Learn · Indicators
Technical indicators, explained clearly
205 indicator guides — what each one measures, how to read it, a concrete way to trade it, and where it lies. Every guide is drawn on the same real price series so you can compare them like-for-like.
Momentum & oscillators
Speed and exhaustion — overbought, oversold, and divergence.
RSIRelative Strength IndexA 0–100 gauge of how one-sided recent gains have been — the classic overbought / oversold oscillator.MACDMACDThe difference between two EMAs, with a signal line and histogram — momentum and trend in one.StochStochastic OscillatorWhere the close sits within the recent high–low range, on a 0–100 scale.StochRSIStochastic RSIThe stochastic formula applied to RSI — a faster, more sensitive overbought/oversold read.%RWilliams %RLarry Williams' inverted stochastic — the close versus the recent high, on a −100 to 0 scale.CCICommodity Channel IndexHow far price has strayed from its statistical average — unbounded, centred on zero.ROCRate of ChangeThe percentage change in price over a fixed lookback — pure, unsmoothed momentum.MOMMomentumThe raw price difference over a lookback — the simplest momentum measure there is.PPOPercentage Price OscillatorMACD expressed in percent, so momentum is comparable across different-priced assets.TRIXTRIXThe rate of change of a triple-smoothed EMA — momentum with most of the noise filtered out.TSITrue Strength IndexDouble-smoothed momentum on a bounded scale — trend direction and overbought/oversold together.CMOChande Momentum OscillatorTushar Chande's pure momentum oscillator — net gains vs losses on a −100 to +100 scale.RMIRelative Momentum IndexA momentum-smoothed cousin of RSI that compares the close to a price several bars back rather than to the prior bar.SMIStochastic Momentum IndexWilliam Blau's refinement of the stochastic that measures the close relative to the midpoint of the range, not its extremes.Disparity IndexThe percentage gap between price and a moving average — a read on how stretched the market is from its own trend line.PGOPretty Good OscillatorMark Johnson's gauge of how far price has run from its average, measured in units of Average True Range.Derivative OscillatorConstance Brown's double-smoothed RSI plotted as a histogram with a signal line — MACD-style momentum built on RSI.IMIIntraday Momentum IndexTushar Chande's blend of candlestick bodies and RSI — momentum measured from open-to-close instead of close-to-close.
Trend & direction
Which way, and how strongly, price is moving.
SMASimple Moving AverageThe plain arithmetic mean of the last N closes — the baseline trend line every other average is measured against.EMAExponential Moving AverageA moving average that weights recent prices more heavily, so it turns faster than the SMA.WMAWeighted Moving AverageA moving average with linearly decreasing weights — the newest bar counts most, the oldest least.HMAHull Moving AverageAlan Hull's low-lag average that stays remarkably smooth — fast turns without the usual noise.DEMADouble Exponential Moving AveragePatrick Mulloy's construction that halves EMA lag by correcting for the smoothing delay.TEMATriple Exponential Moving AverageAn even lower-lag average than DEMA, built to shadow price while filtering minor noise.KAMAKaufman Adaptive Moving AveragePerry Kaufman's average that speeds up in clean trends and flattens out in noise.ALMAArnaud Legoux Moving AverageA Gaussian-weighted average with an adjustable offset that trades smoothness against lag.ZLEMAZero-Lag Exponential Moving AverageAn EMA that tries to cancel its own lag by adding a momentum correction before smoothing.T3T3 Moving AverageTim Tillson's smoothed average that blends several EMAs with a volume factor for a clean, responsive line.VWMAVolume-Weighted Moving AverageA moving average that weights each bar by its volume, so high-participation prices count more.EnvelopesMoving Average EnvelopesA band set a fixed percentage above and below a moving average to frame normal price travel.RibbonMoving Average RibbonA stack of moving averages of increasing length plotted together to picture trend strength at a glance.GMMAGuppy Multiple Moving AverageDaryl Guppy's twin-group ribbon that separates short-term traders from long-term investors.GCGolden CrossThe bullish crossover where a short-term average climbs above a long-term one, signalling a shift to an uptrend.DCDeath CrossThe bearish mirror of the golden cross — a short average dropping below a long one, warning of a downtrend.IchimokuIchimoku CloudGoichi Hosoda's all-in-one system — five lines that map trend, momentum, and support/resistance at once.SARParabolic SARWilder's stop-and-reverse dots that trail price and accelerate, flipping sides when the trend breaks.STSuperTrendA volatility-based trend line built from ATR that flips above or below price to signal direction.ADXAverage Directional IndexWilder's 0–100 gauge of trend strength — how strong the move is, not which way it points.DMIDirectional Movement IndexWilder's +DI and −DI lines that measure upward versus downward directional pressure.AroonAroonTushar Chande's pair of lines timing how recently price set a new high or low within the lookback.AroonOscAroon OscillatorAroon Up minus Aroon Down on a single −100 to +100 line for a cleaner trend read.VIVortex IndicatorTwo crossing lines (VI+ and VI−) that capture the tug-of-war between upward and downward trend movement.STCSchaff Trend CycleDoug Schaff's oscillator