🧭 Trend indicators
Help determine the direction of price movement (trend). They work with a delay, but they well reflect the current tendency.
· Moving Averages (MA): Smooth the price over a period. Main types: SMA (simple), EMA (exponential), WMA (weighted).
· Ichimoku (Ichimoku): A comprehensive system that shows support/resistance levels, direction, and the strength of the trend.
· ADX: Measures the strength of a trend (not the direction). >40 — strong trend, <20 — weak.
· Parabolic SAR: Dots above/below the price. Used for a trailing stop.
· Supertrend: A trend indicator based on ATR, showing support/resistance lines.
🌀 Oscillators
Leading indicators that work in a sideways market. Identify overbought/oversold conditions and reversal points.
· RSI: 0–100 scale. >70 — overbought, <30 — oversold.
· Stochastic: Compares the closing price to the price range. >80 and <20 — extremes.
· MACD: Line crossovers and a histogram. Shows momentum and trend reversal.
· CCI: Measures deviation from the average price. Exits beyond ±100 — a signal.
· Williams %R: An inverted Stochastic.
📊 Volume indicators
They confirm the strength of the move and the activity of large players.
· Volume: Base volume for the period. Rising volume confirms the breakout.
· OBV: On-Balance Volume. Relates volume to price movement.
· VWAP: Volume-weighted average price. Shows the «fair» price.
· MFI: Money Flow Index. Similar to RSI but taking volume into account.
🌊 Volatility indicators
They measure the range of price fluctuations. Used to assess risk and determine the stop size.
· Bollinger Bands: A channel built from the MA and deviations. Squeezing — ahead of an explosion in volatility.
· ATR: Average True Range. Shows the average range over the period.
· Keltner Channels: Bands based on ATR around the EMA.
· Donchian Channels: Upper/lower bounds by the period’s highest/lowest values.
💡 Important: Indicators provide probabilistic signals, not a guarantee. The best results come from a combination of 2–3 tools from different groups (e.g., trend + oscillator + volume) that complement each other.
