| Stochastic is a momentum or price velocity indicator developed by George C. Lane.
Stochastic measures the position of a stock compared with its most recent trading
range over the period specified (Raw K period). Specifically, it measures the relationship between the closing price of a stock and its high and low during a specific number of
bars (minutes, days, weeks, etc). As a stock price rises, the closing price tends to
be closer to the extreme highs of the stock, and as prices fall, the closing price tends to
fall closer to the extreme lows. This raw stochastic value is
called Raw K. The Raw K is then smoothed with a simple moving
average (using the Fast D period specified) to produce the Fast
D. A second simple smoothing can then be performed on the Fast
D to produce the stochastics Slow D value. Stochastics values
indicate overbought and oversold regions.
Mathematically, the Raw K stochastic indicator is calculated as follows:
Raw K = 100 * [CL - MIN(LO,
n)] / [MAX(HI, n) - MIN(LO, n)]
where
n = Raw K Period
The Raw K line is then smoothed with a simple moving average to yield a Fast D line. The Fast D line is
optionally smoothed again with a simple moving average to yield a Slow D line.
Fast D = MA(Raw K, Simple, Fast D Period)
Slow D = MA(Fast D, Simple, Slow D Period)
The Fast D value (single-smoothed raw stochastics) represents the
value most people are referring to when they mention
Stochastics. When the Fast D crosses above the 75 line, this
is considered overbought condition and a possible selling
opportunity. The closing price is near the top of the recent trading range and
a correction could be coming. When the Fast D starts falling, the
top may have been established, and a new downtrend is considered when the
Fast D indicator crosses the below the 75 line
When the Fast D crosses below the 25 line, this is considered
oversold condition and a possible buying opportunity. The closing price is near the
bottom of the recent trading range and a correction could be
coming. When the Fast D starts rising, the bottom may have
been established, and a new uptrend is considered when the Fast D indicator crosses
above the 25 line.
Price trend reversals can be signaled when the Fast D line diverges from price. That is, when price makes a new high
while Fast D is falling, a change of trend to the downside is indicated. If price makes a new low with Fast D rising, look for a reversal to the upside. Actual buy/sell signals are indicated when the Fast D line crosses above (buy) or below (sell) the Slow D line.
Signals are also produced when the Fast D crosses it's moving
average (the Slow D). A buy signal is given when the Fast D crosses
above Slow D, and a sell signal is given when the Slow D moves above
Fast D.
Retracement Based
The classic Lane Stochastic calculation method dictates that the
RawK represent the position of current price in relation to a recent
range. This position is measured as the percentage of the distance
from the low to the high. If the low of the period was 50 and the
high was 70, then a current price of 65 would represent RawK of 75%
while a current price of 55 would represent a RawK of 25%. From a
retracement perspective, Stochastic always assumes that the high
occurred first, the trend was a downtrend, and retracement is now
occurring back towards the high. The RawK of the Stochastic
indicator is not smart enough to know which came first, the high or
the low. The “Retracement Based” checkbox in the Stochastic
preferences gives the RawK value this knowledge, and therefore
results in a value that represents the true retracement percentage
based on the RawK period specified. This option is very similar to
the “auto-retracement” option of the Fibonacci Retracement study,
except it gives the ability to view the values historically, and to
reference them historically in the RTL language.
Unbounded Stochastic
A new checkbox has been added to the Stochastic indicator
preferences. When checked, the RawK values are allowed to go outside
the 0 to 100 boundaries imposed by the standard stochastic
indicator. The RawK is computed as a relative position of the
closing price within the range of the "previous" n bars (n being the
RawK period). The only difference being that the range of the
unbounded stochastic does not consider the current bar, thus
allowing the close to go outside of that range. The standard
stochastic indicator includes the current high and low in it's
calculation of that range, thus never allowing the closing price to
exceed the bounds of that range (since it must lie between the high
and low of current bar). The difference between the calculations can
be seen in the expressions below:
Standard Stochastic
Raw %K = 100 * [CL - MIN(LO, n)] / [MAX(HI, n) - MIN(LO, n)]
Unbounded Stochastic
Raw %K = 100 * [CL - MIN(LO.1, n)] / [MAX(HI.1, n) - MIN(LO.1,
n)]
The unbounded stochastic provides additional information as to the
strength of the move/trend that the standard stochastic can often
hide. The unbounded option makes it easy to spot strong breakouts
with values below 0 or above 100.
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The Stochastics indicator has 3 tokens in RTL to represent the
raw stochastics (RAWK), the smoothed stochastics (FASTD), and the
double-smoothed stochastics (SLOWD). When using RAWK, only the
RAWK period is relevant. When using FASTD, only the RAWK and
FASTD periods are relevant. When using SLOWD, all three
periods are used. For example, if you were looking for
the FASTD to cross above the SLOWD line (a buys signal), you would
use the following syntax in a scan...
FASTD > SLOWD AND FASTD.1 <= SLOWD.1
To find the Stochastics of RSI, the following syntax
would be used in a custom indicator...
FASTD(RSI)
To draw the Stochastics Oscillator, the following
syntax would be used in a custom indicator...
FASTD - SLOWD
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