Indicators

The average closing price of the last N bars, drawn as one line over the candles. It smooths out bar-to-bar noise so the direction of price is easier to see.

Add the last N closes and divide by N. Every bar in the window counts equally, and the oldest one drops out as a new bar arrives.

• A rising line with price above it is read as an uptrend, a falling line with price below it as a downtrend.
• A longer length smooths the line more and increases its lag.
• Price crossing the line, or a fast line crossing a slow one, is the usual signal to look at.

A moving average that gives more weight to recent bars, so it turns sooner than a simple average of the same length.

Each new value is a share of the latest close plus the rest from the previous value. The share is 2 / (N + 1), so a short length reacts faster.

• Reacts earlier than the simple average, with more false turns in a choppy market.
• Often used as dynamic support or resistance in a trend.
• Two of them with different lengths are read by their crossing.

A smoothed moving average: a slow line that follows the trend and ignores most short swings.

Each new value is the previous value moved by 1 / N of its distance to the latest close. The memory of old bars fades slowly, so the line is steadier than an EMA of the same length.

• Use it where a calm line is needed, away from the noise.
• Price far from the line shows a stretched move, price returning to it a pullback.
• It responds more slowly than an EMA of the same length.

A line that trails price and flips side when the trend changes. It sits below price in an uptrend and above it in a downtrend.

The line is placed a multiple of the Average True Range away from the middle of each bar and only moves in the trend's direction. It flips when the close crosses it.

• Green below price: uptrend. Red above price: downtrend.
• A flip of colour marks a change of trend, often after the move has started.
• Works best in trends. In a range it flips often.

A set of five lines and a shaded cloud that show trend direction, momentum and areas of support and resistance in one view.

The conversion and base lines are the midpoints of the highest high and lowest low over 9 and 26 bars. The two cloud edges are projected 26 bars ahead, and the lagging span is the close shifted back 26 bars.

• Price above the cloud is read as bullish, below it as bearish, inside it as unclear.
• The conversion line crossing the base line is a short-term signal.
• A thicker cloud means the two leading spans are farther apart.

Developed by the Japanese journalist Goichi Hosoda, who wrote as Ichimoku Sanjin, and presented to the public in the late 1960s.

Goichi Hosoda, late 1960s

Dots that trail price: below the candles in an uptrend and above them in a downtrend. Each dot is a possible stop level that follows the move.

The dot moves toward price by a step that grows each time a new extreme is made, up to a limit. When price touches the dot, the indicator reverses and starts on the other side.

• Dots below price: uptrend. Dots above: downtrend.
• A flip to the other side marks a reversal of the trailing stop.
• In sideways markets it flips often and gives many false signals.

Published in his book New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems (1978), together with RSI, ATR and the Directional Movement system.

J. Welles Wilder Jr., 1978

A single line that measures how strong a trend is, whatever its direction. A high value means a strong trend, a low value a market without one.

It compares how far price moves up and how far it moves down over the period, takes the gap between the two as a share of the total, and smooths it.

• Below about 20 is usually read as a weak trend or a range, above 25 as a trend.
• A rising ADX means the trend is getting stronger, a falling one that it is fading.
• It says nothing about direction. Read it with price or the DMI lines.

Introduced in New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems (1978).

J. Welles Wilder Jr., 1978

Three lines: +DI for the strength of upward moves, -DI for the strength of downward moves, and ADX for the strength of the trend.

Each bar's move beyond the previous bar's high or low is measured, smoothed over the period and set against the Average True Range to give +DI and -DI.

• +DI above -DI favours buyers, -DI above +DI favours sellers.
• The two crossing is the classic signal, stronger when ADX is rising.
• A low ADX makes crossings less reliable.

Directional Movement was published in New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems (1978).

J. Welles Wilder Jr., 1978

A moving average built to follow price closely without much of the usual delay, so its curve is smooth and turns early.

It takes a weighted average of half the length, subtracts a weighted average of the full length, and smooths the result with a weighted average over the square root of the length.

• The slope shows direction: rising is up, falling is down.
• A change of slope is read as an early sign of a turn.
• Fast lines turn early and can whip in a range.

Developed by the Australian trader Alan Hull and published in 2005.

Alan Hull, 2005

Horizontal levels calculated from the previous period's prices: a central pivot with support and resistance lines around it.

The pivot is the average of the previous period's high, low and close. Supports and resistances are placed at distances from it based on that period's range.

• Price above the pivot leans bullish, below it bearish.
• The levels are watched as places where price may pause or turn.
• Levels calculated from a completed previous period stay fixed during the current period.

One line that blends four moving averages of different lengths into a single smoothed trend line.

It is the average of four simple moving averages, short to long, so it reacts less than the shortest and more than the longest.

