QCharts - Technical Studies Overview And Definitions
AutoWave
The AutoWave is a study that detects Fibonacci-ratio patterns in price swings. It can report existing patterns and patterns that would exist, if prices move to a new level. It can also show the swings themselves as a series of line segments.
Accumulation/Distribution
The Accumulation/Distribution is a momentum indicator that associates changes in price and volume. The indicator is based on the premise that the more volume that accompanies a price move, the more significant the price move.
Average True Range
The Average True Range ("ATR") is a measure of volatility.
Bollinger Bands
The Bollinger Bands indicate previous market volatility by taking the standard deviation of the last period's closing prices and adding or subtracting a multiple (band width - usually 2) of that value to a simple moving average of the same number of closes.
AutoWave
The AutoWave is a study that detects Fibonacci-ratio patterns in price swings. It can report existing patterns and patterns that would exist, if prices move to a new level. It can also show the swings themselves as a series of line segments.
Accumulation/Distribution
The Accumulation/Distribution is a momentum indicator that associates changes in price and volume. The indicator is based on the premise that the more volume that accompanies a price move, the more significant the price move.
Average True Range
The Average True Range ("ATR") is a measure of volatility.
Bollinger Bands
The Bollinger Bands indicate previous market volatility by taking the standard deviation of the last period's closing prices and adding or subtracting a multiple (band width - usually 2) of that value to a simple moving average of the same number of closes.
The result is an upper band marking two standard deviations above the average and a lower band two standard deviations below the average. When the market has been volatile during the period, the bands get wider. The bands become narrower when the market has been less volatile.
Choppiness Index
The Choppiness Index measures the ratio of the average price range over a length of intervals to the price range over the entire length. A lower ratio indicates directionality or trendiness of a market, and a higher ratio indicates choppiness or lack of directionality.
Commodity Channel Index
The Commodity Channel Index ("CCI") measures the variation of a security's price from its statistical means.
Directional Movement (ADX)
In Directional Movement, the +DI line (default blue) shows the average percentage of the range that is upward movement; -DI (default red) shows the percentage that is downward movement. The crossing of these lines indicates a change in trend. The ADXR line indicates how much the instrument is trending - below 20 indicates a non-trending environment.
Donchian Channels
The Donchian Channels plot the highest high and lowest low over the last period. It indicates volatility and support/resistance levels. Offset shifts the channels left and right.
Envelopes
The Envelopes are calculated and plotted based on a fixed percentage above and below a moving average regardless of the volatility.
Float Turnover Channel
The Float Turnover Channel shows the number of bars required to trade a stock’s "float," or available shares.
Keltner Channel
The Keltner Channel is a moving average band indicator whose upper and lower bands adapt to changes in volatility by using the average true range. The Keltner Channel is used to signal price breakouts, show trend, and give overbought and oversold readings.
MACD and the MACD Histogram
The MACD plots the difference between two exponential moving averages (MACD), and an average of that difference over time (Signal). The MACD Histogram plots the difference between the MACD and Signal lines.
Moving Average
A Moving Average is an indicator that shows the average value of a security's price over a period of time. When calculating a moving average, a mathematical analysis of the security's average value over a predetermined time period is made. As the security's price changes, its average price moves up or down.
What is a Simple Moving Average?
A Simple Moving Average plots the average price of the last period's closing prices. If the period is set to 10 and the chart time interval is set to Daily, then the moving average is the average of the last 10 daily closing prices. If the current price is above the moving average, the stock is trending up in that time frame. Offset shifts the plot of the moving average left (negative offset) and right (positive offset) by the offset number of price intervals
What is an Exponential Moving Average?
An Exponential Moving Average plots an average of the price series using exponential smoothing. Instead of taking the average price of the last period time intervals, this method takes a weighted average of the most recent price and the average price from yesterday. The weighting factor is determined from the period.
Momentum
The Momentum indicator measures the amount that a security's price has changed over a given time span.
Money Flow Index
The Money Flow Index ("MFI") is a momentum indicator that measures the strength of money flowing in and out of a security.
On Balance Volume
On Balance Volume plots a running sum of volume in each interval. If an interval closes up from the previous interval, the volume during that interval is added to the running sum. If the close of an interval is down from the previous interval, the volume is subtracted from the running sum.
Open Interest
Open Interest is a calculation that is used primarily with options and futures contracts. Open Interest refers to the number of contracts remaining open at the end of the days trading.
Parabolic SAR
The Parabolic Time/Price System, developed by Welles Wilder, is used to set trailing price stops and is usually referred to as the "SAR" (stop-and-reversal).
Percent Price Oscillator
The Percentage Price Oscillator is a technical momentum indicator showing the relationship between two moving averages.
Pivots
The Pivots are studies that display price levels based on recent time intervals.
Daily Pivot
The daily pivot considers yesterday’s open, close and price range when computing price pivot levels for today.
Weekly Pivot
The weekly pivot uses last week’s trading range to compute values for this week.
Relative Strength Index (RSI)
Created by Welles Wilder, the RSI is an indicator of the strength of the direction of price closes over the period number of price intervals. It does so by taking a ratio of the closes in the up direction to the closes in the down direction
Rate of Change (ROC)
The Price Rate-of-Change ("ROC") indicator displays the difference between the current price and the price x-time periods ago. The Momentum indicator displays the same information, but expresses it as a ratio.
Stochastic
The Stochastic plots %K, the location of the current price relative to the highest high and lowest low over the last period, where the highest high over the last period is 100% and the lowest low is 0%. The primary %K line (default blue) is used to calculate a %D line, which is a moving average of %K over %D Smoothing length. You can affect a Slow Stochastic by first smoothing the %K line with a %K Smoothing value greater than one.
Slow Stochastic
The function of the Slow Stochastic oscillator is to add additional smoothing to the Stochastic oscillator thereby improving signal accuracy and more defined interpretation.
Stochastic RSI
The Stochastic RSI plots the Stochastic %D values of the Relative Strength Index.
Volume
Volume is simply the number of shares (or contracts) traded during a specified time frame (e.g., hour, day, week, month, etc).
Volume at Price
Volume At Price (VAP) creates a histogram of the prices at which trades occurred.
Williams %R
The Williams %R (pronounced "percent R") is a momentum indicator that measures overbought/oversold levels.