What indicators do you look for most?

[timsk]

Hi Pat,
Just to be clear, all the points I've made about 'leading' and 'lagging' indicators do not reflect my personal views or those of T2W; I'm merely explaining the basic premise on which most indicators are based - as discussed in major texts on the topic - of which I referenced one.

. . .The 'predictive' bit is purely and only ever in traders' heads.

That key point is one I stressed in both my last two posts - but thanks for making it again Pat as it can't be emphasised enough, IMO.
Tim.

 

[tokyojoe]

Hi Tim
what indiarers predict the future then? I am being polite I do mean it
Thank you

The best indicators will develop in your own mind over time.

I strongly advise you learn how to read into inducements & traps, these will become part of your strategy. You will not learn about them in books, nor on this forum, or online, you may read about them but you will only learn about them with live chart time/live trades.

Most indicators are stabilizers while learning to justify why the price went here, why the price went there. They are slowly stripped away to reveal what is really going on, which is mostly avoiding inducement/traps, seeing traps & taking a position to be carried on the momentum of the move.

Scalping skills are required for this to avoid using large stops & potential drawdown.

If you are looking to trade very infrequently & maybe that is what the OP mean't in the opening post about "intelligent investing", all investing is gambling to some degree, it will be very prudent to realise & admit this to yourself, Especially with a question like "which indicator predicts the future" from Jonisonvespa, which is a very fair question if you are starting out.

As a day trader(speculator/gambler) I am only interested in the future of the now, indicators are of no use to me anymore, but I am very glad to have learned to use them.

Good luck

 

[NH538DB8]

The best indicators will develop in your own mind over time.

I strongly advise you learn how to read into inducements & traps, these will become part of your strategy. You will not learn about them in books, nor on this forum, or online, you may read about them but you will only learn about them with live chart time/live trades.

Most indicators are stabilizers while learning to justify why the price went here, why the price went there. They are slowly stripped away to reveal what is really going on, which is mostly avoiding inducement/traps, seeing traps & taking a position to be carried on the momentum of the move.

Scalping skills are required for this to avoid using large stops & potential drawdown.

If you are looking to trade very infrequently & maybe that is what the OP mean't in the opening post about "intelligent investing", all investing is gambling to some degree, it will be very prudent to realise & admit this to yourself, Especially with a question like "which indicator predicts the future" from Jonisonvespa, which is a very fair question if you are starting out.

As a day trader(speculator/gambler) I am only interested in the future of the now, indicators are of no use to me anymore, but I am very glad to have learned to use them.

Good luck

Thank you all for your input on what really is a very vauge and poorly phrased question.

I will say that I believe there is nothing (indicator, price pattern, etc) that can predict the direction that a price will go at any given time. There are lots of things that will give you information that you can use to extrapolate an "educated" opinion of where the market will go given past performance and trends.

As the OP I can clarify Tokyojoe's question about trading frequency for ME. I have no problem trading on a day to day basis. Day trading is not an option as I have a day job (for now). So I think I would be considered willing to be an active trader as opposed to a day trader.

I've spent a lot of time since I started this thread researching price action patterns and the like. Seems like I've scratched the surface of a whole new world of stock trading strategies.

I will say the MOST important thing I've learned from this thread and all the information that its lead to is the necessity for back testing, forward testing, and thoroughly evaluating a strategy that is going to be used. In the past couple weeks I've spent countless hours developing criteria for what in my mind (reinforced by the interwebs) will be a winning strategy and then seeing it fall apart under testing. If you can't test a theory before putting it into action in the market then its a gamble. If you can't test it objectively and have it be profitable in testing then there is no way it will be profitable in real life other than plain dumb luck (gambling).

 

[ifmcinstitute]

Indicators are just manipulations of price data or volume data, therefore many day traders don't use indicators at all. There is no single indicator that is the best for day trading. Technical indicators are just tools, they can't produce profits.

 

[NVP]

interesting resurrected thread .........

How do you tell what is a swing from a full blown reversal ?.

What indicators do you rely on for your entry strategy and why? There are a million theories out there but so far they all seem to be a bit wishy washy in the why area?

for me the first question is all about price relativity ..........and at what price you use as a reference / start point ...the answer flows from there ............and it will never be 100% correct whatever you do ......

second question is a small cocktail of my trusted indicators based on years of usage and practice .......my only advice on this area is if yuo are going to use indicators (plural) then ensure they are doing seperate independent jobs ......many indicators pretty much so the same thing so you will already have one too many indicators on your chart for some combinations !

i would ensure you have a decent directional bias indicator alongside an indicator looking at relative volatility/momentum ....seek increasing momentum/volativity into a clear direction ......

just my thoughts ...........so lets hear what others have to say again on this interesting subject

N

 

[NVP]

Thank you all for your input on what really is a very vauge and poorly phrased question.