that runs a stochastic over MACD to catch trend turns earlier than MACD alone.DPODetrended Price OscillatorA cycle tool that strips the trend out of price to expose its shorter rhythmic highs and lows.KSTKnow Sure ThingMartin Pring's momentum oscillator that blends four smoothed rates of change into one weighted line.RWIRandom Walk IndexMichael Poulos's measure of how far price movement departs from what pure chance would produce.LRSLinear Regression SlopeThe slope of a least-squares line fitted through recent prices — trend direction and steepness as a number.MDMcGinley DynamicJohn McGinley's self-adjusting average that speeds up or slows down to hug price without lagging behind.TMATriangular Moving AverageA double-smoothed average that weights the middle of the window most for an extra-smooth line.DMADisplaced Moving AverageAn ordinary moving average shifted forward or backward in time to change how it interacts with price.FRAMAFractal Adaptive Moving AverageJohn Ehlers's average that uses fractal dimension to run fast in trends and slow in congestion.VIDYAVariable Index Dynamic AverageTushar Chande's volatility-scaled EMA that reacts faster when the market is moving strongly.TIITrend Intensity IndexM.H. Pee's measure of how strongly price is trending, built from its deviations above and below a moving average.FOSCForecast OscillatorTushar Chande's oscillator of the gap between price and its linear-regression forecast, expressed in percent.TSFTime Series ForecastA moving line drawn from the endpoint of a rolling linear regression — a low-lag trend track, also called the moving linear regression.LSMALeast Squares Moving AverageThe endpoint of a rolling linear regression line — a moving average that leans into the trend to cut lag.JMAJurik Moving AverageMark Jurik's adaptive filter, prized for being smooth and low-lag at the same time.RMAWilders Moving AverageJ. Welles Wilder's own smoothing method — an EMA-like average with a gentler weighting that underpins RSI, ATR and ADX.SWMASine-Weighted Moving AverageA weighted average whose weights follow a sine curve, emphasising the middle of the window for a smooth, symmetric filter.eVWMAElastic Volume-Weighted Moving AverageChristian Fries' average that treats traded volume as the number of periods, so heavy-volume bars move the line more.
Volatility & bands
How much price is moving — and when it is coiling.
BBBollinger BandsA moving-average envelope whose width breathes with volatility — the most widely used volatility bands.%BBollinger %BWhere price sits inside its Bollinger Bands, expressed as a single number around 0 to 1.BBWBollinger BandwidthThe width of the Bollinger Bands relative to the middle line — a direct volatility gauge.SqueezeBollinger Band SqueezeThe setup where volatility contracts so far a breakout becomes likely — coiling before a move.DBBDouble Bollinger BandsTwo Bollinger envelopes at one and two standard deviations, carving the chart into trend and neutral zones.KCKeltner ChannelsAn EMA-centred channel set by Average True Range — a smoother cousin of Bollinger Bands.DCDonchian ChannelsThe highest high and lowest low of the last N bars — the original breakout channel.ATRAverage True RangeThe average size of a bar's true range — the benchmark measure of volatility magnitude.ATR StopATR Trailing Stops / ATR BandsA stop that trails price by a multiple of ATR, so it adapts to each market's volatility.SDStandard DeviationThe statistical spread of price around its average — the raw ingredient of Bollinger Bands.HVHistorical VolatilityThe realized volatility of returns over a past window, usually annualized as a percent.CHVChaikin VolatilityThe rate of change of a smoothed high-low range — how fast the trading range is expanding.UIUlcer IndexA downside-only volatility measure that scores the depth and duration of drawdowns.CHOPChoppiness IndexA 0-to-100 gauge of whether the market is trending or chopping sideways.MIMass IndexA range-expansion measure that flags reversals when the high-low range bulges then contracts.RVIRelative Volatility IndexRSI's formula applied to standard deviation — a confirmation gauge for the direction of volatility.SE BandsStandard Error BandsBands around a linear-regression line at two standard errors — tight in trends, wide in chop.VRVolatility RatioToday's true range measured against recent range — a spike flags a volatility breakout.NATRNormalized ATRATR expressed as a percentage of price, so volatility is comparable across instruments and eras.ABAcceleration BandsVolatility bands whose width scales with each bar's range — built to catch accelerating breakouts.STARCSTARC BandsStoller's Average Range Channels — an SMA with ATR-scaled bands that frame a probable trading range.VStopVolatility StopAn ATR-scaled stop-and-reverse line that follows the trend and flips when volatility says it has ended.CEChandelier ExitA trailing stop hung a few ATRs down from the highest recent high — LeBeau's way to ride trends.Parkinson VolatilityA volatility estimate built from the high-low range of each bar rather than from closing prices.Garman-Klass VolatilityAn OHLC volatility estimator that combines the high-low range with the open-to-close move for greater efficiency.ADRAverage Day RangeThe simple average of daily high-low ranges — a plain read on how much an instrument typically moves in a session.Downside DeviationVolatility measured only from returns that fall below a target — the risk that actually hurts.
