewelry, bars and coins that happened after the metal's price fell to a two-year low as being simply "bargain-buying," according to Bloomberg News.

A robust pickup in demand has been observed in multiple regions, as India's imports of gold bullion could surge 47 percent in the second quarter, according to the All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation, while the U.S. mint announced on April 23 that it had sold out of its smallest gold coins, the media outlet reports.

The market expert simply likened this strong increase in purchases of the precious metal as being like "cash for clunkers," saying that it only represents a short-term stimulus.

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It is possible to make this happen, and there are specific strategies you can follow to make this objective more achievable.

Be self-aware
One key facet of successfully trading stocks and other assets using a part-time schedule is being self-aware, according to StockOptionSystem.com. Even a person who is a seasoned financial guru can benefit from knowing his or her weaknesses and not just strengths.

If you want to excel at trading, and especially if you are looking to do so with a part-time schedule, it is crucial for you to figure out not only what these strengths and weaknesses are, but also how you will manage them, the media outlet reports. Failure to do so could cause your idiosyncrasies to hinder your investing and come between you and your objectives.

In order to succeed in stock trading, people must have control over their emotions, according to the news source. It is typical for people who are investing in the asset markets to feel some ups and downs as the value of their securities fluctuates. While the attributes you need to excel in such practices – self control, self discipline and determination – are not innate, they can be developed over time.

Identify and master simple strategies
Once you have done some work on evaluating yourself to figure out the attributes that will help your trading and the characteristics that could slow you down, a logical next step would be to pick out some simple trading strategies and get started on mastering them, Stock Trading To Go reports.

Just like professional athletes have their signature moves, you can harness specific techniques to obtain your desired success in trading, according to the news source. Keep in mind that even the most basic investing strategy can be used in many different ways, so it could take years to become an expert of harnessing one of these basic techniques.

Build your trading schedule around your other responsibilities
You can develop a trading schedule around your current responsibilities. Everyone is different, so such a plan is completely customizable. You may have a full-time job, or you might be retired. Alternatively, you might want to trade around your responsibilities as a stay-at-home mom.

Some people can make a very low number of trades in a year – for example less than 10 – and still generate very strong returns, StockOptionSystem.com reports. Some people may want to trade every day. It is important that once you have picked out a style, you stick with it. For example, it would be counterproductive to harness the strategies that an intermediate trader and a day trader would use.

Create a list of watchlist stocks
One way you can save time is to create a watchlist, which will result in you having a short list of possibly 10-20 stocks that you can focus on during the day, according to Stock Trading To Go. You can figure out the types of equities you want to include in such a list using the basic strategies you have selected.

Risk management is crucial
If you want to trade effectively, it is crucial that you design some system to manage risk, StockOptionSystem.com reports. It is very important to do this since people have a strong tendency to spend far more due diligence on entering positions that exiting them. It is important that you learn and employ risk management techniques including diversification, executing stop loss orders and how to either shrink or expand the size of a position.

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Rising stocks
The benchmark S&P 500 Index had a good day, rising 0.5 percent to close at 1,658.78 at 4 p.m. in New York and setting a new record, according to Bloomberg. During the 10 most recent trading sessions, the key group of stocks has surged to a new high during nine separate days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also had a strong session, finishing trading 0.4 percent higher.

Financial stocks were a major contributor to the rally, as American Express and JPMorgan Chase displayed substantial gains, CNN Money reports.

Of the 10 groups that are contained in the S&P 500 Index, nine rose in value, according to Bloomberg. WalMart surged 1.4 percent to reach $79.86, while Proctor & Gamble rose 1.5 percent to $80.68. There was a 1 percent increase in the shares of firms that produce consumer staples such as household products, food and beverages.

Market resilience
It is important to note that even though a recent report indicated that manufacturing activity declined in New York during May, this information was not enough to motivate global market participants to push stocks lower, Reuters reports.

"It's disconcerting that the data was so much lower than what we were looking for, but there's no reason for investors to sell," Michael Binger, senior portfolio manager at Minneapolis-based Gradient Investments, told the news source. "The main things driving the market – the Fed, earnings, consumer confidence – are holding up, and people put money in the market on any down day. I still see a lot of value."

