Indicators

The twenty indicators used most in charting tools, each with its calculation, typical signals, honest limits, an animated chart and a worked example trade. No indicator predicts the future. They describe what has happened and help you set rules.

New here? Start with what indicators are and where their limits lie.

Trend

Show which direction a price is moving and how strongly.

Moving averagesThe basis of almost all trend indicators, as a lesson of its own.MACDCompares two averages and shows whether momentum is growing or fading.ADXMeasures how strong a trend is, not which way it's going.IchimokuTrend, support and momentum in one picture, with the well known cloud.Parabolic SARDots below or above the price, popular as a trailing stop.SupertrendA trend line spaced by the usual volatility.Donchian channelsHighest high and lowest low, the Turtle Traders' tool.

Momentum

Oscillators that show how one sided a price has moved recently.

RSIThe best known oscillator, on a scale from 0 to 100.StochasticWhere the close sits in the range of the last two weeks.Williams %RThe mirrored stochastic on a scale from −100 to 0.CCIHow far the price is from its average.Money Flow IndexAn RSI that counts volume.

Volatility

How restless a market is and where its usual range lies.

ATRThe normal daily move, useful for stops and position size.Bollinger BandsA tube around the price that widens with volatility.Keltner channelsCalmer bands spaced by the ATR.

Volume

How much is traded and whether money is flowing in or out.

VolumeHow many shares traded, the basis of all volume values.OBVVolume added on up days, subtracted on down days.VWAPThe average price, weighted by the amount traded.

Levels on the chart

Horizontal lines where many traders watch for a reaction.

FibonacciRetracement levels at 38.2, 50 and 61.8 percent of a move.Pivot pointsLines from the previous day's high, low and close.

All charts use made up price data, and the indicators in them are calculated for real. The example trades are invented and include fees, spread and a losing case each. They show how an indicator can be built into a rule and are not a recommendation.