Cheat sheet

Technical Indicators

Need a quick refresher on RSI, MACD or moving averages? Find what each indicator measures and how to read it below.

Indicator	What it tells you	Open guide
RSI14-day	Momentum on a 0–100 scale · ▲ below 30 is oversold · ▼ above 70 is overbought
Bullish MACD cross12 / 26 / 9	▲ The MACD line crosses above its signal line — momentum turning up
Bearish MACD cross12 / 26 / 9	▼ The MACD line crosses below its signal line — momentum turning down
EMA2121-day exponential	The short-term trend · weights recent prices most, so it reacts fastest
MA5050-day simple	The medium-term trend · pullbacks often find support or resistance at it
MA200200-day simple	The long-term trend · price ▲ above it leans bullish, ▼ below it bearish
Golden crossMA50 × MA200	▲ MA50 crosses above MA200 — the long-term trend turning up
Death crossMA50 × MA200	▼ MA50 crosses below MA200 — the long-term trend turning down
Relative volumevs. 20-day average	Today's volume against the stock's own average · 1.0× is typical · 1.5× or more is heavy
Fibonacci retracement38.2 / 50 / 61.8%	How much of the last swing price has given back · 50–61.8% is the golden pocket
Horizontal supportPrior swing lows	A price floor where buyers stepped in before · more touches, more weight
ATR14-day	The average daily range, gaps included · a volatility gauge, often used to size stop-loss buffers

How the scanner uses technical indicators

A candlestick pattern is the signal; technical indicators are the context that says whether it is worth acting on. No single reading settles it. A pattern carries more weight when several indicators agree — stretched momentum, a trend on its side, heavy volume, a level that has held before — and that agreement, called confluence, is what the scanner looks for in every setup.

FAQ

What are the best technical indicators to use with candlestick patterns?

There is no single best indicator — the useful approach is one per job. A candlestick pattern is the signal; indicators supply the context around it: momentum (RSI or MACD) says whether the move is stretched or turning, moving averages say which way the trend runs, relative volume says how much conviction is behind the candle, and levels like support and Fibonacci retracements say whether price is somewhere a turn makes sense. Two indicators that measure the same thing, such as two momentum oscillators, add confidence that is not really there.

What are the standard RSI settings?

The standard Relative Strength Index uses 14 periods, with 70 marking overbought and 30 marking oversold — the settings J. Welles Wilder introduced and the ones most charting platforms default to. Some traders widen the bands to 80 and 20 in strong trends, where RSI can stay above 70 or below 30 for a long time. Overbought and oversold describe how stretched a move is, not when it will turn, which is why RSI works best as context for a candlestick signal rather than a trigger on its own.

What is the difference between a golden cross and a death cross?

Both are crossovers of the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, read in opposite directions. A golden cross is the 50-day moving above the 200-day, a sign the long-term trend is turning up; a death cross is the 50-day falling below the 200-day, a sign it is turning down. Because both averages are slow, a cross confirms a change that is already underway rather than predicting one — it describes the backdrop a candlestick pattern forms in.

What is relative volume?

Relative volume (rVol) is a session's volume divided by the stock's own average volume over a lookback period — 20 days on this site. A reading of 1.0x is a typical day, 2.0x is twice the usual activity. Because it compares a stock to itself, it puts a thinly traded small-cap and a heavily traded large-cap on the same scale, which raw volume cannot do. Heavy relative volume on a reversal candle suggests real participation behind the move rather than a quiet drift.