Relative Strength Index
Relative Strength Index
Relative Strength Index
WorkingwiththeRSI
b J h H d
byJohnHayden
Our Goals
OurGoals
Anunderstandingof:
1. Thenatureofthemarketplace.
p
2. Thedeterminationofthedominanttrend.
3 Theendofacontratrend,allowinga:
3.
The end of a contra trend allowing a:
Newentryinthedirectionofthedominanttrend.
I
Increasingourpositionsize.
i
ii
i
4. Theuseofatrenddeterminationchecklistwith
preciserulesfortrendidentification.
Increasingourprofitability!
g
p
y
Whatisthenatureofthestock
market?
Ifthemarketplacewassalivingentitynamed
f h
k l
li i
i
d
MissMarketwhatinformationdoessherequire
t li ?
tolive?
Orderflow(buyandsellorders).
DoesMissMarketknowanythingelse?
No,sheonlyunderstandsorderflow.
OnceMissMarkethasprocessedthe
informationcontainedwithintheorderflow,isit
stillvaluable?
No,ithasbeendiscounted.
Miss
MissMarket
Market&Google
& Google
AnExample:
A E
l
Jan12010,thereare100tradersinChinathatknowthatGooglewill
nolongerbecomplyingwiththeircensoringarrangementofthe
Chinese Communist
ChineseCommunist.
DoesMarketknowthisnow(1/1/2010)?No.Why?These100
tradersarenotactingonthisknowledge yet.
Asthese100tradersbeginselling(1/5/10)
As these 100 traders begin selling (1/5/10) Miss
MissMarket
Marketbeginsto
begins to
understandthattheorderflowfromChinaisbearish.
Thevalue ofMissMarketsknowledgedecreases assheseesever
increasing amounts of sells entering into her system.
increasingamountsofsellsenteringintohersystem.
Ifyouareluckyyouheararumor(Jan12)andcantakeaction(remember
buytherumorandthensellthefact).
Onceall oftheorderflowisdonetheknowledgehasbeenwidely
d
disseminatedandisworthless(Jan29).
d d
hl
(
)
Onlythenwillyouread(March13)abouthowGoogleisindeed
quittingChina.
Markets
Market s Knowledge
Knowledge
MissMarketisawareofbearishorderflow:MarkethasfullydigestedGooglevs.China
Mi
M k t i
f b i h d fl
M k t h f ll di t d G
l
Chi
k
knowledgeis
l d i
worthless.
Understanding Miss
Understanding
MissMarket
Market
Considerthefollowing
C id th f ll i
HeavysellingfromAsiaisimpactingaparticularstock
Astoryisbeingcommunicated.
Whatisthestory?>WhatinformationisMissMarkettellingyou?
Hint:themarketreactionisreflectingtheinformationleftbehind.
Price somepricescanbebearish,somebullish pendinganalysis
E.g..10yearTreasuryincreasingto1%yield
E g 10year Treasury increasing to 1% yield bearishorbullish?Dependsright?
bearish or bullish? Depends right?
Volume
Fallingprices,risingvolumevs.fallingpricesandfallingvolume?
Timing
Isthisontheopening,closing,duringlunchorafterhours?
Marketcapvaluechange
Isvastamountsofmarketcapbeingwipedout?Ex.BP
TTechnicalAnalysisattemptstodeterminethis
h i lA l i
d
i
hi
information.
Tointerpret&understandinaprobabilisticframework.
Central
Centralpointisthatthisinformationcantellyoualot
point is that this information can tell you a lot
aboutyourobjective/prey
Retracingprice,volume,time&economicvaluechange
R t i
i
l
ti
&
i
l
h
Whatarethetools?Computers,technicalanalysis,news,horoscopes,palm
readers,tealeaves,moonphases,etc..
What is Technical
Whatis
TechnicalAnalysis
Analysis??
Isthisit?
hi i ?
Is this "Technical
Isthis
TechnicalAnalysis
Analysis??
Trendline's&Patterns
dl '
Is this "Technical
Isthis
TechnicalAnalysis
Analysis??
