I) MACD - Moving Average Convergence Divergence
Calculation :
The blue line of the MACD is obtained by substracting the y days exponential moving average from the x days exponential moving average
The red line of the MACD is obtained by calculating a z days exponential moving average of the blue line.
x, y and z are the MACD parameters, typically equal respectively to 12, 26 and 9.
The MACD histogram is obtained by substracting the red line from the blue line.
Interpretation :
MACD is an excellent trend indicator, and partly minimises the delays obtained with the usage of simple moving averages.
There are 2 basic ways to use MACD:
Crossings:
A buy opportunity appears when MACD crosses upwards its signal line.
A sell signal may be triggered when MACD crosses downwards its signal line.
The divergences between the MACD histogram and the price quote identify major reversal points and give strong buy/sell signals.
A bullish divergence occurs when stock prices make new lows while the MACD histogram fails to make new lows.
A bearish divergence occurs when the stock price makes new highs while the MACD histogram fails to make new highs.
The bullish and bearish divergences are more significant when the MACD is in an overbought or oversold level.
The opportunities appearing in longer time horizons (weekly, monthly..) generate larger price movements.
II) Fast/Slow Stochastics
Calculation :
The first parameter is the number of days used to calculate %K, the second is the number of days to be considered for the moving average of %K (generally 1 for Fast Stochastic and 3 or 5 for Slow Stochastic), the third is the number of days to be considered for the moving average of %D.
Interpretation :
It is an overbought/oversold indicator depending on its position relative to the 0 level.
It also gives good divergence signals.
A bullish divergence occurs when the stock price makes new lows while the Stochastic fails to make new lows.
A bearish divergence occurs when the stock price makes new highs while the Stochastic fails to make new highs.
III) RSI
Calculation:
RSI(on n period)=100-100/(1+p) with p=(average of n days up/average of n days down).
Interpretation :
RSI is an overbought / oversold indicator. Buy signals occur generally when crossing the 30 level and sell signals when crossing the 70 level.
RSI is always scaled between 0 and 100.
It also gives good divergence signals.
A bullish divergence occurs when the stock price makes new lows while the RSI fails to make new lows.
A bearish divergence occurs when the stock price makes new highs while the RSI fails to make new highs.
IV) Bollinger Bands
Calculation:
Bollinger bands are envelopes based on a moving average and a standard deviation.
This standard deviation makes bands widen or narrow, according to market volatility. The first parameter is the number of days for the moving average. The second parameter is the standard deviation.
Interpretation :
95% of the prices must be inside the bands if one can presume that prices follow a normal Gaussian distribution (bell curve).
The bands thus constitute strong zones of support and resistance when the market is without clear trend. When the difference between the two envelopes drops after having increased, the trend loses its force.