• Price above the line is read as bullish, below it as bearish.
• Crossings of price and the line mark a change of bias.
• A flat line means a market without a trend.

Two lines: the gap between a short and a long moving average, and a smoothed copy of that gap. It shows how fast the trend is pulling apart.

The difference of two simple moving averages is drawn as one line, and a moving average of that difference is the second.

• The gap above zero means the short average is above the long one.
• The two lines crossing is read as a change of momentum.
• A widening gap shows an accelerating trend.

A moving average that counts recent bars more than old ones in a straight, step-by-step way.

The latest close gets the biggest weight, the one before it a little less, and so on down to 1 for the oldest bar in the window.

• Turns sooner than a simple average of the same length.
• Price against the line and the slope are read as for any average.
• More false turns than slower averages in a choppy market.

A faster moving average that cuts the delay of a normal EMA.

It doubles an EMA and subtracts an EMA of that EMA, which removes much of the lag.

• Hugs price closer than a plain EMA.
• Crossing price or another average is the usual signal.
• More sensitive, so more false turns in a range.

Described by Patrick Mulloy in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine, January 1994.

Patrick Mulloy, 1994

An even faster moving average that follows price with very little delay.

It combines three EMAs: three times an EMA, minus three times the EMA of that EMA, plus the EMA of the second one.

• Follows price most closely among the EMA family.
• Slope changes are read as early turns.
• Noisy in sideways markets.

Described by Patrick Mulloy in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine, January 1994.

Patrick Mulloy, 1994

A smooth moving average whose weights are shaped like a bell curve, so it is both smooth and quick to react.

Bar weights follow a Gaussian curve whose peak is moved toward recent bars by an offset, and whose width is set by sigma.

• Offset close to 1 makes it faster, close to 0 smoother.
• Direction of the line and price against it are read as for any average.
• A good fit when a smooth line with little delay is wanted.

Created by Arnaud Legoux and Dimitrios Kouzis-Loukas in 2009.

Arnaud Legoux and Dimitrios Kouzis-Loukas, 2009

A line that follows the end point of a straight line fitted to the last N bars.

On every bar a least-squares regression line is fitted to the last N closes, and the value at its right end is plotted. An offset can shift the point.

• Rising means up, falling means down.
• Price crossing the line is watched as a turn.
• It can overshoot at sharp reversals.

A moving average that adjusts its own speed to the market: it speeds up when price runs away and slows down when price is calm.

Each value moves toward the close by a share that depends on how far price is from the line, so the line avoids whipsaws.

• Price staying above the line is read as an uptrend, below as a downtrend.
• It hugs price better than a fixed-speed average in fast moves.
• Used like a normal average, as support or resistance.

Created by the market technician John R. McGinley, who presented it in 1990.

John R. McGinley, 1990

Two moving averages on the chart, a short and a long one. Their crossings mark a possible change of trend.

A short and a long simple average are drawn together, and a marker appears where they cross.

• Short crossing above long: bullish. Below: bearish.
• Crossings come after the move has started, so they lag.
• Many crossings in a row mean a range.

A bundle of moving averages of increasing length drawn together as a ribbon.

Several averages with step-by-step longer lengths are plotted at once.

• A tight ribbon means a range, a fanned-out ribbon a trend.
• Lines in order from short to long show a clean trend.
• Lines tangling together show a turn or a pause.

Two lines that show how recently price made its highest high and its lowest low in the period.

Aroon Up is the share of the period that has passed since the highest high, Aroon Down the same for the lowest low, both on a 0 to 100 scale.

• Aroon Up near 100 means a fresh high, an uptrend.
• Aroon Down near 100 means a fresh low, a downtrend.
• Both low and tangled suggests a range.

Developed by Tushar Chande and introduced in 1995.

Tushar Chande, 1995

Small arrows on the candles that mark local peaks and troughs, called fractals.

A fractal high is a bar whose high is above the highs of the bars on both sides, a fractal low is the opposite. By default two bars are checked on each side.

• Fractal highs and lows are read as swing points, places where price turned.
• They are often used to place stops or to see breakouts.
• A fractal is only confirmed after the bars on its right are closed.

Described by Bill Williams in his book Trading Chaos (1995).

Bill Williams, 1995

Two lines, VI+ and VI-, that measure the strength of upward and downward movement.

It compares each bar's high with the previous bar's low, and the low with the previous high, sums them over the period and sets them against the true range.

• VI+ above VI- favours the uptrend, the reverse the downtrend.
• A crossing of the two is the classic signal.
• Frequent crossings mean a market without a clear trend.

Presented by Etienne Botes and Douglas Siepman in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine, January 2010.

Etienne Botes and Douglas Siepman, 2010

Two stop lines, one for long and one for short positions, that follow price at a distance based on its volatility.

