Step by step
- In the Trading chart, open the Indicators popover (the Indicators button or /). Drawing group options also open in popovers. Settings and script editing use focus-trapped dialogs.
- Search by name (for example 'RSI' or 'moving average') and click one to add it. Indicators that share price's scale (moving averages, bands) draw on the price chart; others (RSI, MACD) open their own panel underneath.
- Click an indicator's name on the chart to change its settings (for example the length of a moving average), hide it or remove it.
- Add as many as you like, but start with two or three.
Every control, explained
- Moving average (simple, exponential, weighted and many more)
- The average closing price over the last N bars. The exponential kind reacts faster to recent prices. How: Price above a rising 50-day average is a common definition of an uptrend. Crosses of a fast and slow average (Moving average cross) are a classic signal.
- Bollinger Bands
- A moving average with bands two standard deviations above and below. How: Bands widen when the market is volatile and narrow when it's calm. Touching a band isn't a signal on its own.
- Keltner and Donchian channels
- Keltner: bands set by average true range. Donchian: the highest high and lowest low of the last N bars. How: Breakouts above a Donchian channel are a classic trend-following entry.
- Ichimoku Cloud
- Several lines and a shaded 'cloud' showing trend, momentum and support. How: Price above the cloud is read as bullish, below as bearish.
- VWAP
- Volume-weighted average price from the first visible bar (or with standard-deviation bands). How: Institutions often judge their fills against VWAP.
- Supertrend and Parabolic SAR
- Trailing lines that flip when the trend reverses. How: Often used as trailing stops.
- RSI (relative strength index)
- Momentum from 0 to 100 over 14 bars. How: Above 70 is called overbought, below 30 oversold; in strong trends it can stay there a long time.
- MACD
- The gap between a fast and slow exponential average, with a signal line and histogram. How: The MACD line crossing above its signal line is read as momentum turning up.
- Stochastic and Stochastic RSI
- Where the close sits within the recent high-low range, 0 to 100. How: Similar reading to RSI; more sensitive.
- ATR (average true range)
- The average size of a bar's move, including gaps. How: Used to set stops: a stop 2 ATR away gives normal noise room.
- ADX and DMI
- Trend strength (ADX) and direction (+DI / −DI). How: ADX above about 25 suggests a trend worth following.
- Volume studies (OBV, Money Flow, Chaikin, relative volume and more)
- Whether volume is flowing in on up days or down days. How: Rising price with falling volume can warn that a move is tiring.
- Historical volatility and Bollinger bandwidth
- How much prices have been moving, annualised. How: Low volatility often comes before bigger moves.
- Z-score and linear regression
- How far price is from its average in standard deviations; the best-fit line through recent prices. How: Useful for mean-reversion ideas.
- Everything else
- 96 in total, from DEMA, TEMA, Hull and KAMA to Aroon, Vortex, Fisher transform, Connors RSI, Schaff trend cycle and squeeze momentum. How: Search the list; each has its standard settings.
Tips
- Pick one trend tool (a moving average), one momentum tool (RSI or MACD) and one volatility tool (ATR). More rarely helps.
- Indicators are calculated from price; they never know something price doesn't.
Common mistakes
- Adding ten indicators until one agrees with what you want to do.
- Treating overbought as 'about to fall'.
Limits to know
- On stocks, intraday indicators use modelled minute bars on the free plan.
Try it: Add a 50-day and a 200-day simple moving average to SPY on 5Y. Find the last time the 50 crossed above the 200.
Lebs is for education and research, not investment advice, and it places no orders.