AProgram:AMathFormula:
h
l
inputs:
FastLength(3),
SlowLength(10),
AlertLength(14),
ColorNormLength(14),
UpColor(Yellow),
DnColor(Red),
GridForegroundColor(Black);
variables:
ApplicationType(0),
ChaikinOscVal(0),
AnyVol(0),
ColorLevel(0);
ThebeginningsoftheBlackScholes model:
Define
S,thepriceofthestock.
V(S,t),thepriceofaderivativeasafunctionoftimeandstockprice.
C(S,t)thepriceofaEuropeancallandP(S,t)thepriceofaEuropeanputoption.
K,thestrikeoftheoption.
r,theannualizedriskfreeinterestrate,continuouslycompounded.
,thedriftrateofS,annualized.
,thevolatilityofthestock;thisisthesquarerootofthequadraticvariationofthestock's
logpriceprocess.
t atimeinyears;wegenerallyusenow=0,expiry=T.
,thevalueofthe portfolio.
R,theaccumulatedprofitorlossfollowingadeltahedgingtradingstrategy.
N(x)denotesthestandardnormalcumulativedistributionfunction.
ifCurrentBar =1then
ApplicationType =GetAppInfo(aiApplicationType );
ifBarType >=2then
AnyVol =Volume
else
N'(x)denotesthestandardnormalprobabilitydensityfunction.
AnyVol =Ticks;
ChaikinOscVal =ChaikinOsc(AnyVol,FastLength,SlowLength );
Plot1(ChaikinOscVal,"ChaikinOsc");
Plot2(0,"ZeroLine");
Unique&UnknownInformationRequiresthat:
YourmathematicalconstructMUSTbeunique!
OR
YourinterpretationofanonuniquemathematicalconstructMUSTbe
unique.Thisisourgoal!
Doyouwanttheredpillorthe
bluepill?
H
Howdeepdoyoureallywanttogodownthisrabbit
d
d
ll
d
hi bbi
hole?
Ifyoutaketheredpillyouwillseereality.However
If
t k th d ill
ill
lit H
thereisnobottom,noexotericmathematicalformula
that will ever give you the certainty you desire
thatwillevergiveyouthecertaintyyoudesire.
Ifyoutakethebluepillyouwillremainignorantof
reality.
reality .Yourlifewillbemuchsimpler.
Your life will be much simpler.
Ineithercaseyourprofitabilitymayormaynotbe
stellar.
Thereisnocorrectanswerregardingthis.Itsa
p
personaldecision.
Youmustact
Y
t t onthisknowledge!
thi k
l d !
TheRelativeStrengthIndex(RSI)
byW.Wilder
Createdin:1978
A very widely used indicator.
Averywidelyusedindicator.
Availableinalmostallchartingapplications.
Itisamomentumbasedindicator,basedupon
theuseofatimeseriesofpricedata.
p
ItistheonlypublicindicatorIstilluse.
However,Iuseitinaveryunconventionalway.
l
TheRelativeStrengthIndex(RSI)
byW.Wilder
Itisaboundedindicator
i b
d d i di
(0
(0to100).
00)
Itsvalueisbaseduponthemomentumoftheratioofhigherclosestolower
closes.
ItisimportanttorememberthattheRSIvalueactslogarithmically.Asitsvalue
approachesitsupperorlowerboundsitmoveslessinrelationtothemovementof
theunderlyingprice.
Bullish Divergence
BullishDivergence
ABullishDivergenceimpliesaBullmarket
ll h
l
ll
k
yes??
Bearish Divergence
BearishDivergence
ABearishDivergenceimpliesaBearmarket
h
l
k
yes??
#1onourTrendDeterminationChecklist:
Bullish&BearishDivergence
Rememberthat:
R
b th t
BullishDivergences comeinaBearMarket!
Bearish
BearishDivergence
Divergences
s come
comeinaBullMarket!
in a Bull Market!
Adivergenceisonlyadetourintheprimarytrend.Itis
indicatingacontratrend.
Thesmallertheperiodisbetweenthebars themore
significantthedivergencebecomes!
Proveittoyourself:
Prove it to yourself:
IdentifyalongtermBulltrend,thenlookforabullish
divergence therearenone!