Each bar's high and low are shifted by a multiple of the Average True Range, and the extreme of that over the stop length gives the line.

• The stop for longs below price rises with the trend.
• The stop for shorts above price falls with the trend.
• A close beyond a stop line is read as the trend ending.

Presented in the book The New Technical Trader (1994).

Tushar Chande and Stanley Kroll, 1994

A trailing stop line that follows price at a distance based on volatility and flips when price crosses it.

The line is set a multiple of the Average True Range from the extreme close and moves only with the trend. A cross reverses it to the other side.

• Below price: uptrend. Above price: downtrend.
• The flip is read as a trend change or a stop-out.
• A larger multiplier gives fewer flips and a wider stop.

Three smoothed lines, the jaw, teeth and lips, that open and close like a mouth. When they are apart the market trends, when they are tangled it is resting.

Each line is a smoothed average of the bar's midpoint, with a different length and shifted forward in time: jaw 13 and 8, teeth 8 and 5, lips 5 and 3.

• Lines in order and apart: a trend.
• Lines tangled together: the market is sleeping.
• Price far from the lines is read as stretched.

Described by Bill Williams in his book Trading Chaos (1995).

Bill Williams, 1995

A moving average that speeds up in trends and slows down in noise.

It measures how efficient the recent move was, the net change against the sum of all changes, and uses that to choose between a fast and a slow smoothing speed.

• Flat when the market is choppy, so it gives fewer false crosses.
• Follows the trend when price moves cleanly.
• The slope and price against the line are the usual reads.

Presented by Perry Kaufman in his book Smarter Trading (1995).

Perry Kaufman, 1995

A median line with a band around it that changes colour with the trend.

The median of recent prices is drawn, and a band is placed around it using the Average True Range.

• Colour of the line shows the current direction.
• Price outside the band is read as a stretched move.
• The median is less affected by single spikes than an average.

Two trailing exit lines hung from the highest high and the lowest low, a few volatility units away, like a chandelier from a ceiling.

The long exit is the highest high of the period minus a multiple of the Average True Range, the short exit is the lowest low plus the same.

• The long exit rises with an uptrend and never drops.
• A close under it is read as the end of the move.
• A bigger multiplier gives more room and fewer exits.

The average price of the period, with every moment counted equally, restarting at the beginning of each day, week, month and so on.

At each bar it averages the prices since the start of the chosen period, without using volume.

• Price above the line shows buying pressure in the period, below it selling.
• Used as a fair price for the period.
• It resets at each new period.

A straight trend line fitted to recent prices, with two parallel channel lines at an equal distance on either side.

A least-squares line is fitted to the last N bars, and the channel is that line shifted up and down by a multiple of the standard deviation.

• The slope shows the trend.
• Price touching the outer lines is read as stretched.
• The channel is redrawn as new bars come in.

Marks on the chart where price made a local high or low, with lines to the next one.

A bar is a pivot high when its high is the highest within the chosen number of bars on the left and on the right, and a pivot low in the same way.

• Pivots show where price has turned.
• They are confirmed with a delay equal to the right-hand length.
• Often used for support and resistance and for drawing trend lines.

A single line: the average price of the part of the chart that is on screen.

It averages the price of all visible bars and updates as you scroll or zoom.

• Shows where the visible range is centred.
• Price above it means the latest bars are on the upper side of the range.
• It changes with what is on screen.

A single line that says whether recent highs or recent lows are fresher, as the gap of the two Aroon lines.

It is Aroon Up minus Aroon Down, giving a value between -100 and 100.

• Above zero: highs are more recent, an uptrend.
• Below zero: lows are more recent, a downtrend.
• Near zero: no clear direction.

Built on the Aroon indicator introduced by Tushar Chande in 1995.

Tushar Chande, 1995

A line that joins the main swings of price and ignores the small moves between them.

A new leg is drawn when price reverses by more than the chosen percent from the last extreme, and the last leg can still change until a reversal is confirmed.

• Makes the major swings easy to see.
• The last segment can be redrawn, so do not treat it as final.
• Useful for measuring swings and finding patterns.

Highlights gaps, the empty areas between a bar's close and the next bar's open.

It compares the open of each bar with the previous close and marks the space between them. Gaps that price later trades back through are shown as filled.

• Gaps are watched as areas price may return to.
• A filled gap means price traded back through it.
• Crypto trades round the clock, so gaps are rarer than in stocks.

Shades the chart by trading sessions, so you can see which part of the day each bar belongs to.

Time ranges for market sessions are drawn as coloured backgrounds on the chart.

• Shows how price behaves in each session.
• Useful for noticing when activity rises or falls.
• Session times are in the exchange time zone.

