Indicator reference
All 111 indicators available in the chart notebook, in one place. What each one measures, how to read it on screen, and where it misleads — written for people new to charts. Every picture is drawn with the real calculation.
Not sure where to start with charts? →Moving averages23
- SMAThe plain average of the last N closing prices, drawn as a line.
- EMAAn average that weighs recent days more heavily than old ones.
- WMAAn average where the newest day counts most and the weight steps down evenly.
- Smoothed MA (SMMA)A very smooth average that carries old values along for a long time.
- Hull MA (HMA)A fast average built to cut the lag out of ordinary averages.
- DEMAAn exponential average run twice, with the extra delay subtracted back out.
- TEMAAn exponential average run three times with even more of the lag removed.
- Triangular MA (TRIMA)An average that weighs the middle of the window most — the weights form a triangle.
- Least squares MA (LSMA)The end point of the straight line that best fits the recent bars, recalculated every day.
- Arnaud Legoux MA (ALMA)An average whose centre of weight you can slide forward or back.
- Kaufman adaptive MA (KAMA)An average that speeds up in a clean run and slows down in chop.
- McGinley DynamicAn average that lengthens its own stride when price moves fast.
- Volume weighted MA (VWMA)An average that gives heavy-volume days more say.
- Zero-lag EMA (ZLEMA)An average that pushes the input forward first to cancel out the delay.
- Tillson T3An average that trades smoothness for speed through a single dial.
- Variable Index Dynamic Average (VIDYA)An average that speeds up as the direction of price becomes clearer.
- MedianThe middle value of the recent window, joined into a line — not an average.
- VWAP (anchored)The average price actually traded since the anchor point.
- MA RibbonFour moving averages of different lengths drawn together.
- Median PriceThe midpoint of each bar's high and low — there is no window.
- Typical PriceThe bar's typical price: high, low and close divided by three.
- Weighted CloseA per-bar average price that counts the close twice.
- Rolling VWAPA volume-weighted average price over a rolling window of recent days.
Trend25
- Chandelier ExitA level hung below the recent high (or above the recent low) by a multiple of the average range.
- Ichimoku CloudA Japanese system that puts support, resistance, trend and time into one picture with five lines.
- Donchian ChannelsA corridor drawn from the highest high and lowest low of the last N bars.
- Parabolic SARDots placed above or below the bars to mark which way the run is going.
- SupertrendA stair-step line hung a multiple of the average range away from price, with a side.
- Zig ZagA zig-zag line that connects only the swings larger than a set percentage.
- Williams FractalsA marker on every bar that is higher or lower than the few bars on both sides.
- Williams AlligatorThree shifted moving averages that show whether the market is asleep or awake.
- Price ChannelA corridor of the prior N bars' highs and lows, shifted one bar.
- Pivot Points StandardA pivot level and the steps above and below it, computed from the previous period's high, low and close.
- Pivot Points High LowHorizontal lines drawn from bars that are higher or lower than the few bars on each side.
- Chande Kroll StopTwo levels set away from the recent high and low by a multiple of range.
- Volatility StopA trailing level based on volatility that only crosses to the other side when the run flips.
- ADX / DMIA measure of how strong the run is — direction comes from the two separate lines.
- AroonHow long ago the recent high and low happened, scaled 0–100.
- VortexUpward and downward rotation force drawn side by side.
- Choppiness IndexWhether the market is trending or chopping, scaled 0–100.
- Mass IndexWatches the rhythm of bar ranges widening and narrowing to spot possible reversals.
- Gator OscillatorBars showing how far apart the three Alligator lines are.
- Linear Regression SlopeOnly the slope of the straight line fitted to the recent window.
- Accumulative Swing Index (ASI)A running total of how much each bar really moved.
- Random Walk Index (RWI)Whether the current move is larger than a random walk would explain.
- Trend Intensity Index (TII)How much of the recent window closed above its average, scaled 0–100.
- Vertical Horizontal Filter (VHF)Another way of measuring whether the market is trending or ranging.
- Chop ZoneThe slope angle of a moving average turned into a colour band.
Momentum30
- RSIUpward force against downward force over the recent window, scaled 0–100.
- StochasticWhere today's close sits between the recent high and low, scaled 0–100.
- Stochastic RSIA stochastic applied to RSI, which makes it far more sensitive.
- MACDHow far a short average has pulled away from a long one.
- CCIHow far price has strayed from where it usually sits.
- Williams %RHow far below the recent high price is now, on a 0 to −100 scale.
