Momentum Indicators

Six indicators measure the speed and stretch of a move rather than its direction. Most are bounded — they run between fixed numbers — which makes them easy to write rules against.

A warning that applies to all of them: "overbought" does not mean it will fall. In a strong trend an indicator can sit at an extreme for days.

Default period 14, runs from 0 to 100. The most used indicator in retail trading.

Below 30 is traditionally called oversold, above 70 overbought. Those numbers are convention, not law — plenty of traders use 20/80 or 40/60.

Typical entry: RSI(14) on 5m crosses below 30. Typical exit: RSI is at or above 60.

Defaults: fast 12, slow 26, signal 9. Built from two moving averages, so it is really a trend indicator wearing a momentum coat.

Three outputs: the MACD line, the Signal line, and the Histogram (the gap between them).

The standard rule is one row: MACD line crosses above Signal line. Histogram above zero says the same thing in a different form.

Defaults: %K period 14, %D period 3, smoothing 3. Runs 0 to 100, with outputs K and D.

It asks where the close sits inside the recent high-low range. Near the top means strength; near the bottom, weakness.

Usually traded as a crossover of K over D, or with 20/80 as the extremes. It moves faster than RSI and gives more signals.

Default period 20. Unbounded — it can go beyond ±100 and often does.

Above +100 is read as a strong up move, below −100 as a strong down move. Some traders use those as breakout signals rather than reversal signals.

Default period 14. Runs from −100 to 0, which surprises people the first time.

Because of that, your comparison numbers are negative: −80 is the oversold end, −20 the overbought end. The number box accepts a minus sign.

It is close kin to Stochastic and usually agrees with it, so there is little point running both.

Default period 12. Simply the percentage change over that many candles.

Above zero means price is higher than it was 12 candles ago; below zero, lower. The further from zero, the faster the move.

The most straightforward momentum measure here, and easy to reason about because the number means something in plain terms.