Intraday pivot levels drawn for several periods at once, such as 60, 240 and 480 minutes.

For each chosen period the previous period's high, low and close give a pivot with support and resistance lines.

• Levels of several periods stacking up mark stronger areas.
• Price is watched for reactions around them.
• Levels are fixed after each period closes.

Pivot levels from the past that price has not touched yet.

Pivot points of previous days are calculated and the ones that price has not yet reached are kept on the chart.

• Untouched levels are watched as areas price may be drawn to.
• A level disappears from the list once touched, unless shown.
• More days back means more levels.

Marks on the chart where a moving average cross and a stochastic reading agree, as a possible reversal.

It combines a fast and a slow moving average with a stochastic oscillator and marks the bars where they line up.

• Marks are a prompt to look at the chart, not an entry rule.
• Works best with a confirming view of price.
• The settings change how often marks appear.

Projected pivot levels for the next 4 hours, day, week and month, shown ahead of time.

The pivot of the period still in progress is projected from its current high, low and close, so the next period's levels can be seen before it opens.

• Levels are watched as areas where price may pause.
• They move as the current period changes.
• Each projection can be switched on or off.

A line between 0 and 100 that shows how strong recent gains are compared with recent losses.

It divides the average gain by the average loss over the period and scales the result to 0 to 100.

• Above 70 is read as overbought, below 30 as oversold.
• In a strong trend it can stay at an extreme for a long time.
• A divergence between price and RSI is read as a weakening move.

Introduced in his book New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems (1978).

J. Welles Wilder Jr., 1978

Two lines and a histogram that show the gap between a fast and a slow average and how it is changing.

The MACD line is the fast EMA minus the slow EMA. The signal line is an EMA of the MACD line, and the histogram is the gap between them.

• MACD above its signal line favours buyers, below it sellers.
• A cross of the zero line shows the two averages swapping places.
• A shrinking histogram shows momentum fading.

Developed by Gerald Appel in the late 1970s. The histogram was added later by Thomas Aspray in 1986.

Gerald Appel, late 1970s

Shows where the close sits inside the recent high to low range, on a 0 to 100 scale, with a smoothed signal line.

%K is the close's position within the range of the last N bars. %D is a moving average of %K.

• Above 80 is read as overbought, below 20 as oversold.
• %K crossing %D is the usual signal.
• In trends it can stay at the extremes.

Developed by George Lane in the late 1950s.

George Lane, late 1950s

The stochastic formula applied to RSI instead of price, so it moves faster and swings more between its extremes.

It takes where RSI sits within its own recent range and smooths the result into K and D lines.

• Reaches the extremes more often than RSI.
• K crossing D is used as a timing signal.
• It is sensitive, so confirmation with price is useful.

Presented in the book The New Technical Trader (1994).

Tushar Chande and Stanley Kroll, 1994

Shows how far the typical price is from its average, in units of its average deviation.

The typical price is the average of high, low and close. CCI is its gap to a moving average, divided by the mean deviation, with a constant to scale it.

• Readings above 100 or below -100 are seen as strong moves or stretched ones.
• Crossing zero shows a change of side.
• It is not limited to a range, so values can run far.

Introduced by Donald Lambert in Commodities magazine in 1980.

Donald Lambert, 1980

A line from 0 down to -100 that shows how close the close is to the recent high.

It compares the latest close with the highest high of the period, relative to the whole high to low range.

• Near 0 is close to the recent high, near -100 close to the recent low.
• Above -20 is read as overbought, below -80 as oversold.
• Like other bounded oscillators, it can stay at an extreme in a trend.

A histogram of the gap between a fast and a slow average of bar midpoints.

It is the 5-bar simple average of the midpoints minus the 34-bar one. Bars are coloured by whether the value rose or fell.

• Above zero means short-term momentum is above the long-term one.
• Colour changes show momentum speeding up or slowing down.
• Crossing zero is a change of balance.

The change in price over the last N bars.

The current close minus the close N bars ago.

• Above zero: price is higher than N bars ago.
• Rising values show momentum building.
• Zero crossings mark a change of direction over the period.

The percent change in price over the last N bars.

The current close divided by the close N bars ago, minus 1, shown as a percent.

• Above zero: price is up over the period.
• Extreme values are read as stretched moves.
• A divergence from price shows weakening momentum.

The percent rate of change of a triple-smoothed average of price. It filters out small moves and shows the underlying momentum.

An EMA is taken three times in a row, and the one-bar percent change of the result is plotted.

• Above zero is rising momentum, below zero falling.
• Zero crossings are the usual signals.
• A smooth line with few false turns, at the cost of delay.

Developed by Jack Hutson, the founding editor of Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine, in the 1980s.

