Technical Indicator Guides
Karsten Kagels trades without indicators, based on price action and market structure. These guides explain the indicators many traders use and test their signals on real data before saying what they are good for.
Start with the indicator you have on your chart right now, or with the job you need it for: moving averages, the golden and death cross, the Supertrend, the Ichimoku Cloud and the Donchian Channel describe the trend, the ADX measures its strength, the RSI, the Stochastic and the MACD describe momentum, Bollinger Bands and the ATR describe volatility, and VWAP gives an intraday reference price weighted by volume.
Guides in this topic
- Judge a golden cross
Golden Cross: Definition and S&P 500 Test Results
How the 50-day and 200-day averages cross, and what 38 signals in the S&P 500 since 1950 did against the base rate and buy and hold.
- Judge a death cross
Death Cross: What 38 S&P 500 Signals Since 1950 Show
How deep the S&P 500 fell after 38 death crosses since 1950, how late the signal comes, and what shorting it on SPY did since 1993.
- Use moving averages
Moving Averages: SMA, EMA and a 76-Year 200-Day Test
SMA, EMA and WMA formulas with a worked example, common periods, and what the 200-day line showed on the S&P 500 since 1950.
- Trail a stop with the Supertrend
Supertrend Indicator: Settings, Strategies and an ETF Test
How the ATR-based line is calculated, common settings, five strategies, and what 654 completed flip trades in SPY, QQQ and GLD since 1993 showed.
- Read the Ichimoku Cloud
Ichimoku Cloud: The Five Lines and a US ETF Test
The five lines and the cloud, how traders read the Tenkan/Kijun cross, and what the cloud and the crosses did in SPY (since 1993), QQQ and GLD.
- Measure trend strength with the ADX
ADX Indicator: What Trend Strength Really Tells You
How +DI, −DI and the ADX are calculated, what 20 and 25 mean, and whether a high ADX meant the trend went on in SPY, QQQ and GLD.
- Read the RSI
RSI Indicator: Formula, Settings and a 75-Year Test
The RSI formula, overbought and oversold, and what RSI signals did on the S&P 500 since 1951 against the base rate.
- Compare a stock with the market
Relative Strength: Compare Stocks with the Market
The price ratio behind every relative strength line, how it differs from the RSI, a five-step watchlist and two Dow examples from one selection date.
- Read volatility with Bollinger Bands
Bollinger Bands: Settings, Squeeze and a 76-Year Test
Settings, the three typical chart situations, five strategies with rules, and what the bands and the squeeze showed on the S&P 500 since 1950.
- Set stops with the ATR
ATR Indicator: Average True Range for Stops and Size
True range and Wilder smoothing, stop distance and position size, and how ATR stops behaved on SPY from 1994 to 2026 against a fixed stop.
- Trade Donchian breakouts
Donchian Channel: Breakout Rules and a 20-Year ETF Test
Channel rules, the current-bar pitfall, the Turtle systems, and what 499 breakout trades in SPY, GLD and TLT from 2006 to 2026 showed.
- Read the Stochastic
Stochastic Oscillator: Settings, Signals and a 30-Year Test
The %K and %D formula, what 14, 3, 3 means, fast versus slow, and what 785 oversold signals in SPY, QQQ and GLD did against the base rate.
- Judge a divergence
Divergence Trading: Regular and Hidden Divergence Tested
Regular and hidden, bullish and bearish divergences, when they are confirmed, and what 447 RSI divergences detected in SPY, QQQ and GLD did against the base rate.
- Read the MACD
MACD Indicator: Histogram, Divergence and a 31-Year Test
Formula, histogram, crossovers and divergences, with a 31-year test on the S&P 500 and the DAX against the base rate.
- Use VWAP
VWAP Indicator: Formula, Anchored VWAP and TradingView Setup
The VWAP formula, trend day versus range day, Anchored VWAP and the right settings in TradingView.
Related articles
- Trade without indicators
Price Action Trading: How to Read Charts Without Indicators
How Karsten Kagels reads market structure, key zones and bar patterns directly on the chart.
- Test an indicator rule
Backtesting: How to Backtest a Trading Strategy Properly
How to backtest a rule without flattering the result, with our own calculations on real data.