IdentifyalongtermBeartrend,thenlookforabearish
divergence therearenone!
Moving Averages
MovingAverages
Amovingaverageisbasedonpastpricesand
defines the current trend,butdoesnotindicate
thefuturetrend.
Itisveryeffectiveatremoving
It is very effective at removing noise,
noise ,oraprice
or a price
whichexceedsonestandarddeviationfromthe
data stream
datastream.
Becauseoftheirmathematicalformulathereisa
timelagfromwhenpriceschangedirectionand
i
l f
h
i
h
di
i
d
themovingaveragechangesdirection.
Calculatesthetotalclosingpriceoverndaysthendividebyn.
WeightedMovingAverages(WMA)
Calculatedbyassigningavaryingweighttoeachclosingprice
overpriorndays,thenobtaintheaverage.Theweightisgreater
f t d l
foryesterdaysclosevs.andthedecreasesarithmeticallytozeroon
d th d
ith ti ll t
thenthday.
E
ExponentialMovingAverage(EMA)
i lM i A
(EMA)
Calculatedsimilarlytotheweightedmovingaverage,howeverthe
weightassignedistotheentiredataseriesisdoneexponentially.
#2onourTrendDeterminationChecklist:
Fast&SlowMovingAverageTrends
Wecandetermine2typesoftrendusingmovingaverages.
W
d t
i 2t
ft d i
i
FastTrend:Whereisthevaluewhichisbeingcalculatedin
relationshiptothefastmovingaverage(the9periodSMAin
thisinstance)?InotherwordsisthecloseabovetheSMA,or
h
)?
h
d
h l
b
h
belowit?
Aboveit=Uptrend.
Belowit=Downtrend
SlowTrend:Whereisthefastermovingaverageinregardsto
theslowermovingaverage?
Ifthefastermovingaverageisabovetheslowerthenitsauptrend,or
viceversa.
GenerallyIwillsaythatthemovingaverageshavegonepositive(the
f t i b
fasterisabovetheslower),orthattheyhavegonenegative(the
th l
)
th t th h
ti (th
slowerisnowabovethefaster).
#3onourTrendDeterminationChecklist:
WhatisthecurrentRSIRange?
TrendisupwhentheRSIrangeis:40to80
TrendisDownwhentheRSIis:60to20
Trend is Down when the RSI is: 60 to 20
Definition of a Trend
DefinitionofaTrend
DefinitionofaUpTrend:
HigherHighs&HigherLows&mostimportantlywhat
wasResistanceisNowSupport.
DefinitionofaDownTrend:
LLowerHighs&LowerLows&mostimportantlywhat
Hi h & L
L
&
i
l h
wasSupportisNowResistance.
MomentumDiscrepancyReversal
Points(MDRP)
Thi
ThisconceptIlearnedin1996inaseriesofseminars
tIl
d i 1996 i
i
f
i
byAndrewCardwellaC.T.A(atthetime).
Mr.
Mr.Cardwellofferedliveseminarscoveringmanyaspects
Cardwell offered live seminars covering many aspects
oftechnicalanalysisnotcoveredinanybooks.Oneofthe
manyconceptshetaughtwaswhatInowcallM.D.R.P.
Mr.Cardwellwasinturnintroducedtotheconceptofthe
Mr Cardwell was in turn introduced to the concept of the
RSIgeneratingbuy/sellsignalswhilehewasworkingasa
futuresbrokerbyaclientofhiswhotradingporkbellies.
TheconceptappliestoANYmomentumbased
indicator.
Onceunderstood,youcanuseamathematicalformula
Once understood you can use a mathematical formula
togeneratepricetargetsandarisk:rewardratio.
DefinitionofaMomentum
DiscrepancyReversalPoints(MDRP)
In
Inanymomentumbasedindicatorthereareinstanceswheretheindicator
any momentum based indicator there are instances where the indicator
overperforms(orexceeds)pricebehavior(theoppositeofadivergence
whichunderperformspriceaction).