Jack Hutson, 1980s

A stochastic oscillator with a third line, J, that reacts faster than K and D and goes beyond 0 and 100.

K and D are the smoothed stochastic lines. J is calculated from them as 3K minus 2D, so it exaggerates their moves.

• K crossing D is the usual signal.
• J leaving the 0 to 100 range shows a stretched move.
• Fast and noisy, so it is best used with a trend view.

The distance of price from its moving average, in percent.

The close minus the average, divided by the average. Several lengths can be shown together.

• Far above zero means price is stretched above the average.
• Far below zero means stretched below it.
• Usually watched for a return toward the average.

Two lines that compare buying and selling pressure: AR looks at the bar's range, BR at the gaps between bars.

AR sums how far each high is above the open against how far each open is above the low. BR does the same against the previous close.

• Values near 100 are balanced.
• Values far above or below 100 show strong pressure one way.
• The two lines are compared with each other.

A line that compares the buying and selling pressure of the bars relative to their midpoint, with moving average lines.

It sums the strength above the previous midpoint and the weakness below it over the period.

• A high value shows buyers in control.
• The moving average lines act as signals.
• A less common indicator, so test it on your own market.

The share of the last N bars that closed higher than the previous one, as a percent.

Counts the up bars in the window and divides by the window length.

• 50 is balance, high values mean many up bars.
• Extreme readings show a one-sided market.
• It counts bars, not their size.

Shows who controls the bar, buyers or sellers, by comparing the move from open to close with the bar's range.

For each bar it divides close minus open by high minus low.

• Above zero: buyers had the bar. Below zero: sellers.
• A rising line shows buyers gaining control.
• It is jumpy bar to bar, so look at its trend.

Presented by Igor Livshin in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine, August 2001.

Igor Livshin, 2001

Two bars showing how far the highs and lows are above and below an EMA, a view of the power of buyers and sellers.

Bull power is the bar's high minus an EMA, bear power is its low minus the same EMA.

• Bull power above zero shows buyers pushing price above the average.
• Bear power below zero shows sellers pushing under it.
• Often read with the slope of the EMA.

Known as Elder-ray, described by Alexander Elder in his book Trading for a Living (1993).

Alexander Elder, 1993

An oscillator between -100 and 100 that compares the sum of recent gains with the sum of recent losses.

It is the sum of up moves minus the sum of down moves, divided by their total, over the period.

• Above 50 is read as overbought, below -50 as oversold.
• Zero crossings show a change of side.
• More responsive than RSI, with a wider range.

Described by Tushar Chande in the book The New Technical Trader (1994).

Tushar Chande, 1994

A composite of three measures: a short RSI, the length of the current up or down streak, and the percent rank of the latest change.

The three values are averaged into a single 0 to 100 line.

• Low values are read as oversold, high values as overbought.
• Fast and meant for short-term moves.
• Works best with a trend filter.

A long-term momentum line based on the sum of two rates of change, smoothed.

It adds the 14 and 11 period rates of change and smooths the sum with a weighted average.

• Turning up from below zero is the classic buy sign.
• Designed for long-term bottoms on monthly charts.
• Less meaningful on short timeframes.

Published by Edwin Coppock in Barron's magazine in October 1962.

Edwin Coppock, 1962

Removes the long-term trend from price so the shorter cycles stand out.

Price is compared with a moving average from about half a period back, which cancels the trend.

• Peaks and troughs show the length of cycles.
• Above zero: price is above its shifted average.
• Not meant to give signals about the current trend.

Reshapes prices so their distribution looks more even, which makes turning points sharper.

Price is turned into a value between -1 and 1 within its recent range, and a mathematical transform stretches the extremes.

• A cross of the line and its one-bar delay marks a possible turn.
• Extremes show a stretched move.
• Sharp, so it turns often.

Presented by John Ehlers in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine, November 2002.

John Ehlers, 2002

A momentum line that adds rates of change over four different spans, so short and long swings are seen at once.

Four smoothed rates of change are weighted and summed, with a signal line on top.

• Above zero: momentum is positive.
• A cross of the signal line is the usual signal.
• A slower, steadier momentum reading.

Introduced by Martin Pring in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine, 1992.

Martin Pring, 1992

MACD shown as a percent of the slow average, which makes it comparable across markets and over time.

The fast EMA minus the slow EMA, divided by the slow EMA, with a signal line and histogram.

• Above zero: the fast average is above the slow one.
• The signal cross is the usual trigger.
• Percent scale lets you compare it between coins.

Compares where bars close against where they open, on the idea that in an uptrend they close higher than they open.

The close minus the open is smoothed and divided by the smoothed range, with a signal line.

• The line crossing its signal line is the usual signal.
• Above zero: closes tend to be higher than opens.
• Smooth, with some delay.

