John J. Murphy was a financial market analyst and author whose books made technical analysis more accessible to traders and investors. His work focused on reading price trends, weighing chart evidence and studying relationships between markets. He served as chief technical analyst at StockCharts for more than 15 years and previously worked as a technical analyst for CNBC. Murphy died in February 2026; the StockCharts tribute to his career documents his contribution to financial education and intermarket analysis.
For readers choosing a finance book, Murphy offers a practical starting point: examine what prices are doing before building a story about what they ought to do. His books suit readers who want an organized approach to charts rather than a collection of trading tips. The distinction matters. Learning the language of technical analysis is not the same as buying a ready-made trading system.
John J. Murphy’s Books and Their Different Purposes
There are three useful routes into Murphy’s writing: a broad technical reference, a more accessible introduction to visual investing, and a focused study of relationships between asset classes. Choose by the question you want answered, rather than assuming every title serves the same purpose.
Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets
Published in 1999, Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets: A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Methods and Applications expanded Murphy’s earlier Technical Analysis of the Futures Markets. The 576-page volume covers chart reading and indicators, with material on candlesticks, intermarket relationships and stock rotation. It retains a strong futures emphasis while extending its coverage to other financial markets. The publisher’s description and edition details establish its scope and publication history.
This is the most suitable starting point if your aim is to build a reference library. Treat it as a textbook: work through a topic, examine charts, then return to the explanation when something does not fit. Reading it straight through may introduce the vocabulary, but applying one idea at a time is a more manageable study plan.
Before buying, check the title carefully. The earlier futures book, the expanded financial markets volume and a companion study guide are not interchangeable purchases.
The Visual Investor
The Visual Investor: How to Spot Market Trends offers a less formula-heavy introduction. Its second edition, copyrighted 2009, addresses chart types, indicators, market breadth, relative strength, sectors, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. The emphasis is on comparing charts and recognizing trends without requiring advanced mathematical knowledge. Wiley’s contents for The Visual Investor show how the book moves from basic chart interpretation into market relationships and fund selection.
Choose this route if the larger reference book feels like too much machinery for your immediate needs. A reader interested in comparing funds, for example, may prefer to begin with visual comparisons before studying a wider range of technical tools.
Less mathematical does not mean effortless. You still need to distinguish an observation from a forecast. “This fund has been stronger” is a different statement from “this fund will keep outperforming.” Keep that distinction in your reading notes.
Trading with Intermarket Analysis
Trading with Intermarket Analysis: A Visual Approach to Beating the Financial Markets Using Exchange-Traded Funds shifts attention from an individual chart to the connections between stocks, bonds, commodities and currencies. It covers the business cycle, sector behavior, ETFs and historical market turning points. The Wiley book record and chapter outline describe its emphasis on asset relationships and changing market conditions.
This is the more suitable choice after you have become comfortable with basic chart reading. Instead of asking only whether a stock looks strong, use the book to develop broader questions: Is its sector behaving similarly? Are related markets supporting the same interpretation? What evidence would challenge it?
The title’s promise should not become your expectation. Approach it as a framework for investigation, not an assurance that comparing several markets will produce profitable trades.
The Method Behind Murphy’s Writing
Murphy’s approach begins with the larger trend. His Ten Laws of Technical Trading recommend examining monthly and weekly charts before moving to shorter time frames. They also cover support and resistance, trend lines, moving averages, momentum indicators and volume. He distinguishes tools that help assess trends from tools better suited to markets moving within a range, rather than treating every indicator as equally useful in every setting.
A practical reading exercise is to choose one historical chart and hide the later prices. Describe the longer trend, mark the areas you would watch and write down what would invalidate your interpretation. Only then reveal the next period. This is a suggested study exercise, not evidence of a profitable strategy.
Keep the exercise simple enough to explain in a few sentences. If every disappointing result requires another indicator or an exception, pause before adding more machinery. The aim is to make your reasoning easier to inspect, not to make the chart harder to read.
How to Read Murphy Critically
Separate three questions in your notes: What does the author describe? Can you identify it consistently? Would acting on it meet a clearly defined trading objective? Do not treat an answer to the first question as an answer to all three.
For any method you consider testing, define the entry, exit, position size and treatment of trading costs beforehand. Include examples that contradict your initial interpretation. A useful reading notebook should contain awkward charts as well as tidy ones; otherwise, it becomes a scrapbook of hindsight.
Readers building a broader study plan can use our selection of books about swing trading to compare further reading. Keep Murphy’s role clear within that plan: use his work to organize chart analysis, then evaluate any proposed trading rules separately.
If you want one substantial reference, begin with Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets. Choose The Visual Investor for a gentler introduction, or Trading with Intermarket Analysis when your questions extend beyond a single market. There is no need to buy all three before putting the first one to work.