Bull market and the Federal Reserve
Since reaching its recent low in March 2009, the S&P 500 Index has surged 145 percent, which has largely been supported by the quantitative easing of the Federal Reserve, as well as strong corporate earnings, according to Bloomberg. As a result of the continued appreciation, the bull market is now in its fifth year. 

"The global economic outlook gives some support to the idea that more easing is on its way, especially with soft inflation," Oliver Pursche, who serves as both co-manager of the GMG Defensive Beta Fund and president of Suffern, New York-based Gary Goldberg Financial Services, told the news source during a telephone conversation. The firm manages about $650 million. "It would be surprising if there was a meaningful and prolonged pullback at this point."

On May 15, the Dow reached a new intraday high of more than 15,301, according to Reuters. The S&P also reached an intraday high, surging to more than 1,661.

At a recent meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, which happened on the last day in April and the first day in May, these members discussed whether or not they should either step up the Federal Reserve's existing bond-buying measures, or reduce them, Bloomberg reports. Depending on what inflation and the labor market look like going forward, they might be willing to bolster the existing program of $85 billion in asset purchases that are made every month.

Over the last several years, the U.S. central bank has expanded its balance sheet significantly, increasing it to more than $3 trillion in an effort to stimulate the economy.

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Gold futures scheduled for June delivery settled $28.20 per ounce lower at $1,396.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to Reuters. Spot gold also declined, falling as much as 2.5 percent to trade at $1,390.24, which was its lowest value since April 19.

This happened as the ICE Dollar Index was trading 0.4 percent higher at 83.904, and is up 2.7 percent in May from 81.715 at the start of the month, The Wall Street Journal.

The value of the greenback is crucial since many commodities contracts, including those involving futures, are denominated in the U.S. dollar. Therefore, if the currency rises in value, it makes it more expensive for purchasers using different currencies to buy these contracts.

"There is no reason to own gold as long as people keep on putting money into the stock market," Comex gold options floor trader Jonathan Jossen told Reuters. "You can see it everywhere that the economy is turning around."

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Daily decline
June gold prices settled down 0.7 percent at $1,424.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to MarketWatch. This resulted in the precious metal dropping to its lowest price since April 24. Spot gold was also trading lower, falling $4.80 per ounce to $1,426.50, Kitco News reports.

Extended losses
The declines that the precious metal made on May 14 extended the losses generated on the previous day, when gold fell 0.2 percent amid appreciation in the U.S. dollar and a Federal Reserve report indicating that the central bank is getting ready to reel in the quantitative easing that has been happening for several years, according to MarketWatch.

This comes after the commodity fell into a bear market in April, according to the common definition of an asset losing 20 percent of its value. Amid these sharp losses, many market experts have declared that their faith in the precious metal has been shaken, and that it is no longer a safe-haven asset.

Dollar impact
On May 14, the greenback extended the gains it made on the day before and contributed to gold declining for the second trading session, as the ICE dollar index continued to increase in value, rising to 83.547 from its reading of 83.276 late in the previous day, the media outlet reports.

A stronger dollar tends to push down the price of commodities. Since the contracts for these raw materials are frequently denominated in the greenback, any rise in the value of the dollar makes these contracts more expensive for market participants using foreign currencies to purchase. Alternatively, the opposite is true, as a falling dollar causes commodities prices to rise.

Economic data
One factor that served to bolster the sentiment of market participants was strong economic data, as industrial production increased by 1 percent in the European Union during the month of March, and the sentiment surrounding the fiscal challenges of euro zone nations was brightened somewhat as a result of strong demand for debt-based securities sold at a recent auction of Spanish government bonds, according to the news source.

Physical gold market
One variable that could serve to provide gold prices with support in the near future is the strong health of the physical market for the precious metal, MarketWatch reports. Much of the demand for items such as gold jewelry is coming from Asia, and Gene Arensberg, editor of the Got Gold Report, told the news source that investors there "are scooping up as much or more of the gold recently returned to the market" from entities that are letting the metal go.

Steven Evanson, chief executive officer at Evanson Asset Management, emphasized the robust demand for these items, telling the media outlet that "the physical and true gold market, not paper contract market, is on target for the best year ever and shortages and premiums in the physical market are the norm at this time."

James Steel, chief precious metal analyst at HSBC, added that demand in India should remain strong as a result of the current wedding season, according to Reuters. Similar sentiment has been voiced by other market experts, who have identified the Hindu festival of Akshaya Tritiya as providing support to gold prices in the near future.