Presented by John Ehlers in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine, January 2002.

John Ehlers, 2002

A smoothed momentum line with a signal line, built to show the direction of the trend with little noise.

The change of price is smoothed twice with long and short averages, scaled by the same smoothing of its absolute value, and a signal line is added.

• A cross of the signal line is the usual trigger.
• Above zero: positive momentum.
• Little noise, with some delay.

Described by William Blau in his book Momentum, Direction, and Divergence (1995).

William Blau, 1995

A smoothed momentum line that shows both trend direction and how stretched the move is.

The change of price is smoothed twice, and divided by the same double smoothing of its absolute size.

• Above zero: uptrend momentum.
• A cross of the signal line is the usual signal.
• Extremes show stretched moves.

Described by William Blau in his book Momentum, Direction, and Divergence (1995).

William Blau, 1995

An oscillator that mixes three time spans so that it is less tied to a single period.

It compares buying pressure with the true range over 7, 14 and 28 bars and combines them with weights.

• Above 70 is read as overbought, below 30 as oversold.
• A divergence from price is the classic signal.
• Combining spans reduces false signals.

Developed by Larry Williams in 1976.

Larry Williams, 1976

The SMI Ergodic indicator shown as a histogram: the gap between the line and its signal.

It is the SMI Ergodic line minus its signal line.

• Above zero: the line is above its signal.
• Zero crossings are the usual signals.
• Shows momentum speeding up or fading.

Built on the ergodic indicators of William Blau, described in Momentum, Direction, and Divergence (1995).

William Blau, 1995

Two Commodity Channel Index lines of different speed, a fast one and a slower one, shown in one pane.

A short and a 14 period CCI are drawn together and coloured by their sign.

• The slower line gives the trend, the fast line the timing.
• Crossing zero changes the colour.
• Extremes beyond 100 are stretched moves.

Compares the order of prices with the order of time over the period, on a scale from -100 to 100.

It ranks the closes of the period and measures how closely that rank follows the time order.

• Near 100: price is rising steadily.
• Near -100: price is falling steadily.
• Crossings of the extremes show turns.

Three Rank Correlation lines of short, middle and long length drawn together as a ribbon.

RCI is calculated for three periods and plotted in one pane.

• Lines moving together show a clear trend.
• A short line that turns before the others shows a possible reversal.
• Tangled lines show a range.

Colours the bars by the angle of the trend, so you can see at a glance if the market is flat or running.

It measures the slope of an EMA and sets a colour for each strength of the slope.

• Green tones: an uptrend of rising strength.
• Red tones: a downtrend.
• Yellow and orange: a flat market.

A stochastic that measures where the close is relative to the middle of the range rather than to its edges.

It takes the distance of the close from the midpoint of the range, smooths it twice, and scales it by half of the smoothed range.

• Above 40 is read as overbought, below -40 as oversold.
• A cross of the signal line is the usual signal.
• Smoother than the standard stochastic.

Introduced by William Blau in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine, January 1993.

William Blau, 1993

A smoothed rate of change that shows momentum with a signal line.

The one-bar rate of change is smoothed twice, with two different lengths, and a signal line is added.

• Above zero: positive momentum.
• A cross of the signal line is the usual signal.
• Extreme values show stretched moves.

Shows how strongly price is trending, using the correlation of price with time.

It measures how closely price follows a straight line over the period.

• Near 1 means a smooth rise, near -1 a smooth fall.
• Near zero means no trend.
• Useful to tell a trend from a range.

A long-term momentum line that sums rates of change over many spans to find the main cycles of the market.

Several smoothed rates of change are weighted and added together.

• Meant for long-term charts.
• Turns up and down with major cycles.
• Needs plenty of history to work.

The ratio of rising bars to falling bars over the last N bars.

It counts the up bars and the down bars in the window and divides one by the other.

• Above 1: more up bars than down bars.
• Below 1: more down bars.
• Counts bars only, not their size.

RSI with markers on the chart where it disagrees with price: a divergence.

It looks for places where price made a new extreme but RSI did not, and marks them.

• A divergence is read as a weakening move.
• It is a warning, not an entry.
• Divergences can last long in a strong trend.

A line that measures how much price typically moves in one bar, including gaps. It says nothing about direction.

True range is the largest of high minus low, the absolute difference between high and the previous close, and the absolute difference between low and the previous close. ATR is a smoothed average of it.

• A high value means a volatile market, a low value a quiet one.
• Often used to set stop distances and position size.
• Rises in sharp moves and falls in calm ones.

Introduced in his book New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems (1978).

J. Welles Wilder Jr., 1978

A moving average with a band above and below it. The bands widen when the market is volatile and narrow when it is quiet.

