Forex Trading - Useful Indicators to Improve Your Results

One of my favorite indicators to trade the forex markets is the Signal Bars. It tells you at a glance the trends in multiple timeframes according to various technical indicators. Let me say right from the get go that I did not invent this, but I have put it to good use. The features and benefits, and how to best use them, are what I want to share in this article.

The Signal Bars indicator resides in a corner of your MT4 screen. I prefer the upper right because I have the chart shift moved to about one-third the way from the right towards the left, so the upper right corner remains uncluttered. The Signal Bars indicator consists of three horizontal rows of colored bars, green for up, red for down, orange for no clear direction - and these colors can be customized. The rows are divided into timeframes: M1, M5, M15, M30, H1, H4 and D1 - and these can likewise be customized. Each of the three rows represents a different technical indicator. The top row is the MACD with settings of 8/17/9. Middle row is an Exponential Moving Average (EMA) with a cross of the MA5 and MA9. Finally the bottom row is labeled STR and consists of Relative Strength Index (RSI) with a setting of 9, the Commodity Channel Index (CCI) with a setting of 13 and Stochastics set at 5/3/3 and all three of these indicators need to be in agreement before a signal is generated.

What I particularly find valuable is that without having to look at the lower timeframes, you can tell when the M1 and M5 are beginning to move in another direction. If you're trending down and that is about to reverse, you'll see a dull green first, then as the trend becomes stronger it turns to a bright green. Yes, there are shades of red and green to show the strength of the move. Very useful.

The Signal Bars can be configured to show different kinds of data. These three rows of bars are the essence of the indicator. You can also display a large-font current price of the pair -again in green or red depending whether the move is up or down- which is very handy. It can also display the current spread on the pair and how many pips it's moved up or down since the open.

Further, it can show the overall daily range and the average daily range. To see how these different configurations look, visit my blog where I show a few examples. Of all the indicators available, this Signals Bar is one of the most useful and handy available. A search of popular forex forums will likely turn up the most current version of this valuable tool.

Read more...

The ADX Technical Indicator - How Useful Is It?

There are lots of different technical indicators that people like to use to trade the forex markets. Some use the old favourites such as the RSI, Stochastics and MACD indicators whilst others, like myself, like to use some of the lesser known ones such as the Supertrend and Smoothed Repulse indicators. However in this article I want to discuss the ADX indicator in particular.

ADX stands for average directional index and it is an indicator that was created by J. Welles Wilder, one of the most renowned technical analysis experts. It is primarily used to detect trends in the markets, and more specifically the strength of the prevailing trend. It should be pointed out that it doesn't tell you the direction of the trend. You have to figure this out for yourself.

So why is this indicator useful for forex traders?

Well it basically tells you when you should be out of the markets completely, and when you should either be in a position or thinking about taking a position. In simple terms, if the ADX indicator is below 20, this indicates a trendless market and is often highlighted by a narrow trading range on your price chart. You should therefore be out of the market at this time.

If, however, the ADX is above 20 (and preferably above 25) and heading higher, this indicates a strengthening trend. So if the price is moving either upwards or downwards on your price chart, you should consider entering a position at this point. Of course you may want to use other indicators to confirm your entry point.

In general the higher the value of the ADX indicator, the stronger the trend. However that doesn't necessarily mean you should enter positions when this indicator is at it's highest, because very often the indicator will reverse when it gets above 50 or 60, for instance, and the trend will start to weaken.

The best time to enter a position is generally when the ADX is moving upwards from the 20 or 25 area because this is where a lot of the strong trends will begin. It doesn't always work out this way of course, but if you wait for this to happen at the same time as the price makes a new high or low for the day, then you can find some excellent high probability breakout trades.

So overall I can definitely recommend you consider using the ADX indicator when trading currencies. It really is a very useful indicator for highlighting the strength of trends, and alerting you to the start (and end) of new trends.

Read more...