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Swing trading basics
The basic idea with this technique is to generate some quick profits as a result of holding stocks for a short period that can range between a couple of days to a few months, depending on the existing situation, according to Stock Trading To Go.

When using this strategy, traders seek to make the most of the existing trend that a stock is experiencing, the media outlet reports. The idea is simply to buy when an equity is on its way up, or sell when the security is falling value.

Investors who want to use this strategy should be sure to go with the flow once they identify a trend, as trading against one is not a good idea, according to StockProfessors.com.

Spotting a trend
One crucial aspect of swing trading is identifying strong trends when they happen, the media outlet reports. There are several ways you can do this, but there is a short list of techniques that are widespread in their use.

Pivot point trend
One way you can identify trends is by picking out pivot points. In technical analysis, these are crucial points that are harnessed by chartists to figure out key variables such as resistance, support and directional movement, according to StockCharts.com. Pivot Points are predictive indicators, and can be used to determine future support and resistance points using the closing value of the previous day, as well as the last session's high and low.

Trend Indicators
Harnessing indicators in order to spot and utilize trends is a widely-used method, StockProfessors.com says. If you want to figure out what the price trend is for a stock, two ways you can do this are by using the Relative Strength Index and also moving averages.

Moving averages examine the price movements of a security over a period, for example 50 days. Once the mean price is determined for the time frame, it can be compared against the current price of the security in an effort to figure out if the asset has started a new price trend.

Price action trend
If you would prefer to avoid using the aforementioned methods, you can utilize price action, which frequently involves using charts to visualize the movements of an asset, the media outlet reports.

Wait for opportunity
Once you have figured out a price level that you feel is right, you can place your trade. However, it is often wise to wait after you have picked out a trend, as the security might experience some sort of pullback, according to the news source.

Once you have entered your positions, you should be patient and wait, instead of giving in to the desire to constantly scrutinize the price movements of your assets, Stock Trading To Go reports. If you check your securities too frequently, you could end up make transactions too frequently and missing out on the benefit of a rally.

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For example, on May 13, U.S. stocks were largely unchanged even though retail sales for the month of April were higher than expected by economists, according to Bloomberg.

The blue-chip S&P 500 Index was practically unaltered, as it was less than 1 point higher at 1,633.78 at 4 p.m. in New York, the media outlet reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, another highly-visible index, was largely unchanged, finishing the day 0.2 percent lower at 15,091.91.

Retail sales record modest increase
Data provided by the U.S. Commerce Department indicated that in April, retail sales increased by 0.1 percent. While this represented only a minor improvement, it surpassed the predictions of economists polled by various media outlets.

For example, market experts who took part in a survey conducted by Bloomberg predicted that the figure would fall 0.3 percent during the period. Participants in a poll conducted by Reuters had the exact same prediction.

Strong core sales
In addition to retail sales rising 0.1 percent, core sales increased 0.5 percent during the report, according to Reuters. This figure excludes transactions involving building materials, autos and gasoline.

"Recent data has been weak, so to see some sturdiness is important and needed in order for us to move materially higher," Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Philadelphia-based Janney Montgomery Scott, told the news source. "But given the strength we've had over the past few weeks, it isn't surprising that trading is a bit indifferent today."

Rally speculation
The U.S. equity markets have benefited from broad rallies. The S&P 500 Index has surged 14 percent so far this year, and last month, managed to rise above a reading of 1,600 for the first time.

The benchmark group of stocks has managed to generate returns rivaling those enjoyed during the tech boom of the 1990s, as data compiled by Bloomberg reveals that since March 2009, the S&P 500 has surged an average of 26.2 percent per year.

This has happened as the valuations of the stocks in the index are 28 percent lower during this bull market, according to the media outlet. The combination of the sharp appreciation and low valuations has generated significant speculation, and bears have stated that the low price-to-earnings ratios indicate that market participants are less optimistic about the broader economy than they could be.

"The size of this rally's not what keeps me up at night," Paul Zemsky, the New York-based head of asset allocation for ING Investment Management, told the news source during a May 8 phone interview. "That was a tremendous rally then, too, but I'm not getting all nervous based on the size of the rally this time, because we're not there yet in terms of valuation."

If you want access to more free stock trading education, you can find it at TradingPub, home to some of top investors and traders in the industry.