The middle line is a simple average. The bands sit a set number of standard deviations above and below it.

• Most price action stays inside the bands.
• A squeeze, with the bands close together, is read as a quiet market that may be followed by a larger move.
• Touching a band is not a signal on its own, in trends price can walk along it.

Developed by John Bollinger in the 1980s.

John Bollinger, 1980s

An average with a channel around it, whose width follows the Average True Range.

A moving average sets the middle line, and the bands are a multiple of the Average True Range above and below it.

• Price outside the channel shows a strong move.
• A channel that stays smooth is read as a steady trend.
• Compared with Bollinger Bands, it reacts more slowly to spikes.

Introduced by Chester Keltner in his book How to Make Money in Commodities (1960). The version with the Average True Range came later.

Chester Keltner, 1960

A channel made of the highest high and the lowest low of the last N bars, with a middle line between them.

The upper line is the highest high of the period and the lower line the lowest low. The middle line is their average.

• A close above the upper line is a breakout to the upside.
• A close below the lower line is a breakout to the downside.
• A narrow channel shows a quiet market.

Two lines at a fixed percent above and below a moving average.

The middle line is a moving average, and the bands are shifted up and down by a set percent.

• Price near the upper line is stretched upward, near the lower line downward.
• Unlike Bollinger Bands, the width does not follow volatility.
• Pick a percent that fits how the coin moves.

A line from 0 to 100 that says whether the market is choppy or trending.

It compares the sum of the true ranges over the period with the full high to low range of the period, on a logarithmic scale.

• High values, above about 61, are read as a choppy sideways market.
• Low values, below about 38, are read as a trend.
• It does not give direction.

A line that watches the widening of the bar range to spot possible turns.

It sums the ratio of a smoothed bar range to a double-smoothed one over a number of bars.

• A rise above a high level and a fall back is called a reversal bulge.
• It does not give direction.
• Used as a warning of change.

Introduced by Donald Dorsey in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine, June 1992.

Donald Dorsey, 1992

Like RSI, but made from the standard deviation of price instead of price change, so it measures the direction of volatility.

The standard deviation of the last bars is smoothed separately for up bars and down bars, and set against each other on a 0 to 100 scale.

• Above 50: volatility is rising on up moves.
• Below 50: volatility is rising on down moves.
• Often used as a filter with a trend indicator.

Introduced by Donald Dorsey in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine in 1993.

Donald Dorsey, 1993

Shows where the price is relative to the Bollinger Bands: 1 at the upper band, 0 at the lower one.

It is the close minus the lower band, divided by the width of the bands.

• Above 1: price is above the upper band.
• Below 0: price is below the lower band.
• 0.5 is the middle line.

Described by John Bollinger in his book Bollinger on Bollinger Bands (2001).

John Bollinger, 2001

The width of the Bollinger Bands as a percent of their middle line, a direct reading of volatility.

The upper band minus the lower band, divided by the middle line. Lines for the highest and lowest values over a period are added.

• Low values show a squeeze, a quiet market.
• High values show an expanded, volatile one.
• The extreme lines help judge what is high or low for this market.

Described by John Bollinger in his book Bollinger on Bollinger Bands (2001).

John Bollinger, 2001

Shows how much the price has been moving, as an annualised percent.

It is the standard deviation of the logarithmic returns over the period, scaled to a year.

• High values mean a volatile market.
• Low values mean a quiet one.
• Volatility tends to return to its average after extremes.

The average of the daily high to low range over the last N days.

For each day the high minus the low is taken, and the average of the last days is plotted.

• Shows how far a market usually moves in a day.
• Useful to judge whether a move is large or small.
• It is a range, not a direction.

A histogram that compares a short and a long Bollinger Band to show the trend and its strength.

It measures how far the short band's edges are from the long band's edges, relative to the middle line.

• Above zero: uptrend, below zero: downtrend.
• Taller bars show a stronger trend.
• Shrinking bars show the trend fading.

Measures downside risk: how deep and how long price has been below its recent high.

It is the square root of the average squared percent drop from the highest close of the period.

• A high value shows deep or long drops from recent highs.
• A low value shows price staying near its highs.
• It only counts falls, not rises.

Developed by Peter Martin and Byron McCann in the late 1980s.

Peter Martin and Byron McCann, late 1980s

Colours the price bars by where they close relative to the Bollinger Bands.

Bars are coloured when the close is above the upper band or below the lower band.

• Shows bar by bar when price is outside the bands.
• Saves the extra pane of %b.
• Each colour shows which band was broken.

Bars under the chart that show how much was traded in each bar.

Each bar of the volume pane is the traded amount of that candle, coloured by its direction.

• Rising volume in a move shows interest behind it.
• A move on low volume is read as less reliable.
• Spikes often come at turns or news.