I will say the MOST important thing I've learned from this thread and all the information that its lead to is the necessity for back testing, forward testing, and thoroughly evaluating a strategy that is going to be used. In the past couple weeks I've spent countless hours developing criteria for what in my mind (reinforced by the interwebs) will be a winning strategy and then seeing it fall apart under testing. If you can't test a theory before putting it into action in the market then its a gamble. If you can't test it objectively and have it be profitable in testing then there is no way it will be profitable in real life other than plain dumb luck (gambling).

forward testing is the key..........i have strategies showing 100% win rates when backtesting ......but useless unless they work in the real world

 

[Xevield]

I find that most commonly used indicators are MA RSI followed with BB. Those are also my favourites. But I would note that many traders are relying not only on one, but combination of few indicators, waiting for clear confirmation of trend.But you should find what fits to your trading technique best

 

[monro00]

I like to apply a momentary standard deviation utilizing the h/l through the span of half a month and apply it as a percentile(lining up the sections in order to impact the ones prone to change) to the normal cost either up or down and if the h/l is outside of this section by a sum more noteworthy then I foresee then I think about that a break out from the example either up or down. By then I consider there will be an inversion towards the opposite end of the sexually transmitted disease D - news not withstanding-or a break to another range.

I likewise gather pattern information by means of the h/l over a similar time allotment and submit to reinforcing and debilitating patterns as a further investigation.

 

[tomorton]

Actually, I've started looking just today at RSI during a trade's lifetime to identify dynamic TP levels. I don't set TP's in advance as my long-term trades are all trend-following but it would be nice to get out before a massive pull-back.

 

[RealizedGains]

TA doesn’t move markets, supply/demand do and there are no indicators for such. It really depends on what you trade, but a deep fundamental analysis is good for trading rather than TA. Then again, I use TA most of the time I don’t trade equity haha.

For my TA I really like Support/Resistance, EMA (50,100,200- swing 5,8,13- day). If I day trade I’ll rely on Fibonacci for breakouts rather than support and resistance, but it just depends.

It really depends on what your strategy is. I always try to find a pivot point for PA and then with some research see if it’s a good buy or sell candidate.

 

[NVP]

no indicators move markets ............

everything we do as traders is designed to identify situations in demand / supply dynamics to anticipate movement

N

 

[J_C_Anderson]

At the same time,large institutional players also pay attention to the indicators and make appropriate decisions. They mostly use various Moving averages, for example, 200 SMA on Daily and 30EMA on 15. They could also use VWAP to define the average price. As they execute relatively large orders, they could sometimes even influence the price in the short-term perspective. That is why it is important to pay attention to the indicators too.

 

[fibo_trader]

I've been in and out of the markets for a number of years since I was in high school. I'm finally at the point in my life where I've got some real cash I can try intelligently investing (not gambling). I've been doing heavy research for some time and two questions keep coming up.

How do you tell what is a swing from a full blown reversal.

What indicators do you rely on for your entry strategy and why? There are a million theories out there but so far they all seem to be a bit wishy washy in the why area?

Quit now, find or keep your day job, this is not for you - OBVIOUSLY. Just when you've got some real cash, you're ready to lose it all. Nice!

You're calling the millions of indicators out there "wishy washy" ..... ? In the wishy washy dept. you make 'em look like saints, Chief.

Quit now and save your family from destitution.

 

[Peter5510]

If you are able to write script in your charting software system, then write a script to track the number of days a stock stay above 50 days simple moving average for a period of 1 year. The screen results should have ticker symbols and the corresponding number of days above 50 days SMA. Sort the numbers in ascending order and count the number between 1 to 10, 11 to 20 and so on. Plot a histogram with those observations. Conclusion: Be patient, do not rush in too early.

 

[Rich Wells]

I pile them on like clothing, then strip down to price action, because I like the feeling of trading naked.

 

[galbi]

moving averages are some of the great indicators

 

[kaushika]

There is no single indicator that is the best for day trading. Market indicators are quantitative in nature and seek to interpret stock or financial index data in an attempt to forecast market moves. Market indicators are a subset of technical analysis indicators and are typically comprised of formulas and ratios.

 

[Viro Major]

my PnL

 

[CavaliereVerde]

my PnL

The market does not care about you PnL

 

[Viro Major]

I do not care about the market, but the PnL is the only indicator which tells me if I’m right or wrong It’s no crystal ball but it speaks out the truth at all times