Volume & money flow
Whether volume is confirming the move or fading.
OBVOn-Balance VolumeA running tally that adds the day's volume on up-closes and subtracts it on down-closes — Granville's classic accumulation gauge.VWAPVolume Weighted Average PriceThe average price paid over the session, weighted by volume — the benchmark institutions measure their fills against.AVWAPAnchored VWAPVWAP begun from a chosen event — a swing low, earnings, or an IPO — instead of the session open.VWAP±σVWAP BandsStandard-deviation envelopes around VWAP — Bollinger-style bands anchored to the volume-weighted mean.ADLAccumulation/Distribution LineA cumulative money-flow line that weights each bar's volume by where the close lands within its range.CMFChaikin Money FlowThe Accumulation/Distribution idea condensed into a bounded oscillator that swings around zero.CHOChaikin OscillatorMACD applied to the Accumulation/Distribution line — the momentum of money flow.TMFTwiggs Money FlowColin Twiggs' refinement of Chaikin Money Flow that uses true range and exponential smoothing to cut distortion.MFIMoney Flow IndexA volume-weighted RSI on a 0–100 scale — overbought and oversold with participation baked in.FIForce IndexPrice change times volume — a single number combining direction, size, and participation of a move.EFIElder Force IndexThe smoothed Force Index Alexander Elder actually trades — a short EMA for timing, a long one for trend.KVOKlinger Volume OscillatorStephen Klinger's oscillator that turns volume into a trend-scored 'volume force', then reads its momentum.PVTPrice Volume TrendA cumulative volume line like OBV, but weighting each bar's volume by the size of its percentage price move.NVINegative Volume IndexA cumulative line that changes only on lower-volume days, tracking what the 'smart money' does when the crowd is quiet.PVIPositive Volume IndexThe mirror of NVI — a cumulative line that changes only on higher-volume days, tracking the crowd.UVDVUp/Down Volume RatioThe ratio of volume transacted on up-closes to volume on down-closes — a direct read on accumulation versus distribution.NVNet VolumeBuying volume minus selling volume, plotted as a per-bar histogram around zero.VROCVolume Rate of ChangeRate of Change applied to volume — the percentage surge or drop in participation over a lookback.VOVolume OscillatorThe gap between a fast and slow moving average of volume — a read on whether participation is expanding.PVOPercentage Volume OscillatorMACD's formula applied to volume — the momentum of participation, with signal line and histogram.EMVEase of MovementRichard Arms' measure of how much volume it takes to move price — big moves on light volume score high.VPVRVolume ProfileA horizontal histogram of volume traded at each price level, revealing where the market agreed on value.VbPVolume by PriceA horizontal volume histogram over a lookback, often split into up- and down-volume, that highlights congestion zones.BVBetter VolumeA volume study that color-codes each bar by volume and range together to flag climax, churn, and exhaustion.VOLVolumeThe raw count of shares or contracts traded per bar — the foundation every other volume tool is built on.TVITrade Volume IndexA running tally of volume that treats each tick up as accumulation and each tick down as distribution.VFIVolume Flow IndicatorMarkos Katsanos' modernised On-Balance Volume, with a volatility filter and a cap on outlier volume.BW MFIMarket Facilitation IndexBill Williams' measure of price movement per unit of volume — how easily the market moves price.VZOVolume Zone OscillatorA bounded oscillator that signs volume by price direction to show whether buyers or sellers control the flow.CVDCumulative Volume DeltaA running sum of buying minus selling volume, tracking net order-flow pressure over time.
