A Multivariate Statistical Analysis of Stock Trends

Is there a method to predict the stock market? What factors determine if a company’s stock value will rise or fall in a given year? Using the multivariate statistical methods of principal component analysis and discriminant analysis, we aim to determine an accurate method for classifying a company’s stock as a good or a poor investment choice. Additionally, we will explore the possibilities for reducing the dimensionality of a complex financial and economic dataset while maintaining the ability to account for a high percentage of the overall variation in the data.