LIBRARY

Technical indicators for market analysis with signals, timeframes, and examples.

Trend

Moving Averages (SMA & EMA)

Smooth price data to identify direction. SMA gives equal weight to all periods; EMA weighs recent prices more heavily, reacting faster to changes.

All timeframes. Common periods: 9, 20, 50, 100, 200

MACD

Moving Average Convergence Divergence measures the relationship between two EMAs (typically 12 and 26). The signal line (9 EMA of MACD) and histogram show momentum shifts.

Daily and 4H for swing trades. 1H and 15min for day trades

ADX (Average Directional Index)

Measures trend strength on a 0-100 scale regardless of direction. Does not tell you if the trend is up or down, only how strong it is.

Daily for swing trades. 4H for active trading

Parabolic SAR

Places dots above or below price to signal potential reversals and provide trailing stop levels. Dots flip sides when trend changes direction.

4H and daily for swing trades. 1H for scalping

Ichimoku Cloud

All-in-one system showing support/resistance (cloud), trend direction (cloud color), momentum (Tenkan/Kijun cross), and future projections.

Daily and weekly for position trades. 4H for swing trades

Momentum

RSI (Relative Strength Index)

Oscillates 0-100 measuring speed and magnitude of recent price changes. Most popular momentum indicator. Default period is 14.

All timeframes. 14 period is standard. Use 7 for faster signals

Stochastic Oscillator

Compares closing price to its range over a lookback period (default 14). Shows %K (fast) and %D (slow) lines oscillating 0-100.

15min and 1H for day trades. Daily for swing setups

CCI (Commodity Channel Index)

Measures price deviation from its statistical mean. Unbounded oscillator (no fixed range). Identifies cyclical turns and extreme conditions.

Daily and 4H for swing trades. 20-period is standard

Williams %R

Momentum oscillator ranging from -100 to 0. Essentially an inverted Stochastic. Shows where the close sits relative to the high-low range over a lookback period.

14-period on all timeframes. 1H and 4H most common

ROC (Rate of Change)

Percentage change between current price and price N periods ago. Simple but effective momentum measure. Oscillates around zero line.

12-period on daily for swing. 10-period on intraday

Volume

VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price)

Average price weighted by volume for the trading session. Resets daily. The single most important intraday level used by institutional traders.

Intraday only (1min to 15min). Anchored VWAP can be used on any timeframe

OBV (On-Balance Volume)

Running total of volume: adds volume on up days, subtracts on down days. Shows whether volume is flowing into or out of a security.

Daily for swing trades. Weekly for position trades

Volume Profile

Horizontal histogram showing volume traded at each price level. Reveals high-volume nodes (HVN) and low-volume nodes (LVN).

Daily profile for day trades. Weekly/monthly for swing trades

Accumulation / Distribution

Measures cumulative money flow by considering where price closes within its range, weighted by volume.

Daily for swing analysis. Weekly for big-picture view

Chaikin Money Flow

Oscillator (-1 to +1) measuring buying vs selling pressure over a period (typically 20). Combines price action and volume into a single momentum reading.

20-period on daily. 10-period for faster signals

Volatility

Bollinger Bands

Three lines: middle band (20 SMA), upper and lower bands at 2 standard deviations. Bands widen in high volatility, contract in low volatility.

All timeframes. 20,2 is standard setting

ATR (Average True Range)

Measures market volatility by averaging the true range over N periods. Not directional, just measures how much price moves.

14-period is standard. All timeframes

Keltner Channels

Volatility bands using ATR around an EMA (typically 20 EMA with 2x ATR). Smoother than Bollinger Bands because they use ATR instead of standard deviation.

Daily and 4H for swing trades. 1H for day trades

Implied Volatility (IV)

Market expectation of future volatility derived from options prices. High IV means expensive options. Low IV means cheap options.

Daily. IV rank compares to 52-week range

VIX (Volatility Index)

The market fear gauge measuring expected 30-day S&P 500 volatility. Derived from SPX options prices. Tends to spike during selloffs and drift lower during calm markets.

Daily for macro view. Intraday VIX for timing entries

For educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Higher returns come with higher risk. Never risk more than you can afford to lose.