Levels & geometry
Pivots, Fibonacci, and channels that frame the map.
PPStandard Pivot PointsThe classic floor-trader levels — a central pivot plus support and resistance derived from the prior session's range.Fib PPFibonacci Pivot PointsStandard pivots with the support/resistance rungs spaced by Fibonacci ratios of the prior range instead of whole multiples.WoodieWoodie Pivot PointsA pivot variant that double-weights the close, shifting the central level toward where the period actually finished.CamarillaCamarilla Pivot PointsEight levels packed tightly around the prior close — designed for mean-reversion at the third band and breakouts at the fourth.DeMarkDeMark Pivot PointsA conditional pivot that uses the close-versus-open relationship to project a single support/resistance pair for the next period.FibFibonacci RetracementHorizontal levels at key ratios of a prior swing, marking where a pullback is likely to pause before the trend resumes.Fib ExtFibonacci ExtensionProjected price targets beyond a completed move, using Fibonacci multiples to estimate where an extended trend may run.Fib FanFibonacci FanDiagonal Fibonacci lines fanning out from a swing pivot, acting as sloped, dynamic support and resistance.Fib TimeFibonacci Time ZonesVertical lines spaced by the Fibonacci sequence, projecting when — rather than where — a turning point may occur.Fib ArcsFibonacci ArcsConcentric half-circles drawn from a swing point, blending price and time into curved support and resistance.ZigZagZigZagA filter that connects only the significant swing highs and lows, stripping out moves smaller than a set threshold.LRCLinear Regression ChannelA least-squares trendline through price with parallel outer lines, framing a trend by its statistical best fit.SECStandard Error ChannelA regression channel whose width is set by the standard error of the fit, tightening around well-behaved trends.PitchforkAndrews' PitchforkThree parallel lines drawn from three pivots, framing a trend's channel around a central median line.GannGann FanA fan of angled lines from a pivot representing fixed price-per-time slopes, centered on the 1x1 (45-degree) line.Sq of 9Gann SquareGann's Square of Nine — a numerical spiral relating price and time through squares and geometric angles.S/RSupport and ResistanceThe horizontal price zones where buying or selling has repeatedly turned the market — the foundation of chart reading.TLTrendlinesDiagonal lines connecting successive swing lows or highs, tracing the slope of a trend and flagging when it breaks.ChannelPrice ChannelsParallel upper and lower boundaries — often the highest high and lowest low over N bars — that contain price and mark breakouts.DarvasDarvas BoxNicolas Darvas' breakout boxes — consolidation ranges you buy out of on the upside with a stop below the box.ORBOpening RangeThe high and low of the first minutes of a session — a reference range whose break defines the opening-range breakout trade.Tirone LevelsJohn Tirone's horizontal support and resistance lines, drawn by dividing a period's high-low range.Murrey Math LinesT.H. Murrey's grid of support and resistance lines that splits a price range into eighths.
Candlestick patterns
The single- and multi-bar shapes traders watch.
DojiA candle that opens and closes at nearly the same price — the market's shrug of indecision.Long-Legged DojiA doji with long wicks on both ends — indecision after a violent, wide-ranging fight.Gravestone DojiA doji that opens, closes, and bottoms at the low with a long upper wick — a rejected rally.Dragonfly DojiA doji that opens, closes, and tops at the high with a long lower wick — a rejected sell-off.HammerA small body with a long lower wick after a decline — buyers slamming a bottom back up.Inverted HammerA small body with a long upper wick after a decline — a tentative bullish reversal.Hanging ManA hammer shape at the top of an uptrend — a warning that sellers are stirring.Shooting StarA small body with a long upper wick after a rally — buyers rejected at the highs.Spinning TopA small body with upper and lower wicks of similar length — a balanced standoff.MarubozuA full-bodied candle with no wicks — one side dominated from open to close.Bullish EngulfingA large up-candle that swallows the prior down-candle's body — a decisive bullish reversal.Bearish EngulfingA large down-candle that swallows the prior up-candle's body — a decisive bearish reversal.Bullish HaramiA small up-candle nestled inside a large prior down-candle — the downtrend loses steam.Bearish HaramiA small down-candle nestled inside a large prior up-candle — the uptrend loses steam.Harami CrossA harami whose small second candle is a doji — a stronger stall-and-reverse signal.Morning StarA three-candle bottom — big down, small pause, big up — that turns a decline around.Evening StarA three-candle top — big up, small pause, big down — that ends a rally.Morning Doji StarA morning star whose