Play the McDonald's chart challenge
McDonald's (MCD), Restaurants. This challenge is 200 sessions, from January 19, 2017 to November 1, 2017, plus 60 earlier sessions of context. You picked the company on this page. On the chart the name and the dates are hidden, and the price is rescaled so the close before session 1 equals 100.
Play this chartThe shape of this chart
McDonald's from January 19, 2017 to November 1, 2017 is a high, steady tape: +36.2%, a drop of −5.1% from the high, and 122 up-closes. The low is session 4 (January 24, 2017). The worst day, September 12, 2017, is −3.2%. The first half (+22.6%) does more than the second (+11.0%). Shorts get punished. Doing very little is the competitive strategy.
What you trade
Buy and hold makes +36.2% and the deepest drop from a high is −5.1%. 122 of 199 closes are higher. The first 100 sessions are +22.6% and the last 100 are +11.0%. On a path this steady, extra trades are the usual way to fall behind the benchmark.
This page names McDonald's because this challenge is that company. The daily puzzle and a random practice game keep the company hidden. Inside this round the chart still hides the name and the dates until you finish.
Other chart challenges
A lesson that fits this chart
Moving averages (SMA and EMA) — The trend, smoothed