The ADX Technical Indicator - How Useful Is It?

There are lots of different technical indicators that people like to use to trade the forex markets. Some use the old favourites such as the RSI, Stochastics and MACD indicators whilst others, like myself, like to use some of the lesser known ones such as the Supertrend and Smoothed Repulse indicators. However in this article I want to discuss the ADX indicator in particular.

ADX stands for average directional index and it is an indicator that was created by J. Welles Wilder, one of the most renowned technical analysis experts. It is primarily used to detect trends in the markets, and more specifically the strength of the prevailing trend. It should be pointed out that it doesn't tell you the direction of the trend. You have to figure this out for yourself.

So why is this indicator useful for forex traders?

Well it basically tells you when you should be out of the markets completely, and when you should either be in a position or thinking about taking a position. In simple terms, if the ADX indicator is below 20, this indicates a trendless market and is often highlighted by a narrow trading range on your price chart. You should therefore be out of the market at this time.

If, however, the ADX is above 20 (and preferably above 25) and heading higher, this indicates a strengthening trend. So if the price is moving either upwards or downwards on your price chart, you should consider entering a position at this point. Of course you may want to use other indicators to confirm your entry point.

In general the higher the value of the ADX indicator, the stronger the trend. However that doesn't necessarily mean you should enter positions when this indicator is at it's highest, because very often the indicator will reverse when it gets above 50 or 60, for instance, and the trend will start to weaken.

The best time to enter a position is generally when the ADX is moving upwards from the 20 or 25 area because this is where a lot of the strong trends will begin. It doesn't always work out this way of course, but if you wait for this to happen at the same time as the price makes a new high or low for the day, then you can find some excellent high probability breakout trades.

So overall I can definitely recommend you consider using the ADX indicator when trading currencies. It really is a very useful indicator for highlighting the strength of trends, and alerting you to the start (and end) of new trends.

Read more...

Forex Trading - Useful Indicators to Improve Your Results

One of my favorite indicators to trade the forex markets is the Signal Bars. It tells you at a glance the trends in multiple timeframes according to various technical indicators. Let me say right from the get go that I did not invent this, but I have put it to good use. The features and benefits, and how to best use them, are what I want to share in this article.

The Signal Bars indicator resides in a corner of your MT4 screen. I prefer the upper right because I have the chart shift moved to about one-third the way from the right towards the left, so the upper right corner remains uncluttered. The Signal Bars indicator consists of three horizontal rows of colored bars, green for up, red for down, orange for no clear direction - and these colors can be customized. The rows are divided into timeframes: M1, M5, M15, M30, H1, H4 and D1 - and these can likewise be customized. Each of the three rows represents a different technical indicator. The top row is the MACD with settings of 8/17/9. Middle row is an Exponential Moving Average (EMA) with a cross of the MA5 and MA9. Finally the bottom row is labeled STR and consists of Relative Strength Index (RSI) with a setting of 9, the Commodity Channel Index (CCI) with a setting of 13 and Stochastics set at 5/3/3 and all three of these indicators need to be in agreement before a signal is generated.

What I particularly find valuable is that without having to look at the lower timeframes, you can tell when the M1 and M5 are beginning to move in another direction. If you're trending down and that is about to reverse, you'll see a dull green first, then as the trend becomes stronger it turns to a bright green. Yes, there are shades of red and green to show the strength of the move. Very useful.

The Signal Bars can be configured to show different kinds of data. These three rows of bars are the essence of the indicator. You can also display a large-font current price of the pair -again in green or red depending whether the move is up or down- which is very handy. It can also display the current spread on the pair and how many pips it's moved up or down since the open.

Further, it can show the overall daily range and the average daily range. To see how these different configurations look, visit my blog where I show a few examples. Of all the indicators available, this Signals Bar is one of the most useful and handy available. A search of popular forex forums will likely turn up the most current version of this valuable tool.

Read more...