The average price of the day weighted by volume, drawn on the chart. It shows a volume-weighted average price for the selected period.

The sum of price times volume divided by the sum of volume, restarted at the beginning of each period.

• Price above VWAP is above the period’s volume-weighted average.
• Price below VWAP is below that average.
• Often used as a fair price and as support or resistance.

A moving average that gives more weight to bars with more volume.

Each close is multiplied by the volume of its bar, the products are summed over the period and divided by the total volume.

• It sits closer to price where volume was high.
• A gap against a simple average shows volume is concentrated on one side.
• Read as any average: slope and price against it.

A running total of volume that adds the bar's volume on an up close and subtracts it on a down close.

OBV goes up by the bar's volume if the close is higher than the previous one, and down by it if lower.

• A rising OBV with a rising price confirms the move.
• A divergence between OBV and price is a warning.
• The level does not matter, only the direction and shape.

Introduced by Joseph Granville in his book Granville's New Key to Stock Market Profits (1963).

Joseph Granville, 1963

A running total of volume weighted by the percent change of price.

Each bar adds its volume multiplied by the percent change of the close from the previous bar.

• Rising PVT shows volume behind up moves.
• Like OBV, direction and divergences matter more than the level.
• Big moves count more than small ones.

Shows how easily price moves, by comparing the shift of the bar's midpoint with the volume needed for it.

The midpoint's change is divided by the ratio of volume to the bar's range, then averaged.

• Above zero: price moves up with little volume.
• Below zero: price falls easily.
• Near zero: it takes a lot of volume to move price.

Compares the volume of up bars with the volume of down bars over a period.

The sum of volume on rising bars, against the sum of volume on falling bars.

• High values show volume on the buying side.
• Low values show volume on the selling side.
• Extremes are read as stretched.

A line of the average price of each bar.

The turnover of the bar divided by its volume.

• Shows the price where the bar traded on average.
• Compared with the close, it shows where the bar finished.
• Works as a reference line on small timeframes.

An oscillator like RSI that includes volume, so it shows buying and selling pressure in money terms.

The typical price times volume is split into up and down flows, and their ratio is scaled to 0 to 100.

• Above 80 is read as overbought, below 20 as oversold.
• A divergence from price is a warning.
• Volume makes it respond to participation.

Shows whether volume has been going in on the buying or the selling side over the period.

It sums the money flow volume of each bar, positive if the close is in the upper part of the bar's range, and divides it by total volume.

• Above zero: buying pressure. Below zero: selling pressure.
• Values far from zero show strong pressure.
• Crossing zero shows a change of balance.

The gap between a fast and a slow average of the Accumulation/Distribution line.

A 3-period EMA of the A/D line minus a 10-period EMA of it.

• Above zero: accumulation is speeding up.
• Below zero: distribution is speeding up.
• A divergence from price is a warning.

A running total of volume weighted by where each bar closes within its range.

Each bar adds its volume multiplied by how close the close is to the high, up to 1, or to the low, down to -1.

• A rising line shows accumulation.
• A falling line shows distribution.
• A divergence from price is a warning.

Measures the force behind a move by combining the price change with the volume of the bar.

The change of the close times the volume, smoothed with an EMA.

• Above zero: buyers are pushing.
• Below zero: sellers are pushing.
• A strong reading on a big volume shows a move with conviction.

Introduced by Alexander Elder in his book Trading for a Living (1993).

Alexander Elder, 1993

Compares the volume flowing into a market with a long-term and a short-term average, to show the pressure behind the trend.

A volume force is calculated from the bar's range and trend, and the gap between a fast and a slow EMA of it is plotted with a signal line.

• A cross of the signal line is the usual signal.
• Above zero: buying pressure.
• A divergence from price is a warning.

MACD for volume: the gap between a fast and a slow average of volume, as a percent.

Fast volume EMA minus slow volume EMA, divided by the slow one, with a signal line and histogram.

• Above zero: volume is above its long average.
• Rising values show growing activity.
• It shows participation, not direction.

An index that changes only on bars when volume fell from the previous one.

On days with lower volume the index moves by the percent change of price, otherwise it stays.

• Shows what price does when volume is low.
• Compared with its long average.
• Mostly used on daily charts.

An index that changes only on bars when volume rose from the previous one.

On bars with higher volume the index moves by the percent change of price, otherwise it stays.

• Shows what price does when volume is high.
• Compared with its long average.
• Mostly used on daily charts.

Compares the volume of the current bar with the volume of the same time in earlier periods.

Volume of each bar is divided by the average volume at the same point of the earlier periods, such as the same hour of past days.

• Above 1: more volume than usual for this time.
• Below 1: quieter than usual.
• Useful to spot unusual activity.