middle candle is a doji — a sharper bullish bottom.Evening Doji StarAn evening star whose middle candle is a doji — a sharper bearish top.Three White SoldiersThree strong up-candles in a row — a powerful bullish reversal after a decline.Three Black CrowsThree strong down-candles in a row — a powerful bearish reversal after a rally.Piercing LineA down-candle followed by an up-candle that closes past the halfway mark — a bullish reversal.Dark Cloud CoverAn up-candle followed by a down-candle that closes past the halfway mark — a bearish reversal.Tweezer TopsTwo or more candles with matching highs at a peak — resistance that held twice.Tweezer BottomsTwo or more candles with matching lows at a trough — support that held twice.Rising Three MethodsA long up-candle, a shallow pullback, then a new up-candle — a bullish continuation.Falling Three MethodsA long down-candle, a shallow bounce, then a new down-candle — a bearish continuation.Bullish KickerA down-candle followed by a gap-up candle with no overlap — a violent shift to bullish.Bearish KickerAn up-candle followed by a gap-down candle with no overlap — a violent shift to bearish.Bullish Abandoned BabyA rare three-candle bottom with a gapped, isolated doji — a strong bullish reversal.Bearish Abandoned BabyA rare three-candle top with a gapped, isolated doji — a strong bearish reversal.Belt HoldA single long candle that opens at its extreme and runs the other way — a reversal cue.Three Inside UpA bullish harami with a confirming third up-candle — a validated bottom reversal.Three Inside DownA bearish harami with a confirming third down-candle — a validated top reversal.Three Outside UpA bullish engulfing with a confirming third up-candle — a validated bottom reversal.Three Outside DownA bearish engulfing with a confirming third down-candle — a validated top reversal.Tasuki GapA gap in the trend that a counter-candle fails to fill — a continuation signal.On-Neck LineA weak bounce that stalls at the prior low — a bearish continuation in a downtrend.Separating LinesTwo opposite-colored candles sharing the same open — a continuation of the trend.Stick SandwichTwo down-closes wrapping an up-candle at the same price — a bullish bottom reversal.HikkakeA false breakout from an inside bar that traps traders — a fade-the-fakeout setup.Mat HoldA strong up-candle, a brief gapped consolidation, then a breakout — a bullish continuation.Counterattack LinesTwo opposite candles that close at the same price — a reversal where the tide turns back.
Composite & famous
Named systems that combine several ideas at once.
SQZMOMSqueeze MomentumLazyBear's popular mashup of the TTM squeeze and a momentum histogram — spot the coil, then read the release.TTMTTM SqueezeJohn Carter's volatility-compression signal — Bollinger Bands inside Keltner Channels flag a coming breakout.WTWave Trend OscillatorA smoothed channel-index oscillator that flags overbought and oversold turns — a crypto-trader favourite.QQEQuantitative Qualitative EstimationA smoothed RSI paired with a volatility-based trailing line for cleaner momentum signals.Elder Impulse SystemAlexander Elder's bar-colouring system that combines trend and momentum into a simple traffic light.Elder Ray IndexBull Power and Bear Power — how far each bar's high and low reach beyond a moving average.HAHeikin AshiAveraged candles that smooth price into cleaner, more persistent trend colour.RenkoPrice-driven bricks that ignore time entirely, stripping charts down to pure trend.CRSIConnors RSILarry Connors' three-part composite that supercharges RSI for short-term mean reversion.Coppock CurveA long-term momentum curve built to time major bottoms in stock indices.Fisher TransformJohn Ehlers' transform that sharpens price turns into clear, decisive peaks.UOUltimate OscillatorLarry Williams' three-timeframe momentum blend, built to cut the false divergences of single-period tools.AOAwesome OscillatorBill Williams' histogram of the gap between a fast and slow average of the median price.ACAccelerator OscillatorBill Williams' measure of whether momentum itself is speeding up or slowing down.Gator OscillatorA companion to the Alligator that shows when the trend is sleeping and when it is feeding.AlligatorBill Williams' three smoothed, offset averages that tell trend from range at a glance.SMISMI ErgodicWilliam Blau's double-smoothed momentum oscillator paired with a signal line.Pring Special KMartin Pring's single line that sums the whole market cycle of momentum into one curve.RVIRelative Vigor IndexMomentum read from where price closes versus opens, on the idea that vigour shows in the close.BOPBalance of PowerA bar-by-bar tug-of-war gauge: did buyers or sellers control each candle?COGCenter of GravityJohn Ehlers' near-zero-lag oscillator that pinpoints cyclical turning points.Rainbow OscillatorMel Widner's oscillator measuring price against a fan of recursively smoothed moving averages.