Understanding Oscillators And Momentum Indicators
Leading And Lagging Indicators
Momentum gauges how quickly stock values are rising or falling. Momentum is a very helpful indicator of the asset's price strength or weakness from the perspective of trends. The fact that markets rise more frequently than they fall has been demonstrated throughout history. So momentum is far more effective in rising markets than in declining markets. To put it another way, bull markets typically outlast bear markets.
The Momentum indicator calculates how much the price of an asset has changed over a certain amount of time. It is the most used leading indicator by technical traders.
The Momentum indicator is calculated by dividing the asset's current price by the previous price of the same asset and multiplying the result by 100. The previous price depends on the chosen period. The chosen time slot can be in five-minute intervals, days, months, or years.
Technical Indicators
Technical indicators are used by traders who follow technical analysis. These indicators are pattern-based signals generated by the price, volume, and open interest of an asset. All technical indicators can be categorised into leading and lagging indicators.
Leading Indicators
Leading or momentum indicators are intended to gauge price fluctuations. Most depict price momentum over the predetermined number of periods used to generate the indicator. This chosen time is called the lookback period.
In general, momentum assesses how quickly an asset's price is changing. Price momentum grows as a security's price rises. The greater the increase in momentum, the faster the prices rise. Momentum will also slow as this rise starts to level out. Momentum begins to drop from prior high levels as a security trades flat. Although sideways trading is present, diminishing momentum is usually a good sign. Simply put, it indicates that momentum resumes at a more average level.
For instance, a 20-day Stochastic Oscillator would calculate price movement over the previous 20 days.
Popular leading indicators:
- Commodity Channel Index (CCI)
- Relative Strength Index (RSI)
- Stochastic Oscillator
- Williams%R
Commodity Channel Index Indicator (CCI)
The Commodity Channel Index (CCI) is a momentum-based oscillator. It helps when an asset class is approaching an overbought or oversold condition. It evaluates the direction and strength of the price trend. It enables traders to choose whether to enter or exit a trade, forgo taking a trade, or increase an existing position. The CCI is mainly used for the following:
Identify emerging trends
Keep an eye out for overbought and oversold conditions
Identify trends that are weakening
A potential upswing in the price may be beginning when the CCI crosses above 100 from the negative or near-zero zone. Once this happens, traders can look for a price drop followed by a price gain as well as a rise in the CCI to indicate a buying opportunity.
The same idea holds true for a developing downward trend. A downtrend may be beginning when the indicator shifts from positive or close to zero readings to below -100. This should be used as a cue to sell long positions or to begin looking for shorting opportunities.
Stochastic Oscillator
A momentum indicator called a stochastic oscillator compares a security's closing price to a range of its prices over a predetermined time. By changing that time period or taking a moving average of the outcome, the oscillator's susceptibility to market changes can be reduced. It uses a 0-100 limited range of values to provide overbought and oversold trading signals.
Lagging Indicators
Lagging indicators lag after price movement and are sometimes known as trend-following indicators. Indicators that follow trends perform best when markets or securities see significant trends. They are made to draw investors in and keep them there as long as the trend continues. In trading or sideways markets, these indicators are, therefore, useless. Trend-following indicators will probably produce a lot of false signals when employed in trading markets. MACD and moving averages (exponential, basic, weighted, and variable) are common trend-following indicators.
MACD
The relationship between two exponential moving averages (EMAs) of the price of a security is displayed by the trend-following momentum indicator known as moving average convergence/divergence (MACD, or MAC-D). The 26-period EMA is subtracted from the 12-period EMA to calculate the MACD line.
The MACD line is the output of the calculation. The signal line, which is then drawn on top of the MACD line and can be used as a trigger for buy or sell signals, is a nine-day EMA of the MACD line. When the MACD line crosses above the signal line, traders may buy the asset; when it crosses below, they may sell, or short the security. There are various ways to interpret MACD indicators. The most popular ones include crosses, divergences, and falls.
Moving Average
A moving average (MA) is a lagging indicator that is frequently used in technical analysis. It creates a continuously updated average price to assist smooth out price data. Security is in an uptrend if its moving average is increasing. Whereas a downtrend is indicated by a dropping moving average. It provides more weight to recent prices and exhibits a more distinct response to new information and trends. The exponential moving average is typically favoured by the simple moving average.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Leading and Lagging Indicators
Leading Indicators
Benefits
The most important advantage of adopting leading indicators is that they enable early signalling for entry and exit. Leading indicators produce more signals and open up additional trading chances. Early warning signs can also be a cautionary tale about a possible strength or weakness. Leading indicators work best in trading markets since they produce more signals. These indicators can be applied in markets that are trending, although typically with the main trend rather than against it. The best application is to aid in spotting oversold conditions for purchasing opportunities in an upward-trending market. Leading indicators can assist spot overbought conditions for selling opportunities in a market that is moving lower.
Drawbacks
Early signals raise the possibility of larger rewards. But higher returns also increase the likelihood of greater danger. The likelihood of misleading signals and whipsaws increases early signals. They can result in commissions that can consume profits and put a trader's endurance to the test.
Lagging Indicators
Benefits
One of the key advantages of trend-following indicators is the ability to spot a move and stay in it. Trend-following indicators can be extremely profitable and simple. That is if the market or securities in question develop a continuous move. There are fewer indications and less trade when a trend is longer.
Disadvantages
When an asset's price fluctuates within a trading range, trend-following indicators lose their advantages.
Signals from trend-following indicators can arrive late, which is another downside. A considerable percentage of the move has already happened by the time there is a moving average crossover.
How to Use Oscillators to Warn You of the End of a Trend
The idea behind oscillators is that fewer buyers (in an uptrend) or sellers (in a downturn) are prepared to trade at the current price as momentum decreases.
A change in momentum indicates that the current trend is fading. Each of these indications is made to alert traders to the possibility of a trend reversal. It occurs when the price is poised to shift course since the prior trend has reached its conclusion.
How to use MACD to confirm a trend
The MACD indicator determines whether the market is currently in an uptrend, a downtrend, or moving sideways. It does so by measuring the difference between two moving averages, typically the 12 and the 26-period moving averages.
- The MACD uses the blue indicator line and the red-dotted signal line.
- The trend shifted to the downside when the MACD line (blue line) crossed below the signal line.
- The trend shifted upward when the MACD line crossed over the signal line.
- The trend is bullish if the bars on the histogram are above the 0.00 line, but the height of the bars can determine the trend's strength.
- Even before the MACD line crosses its signal line, the bars begin to get smaller, which signifies that the trend is waning and may be about to change.
It would be best if you kept in mind that the MACD is a trend indicator. It must be used with other indicators or studies to ascertain the precise entry points. This is because the MACD only indicates the trend's strength and direction. it does not provide precise entry or exit levels.