Inotherwords,ifpriceactionisnot
In other words if price action is not makinganewlowrelativetoa
making a new low relative to a
previouslowi.e.,ahigherlow,yetthevalueoftheindicator(RSI)is
makingalowerlowvisavisthepreviouspricelowthenwecansaythat
thereisadiscrepancyinthebehavioroftheRSI.Thisistheoppositeofa
divergence.
Ifthisdivergingbehaviorisseenwhilepriceismakingahigherlowandyet
theRSIismakingalowerlow,thenitissaidthatthereisabullish
discrepancy in the RSI This is often a point in time where prices then
discrepancyintheRSI.Thisisoftenapointintimewherepricesthen
reversehigheri.e.,aMDRPBuy signal.
Likewiseifpriceismakinglowerlowsandyetthebehavioroftheindicator
(RSI) is making higher highs then we can say that there is a bearish
(RSI)ismakinghigherhighs,thenwecansaythatthereisabearish
disprepanceintheRSI.Sincethisisoftenapointintimewhereprices
reverselowerwecallitaMDRPSell signal.
MomentumDiscrepancyReversal
Points(MDRP)
ThingstoRemember:
Thi
t R
b
ThestrengthofaMDRPsignaldependsuponthenumberof
bars(timeperiods)betweenpointsA&B.Theshorterthe
b
better.InotherwordsaMDRPBuysignalwithonly1bar(2
h
d
l
h l b (
periods)ismuchstrongerthanaMDRPBuywith20bars
betweenA&B.
MDRPreversalpoints(B)arealwayssignificant
support/resistancelevels regardlessifthepricetargetishitor
not.
Thepricetargetisvalidatedonlywhenthecloseexceedsthe
targetedlevel(anintradayhigh/lowdoesntcount).
AMDRPsignalwhichfails(pricetargetisnothit)isjustas
g
(p
g
) j
significantasasignalwhichworks.
ThepriceatpointBisalwaysimportant.Itwillbecomefuture
pp
p
g p
supportorresistancedependinguponthetrend!
MomentumDiscrepancyReversal
Points(MDRP)
Remember:
ThattheMDRPisNOTlookingforatopora
g
p
bottom.
TheMDRPislookingfortheendofacontra
The MDRP is looking for the end of a contra
trend,allowingyoutoenterintoatradewitha
high reward to risk ratio
highrewardtoriskratio.
ThebestMDRPsignalsare:
Wheretheperiodissmall.
Wh
th
i di
ll
Thefirstsignaloppositetheprevioustrend.
#4onourTrendDeterminationChecklist:
WhatMDRPSignalsareweseeing?
IfweareseeingMDRPBuySignalsthenthe
maintrendisUP.
If
IfweareseeingMDRPSellSignalsthenthe
i
S ll Si l h
h
maintrendisDOWN.
TrendDeterminationusingtheRSI
BullMarket
ABulltrendisyourfriend!
A B ll
di
f i d!
Step#1:AreweseeingBearDivergences?
Step#2:Whatarethemovingaveragestellingus?
Whatarethemovingaveragesonpricetellingyou?Ideally
b th th f t t d ( l
boththefasttrend(close>SMA)andtheslowtrend
> SMA) d th l t d
(SMA{close}>WMA{close})arebullish.
WhatarethemovingaveragesonRSItellingyou?Ideally
What are the moving averages on RSI telling you? Ideally
boththefasttrend(RSI>SMA)andtheslowtrend
(SMA{RSI}>WMA{RSI})arebullish.
Step#3WhatistherangeoftheRSI?Isit40to80?
Step#4AreweseeingonlyMDRPBuys?
TrendDeterminationusingtheRSI
BearMarket
ABeartrendisyourfriend(evenmoresothanabull)!
AB
di
f i d(
h
b ll)!
Step#1:AreweseeingBullDivergences?
Step#2:Whatarethemovingaveragestellingus?
Whatarethemovingaveragesonpricetellingyou?Ideally
b th th f t t d ( l
boththefasttrend(close<SMA)andtheslowtrend
< SMA) d th l t d
(SMA{close}<WMA{close})arebearish.