- MomentumThe plain difference between price now and price N bars ago.
- Rate of ChangeThe percentage change from N bars ago to now.
- Ultimate OscillatorA 0–100 reading that blends short, medium and long windows at once.
- Awesome OscillatorThe gap between a short and a long average, drawn as bars.
- Accelerator OscillatorWhether the Awesome Oscillator itself is speeding up or slowing down.
- TRIXThe rate of change of a triple-smoothed average.
- True Strength IndexPrice change smoothed twice to measure the strength of direction.
- Price Oscillator (PPO)MACD expressed as a percentage.
- Detrended Price OscillatorPrice with the broad trend removed, leaving only the cycle.
- Chande Momentum (CMO)The sum of up days set directly against the sum of down days.
- KSTFour rates of change of different lengths, weighted and added together.
- Coppock CurveTwo long rates of change added and smoothed into a very slow line.
- Fisher TransformA transform that stretches the price distribution towards a bell shape so extremes stand out.
- Relative Vigor IndexHow far above the open the close finished, divided by that bar's range.
- Balance of PowerWho won inside a single bar, buyers or sellers, on a −1 to +1 scale.
- Connors RSIRSI combined with a run-of-up-days count and how unusual today's change is.
- Stochastic Momentum IndexA stochastic measured from the middle of the recent range instead of the low.
- SMI Ergodic IndicatorA smoothed momentum line whose arithmetic is essentially TSI.
- SMI Ergodic OscillatorThe gap between the SMI Ergodic Indicator and its signal line, drawn as bars.
- Elder Ray (Bull/Bear Power)How far the bar's high and low reached away from a moving average, measured separately.
- Bull Bear PowerBull and bear power added into a single line.
- QstickWhether closes finished above opens more often than not over the recent window.
- Rank Correlation Index (RCI)How well the order of dates matches the order of prices, from −100 to +100.
- Schaff Trend Cycle (STC)MACD run through a stochastic twice and rescaled to 0–100.
Volatility15
- Bollinger BandsA band drawn above and below an average by the usual size of its swings.
- EnvelopeA band drawn a fixed percentage above and below a moving average.
- Keltner ChannelsA band set above and below an average by the average bar range (ATR).
- ATR BandsA band set a multiple of average range away from a moving average.
- Standard Error BandsA band around the best-fit straight line, sized by the fit's error.
- ATRHow much a single bar typically moves.
- Bollinger BandWidthThe width of the Bollinger band pulled out as its own line.
- Bollinger %BWhere price sits inside the Bollinger band, scaled 0 to 1.
- Historical VolatilityHow large past moves were, annualised into a percentage.
- Standard DeviationHow far recent values typically sat from their own average.
- Relative Volatility IndexThe RSI calculation applied to volatility rather than price.
- Chaikin VolatilityHow much the high-low range has widened over a span, as a percentage.
- Average Day RangeThe average of each day's high-minus-low.
- Normalized ATR (%)ATR divided by price and expressed as a percentage.
- Ulcer IndexHow deep and how long price has been below its high, measured together.
Volume18
- On Balance VolumeA running total that adds volume on up days and subtracts it on down days.
- Accumulation/DistributionA running total of where each close landed inside its bar, weighted by volume.
- Chaikin OscillatorThe gap between a short and a long average of the accumulation/distribution line.
- Chaikin Money FlowWhether money flowed in or out over the recent window, on a −1 to +1 scale.
- Money Flow IndexThink of it as RSI with volume included.
- Ease of MovementHow easily price moved relative to the volume it took.
- Elder Force IndexThe size of the price move multiplied by the volume behind it.
- Klinger OscillatorCompares the direction of volume through a short and a long lens.
- Price Volume TrendA running total that adds only the fraction of volume matching the day's percentage move.
- Negative Volume IndexA running total that only changes on days when volume fell.
- Positive Volume IndexA running total that only changes on days when volume rose.
- Percentage Volume OscillatorThe gap between a short and a long average of volume, as a percentage.
- Net VolumeVolume drawn as a positive bar on up bars and a negative one on down bars.
- Volume OscillatorHow much heavier the short average of volume is than the long one, in percent.
- Relative VolumeHow many times its usual volume today traded.
- Volume + MAVolume bars with a moving average drawn over them.
- Williams A/DA running total of how far each bar pushed past the previous close.
- Market Facilitation IndexBar range divided by volume — how far each unit of trading moved the price.
Every indicator is an observation computed from past bars. It does not tell you future prices and it is not investment advice.