WhatarethemovingaveragesonRSItellingyou?Ideally
What are the moving averages on RSI telling you? Ideally
boththefasttrend(RSI<SMA)andtheslowtrend
(SMA{RSI}<WMA{RSI})arebearish.
Step#3WhatistherangeoftheRSI?Isit60to20?
Step#4AreweseeingonlyMDRPSells?
TrendlinessbaseduponMDRP
Trendline
based upon MDRP
SignificantlyValidTrendlinescanbedrawnbaseduponMDRPpointsA
f
l
ld
dl
b d
b d
andB.
TrendDeterminationusingtheRSI
WhatSymbolisthis?
Wh S b l i hi ?
BearorBull?
MDRPssareeverywhere!
MDRP
are everywhere!
Everymomentumbasedindicatorhas
divergencesandMDRPsignals!
g
g
InvestorsBusinessDailyinThursdaysedition
looking at commodity charts
lookingatcommoditycharts.
Stochastics
MACD
ROCandsoon.
ROC d
Closing Thoughts
ClosingThoughts
UsingRSITheorywecan:
U i RSI Th
1.
2.
3.
MaketheTrendOurFriend.
Wecanidentifythetrend usingourrules.
Wemustthepatiencetowaitforacontratrendtoappear.
4.
WepatientlywaitforthemomentumoftheRSItooverextenditself(the
rubberbandisnowtaunt)visvisapreviouspriceanditscorrelatedRSI
value.
Onlythendowegofishingforthatbullorbearfish.
Ourprotectivestop(pukeuppoint)isknowntousatthetimeof
entryallowingustodefineourrisktorewardratio,andifwe
y
g
,
actuallywanttogofishing.
OurgoalisthediscoveryofUniqueKnowledge!
Being the first with this knowledge is our edge!
Beingthefirstwiththisknowledgeisour
edge !
Rememberthatlargetraders(theelephants)always leave
footprintsthatwecanusetoeitherfadeorgoalongwith.
A Sounding
A
SoundingBoard
Boardfortraders.
for traders
PlentyOfStocks.comprovidesadatabaseofvarioustrendindicators,buy/sell
signals,andexitstrategiesallbaseduponuniquemathematicalconstructs.
Compliments a traders unique approach against my approach asanitycheck?
Complimentsatradersuniqueapproachagainstmyapproach
a sanity check?
RegisteredusershaveaccesstoafreehistoricaldatabasewhichincludeMDRP
signalsandothermuchmoreadvancedindicators.Theonlylimitationisthatno
dataisprovidedwhichismorerecentthan30daysago.Registeringisfree.
Thosetraderswhowantcurrentdatamaysubscribetotheservice.
h
d
h
d
b b
h
Accesstocurrent(todays)islimitedto100traders.
Themonthlyfeeisdeterminedbyamonthlyauction.The100traderswithhighest
bid will each pay what the lowest bid was (out of those 100 highest bidders) This
bidwilleachpaywhatthelowestbidwas(outofthose100highestbidders).This
pricestheservicemostfairly.ThisisthesameauctionusedinsellingTreasury
debt.
Resources
Books:
The21IrrefutableTruthsofTrading:ATradersGuidetoDevelopingaMindtoWin,byJohn
Hayden
TheDisciplinedTrader:DevelopingWinningAttitudes,byMarkDouglas
TheZurichAxioms,byMaxGunther
Th Z i h A i
b M G h
PeaksandValleys:MakingGoodandBadTimesWorkForYou AtWorkandinLife,by
SpencerJohnson
Websites:
RealClearMarkets.com Newsfortraders free,links.
FirstVolgaInvestments.com WhereIpostvariousgraphsandcomments.
Newsletters:
TheGartmanLetter
The Gartman Letter TheGartmanLetter.com
TheGartmanLetter com
Programs:
ThinkOrSwim.com TradingPlatform
TradeStation.com TradingPlatformandBrokers.
DataSharks.biz DownloadFreeStock,Futures,andotherdatafromaroundtheworld.
eSignal.com IndependentrealtimedataproviderofFOREX,Stock,Options,andFutures
Data.
Contact Information
ContactInformation
[email protected]