Momentum & Oscillators

Momentum indicators measure the speed and strength of price movements. They oscillate between extremes and are particularly useful for identifying overbought/oversold conditions, momentum divergence, and trend exhaustion. All momentum indicators are lagging due to their smoothing calculations, but they excel at confirming the quality of a trend and signaling when it may be losing steam.

Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD)

Relative Strength Index (RSI)

Wilders Relative Strength Index (Wilders RSI)

Williams %R

Average Directional Index (ADX)

Stochastic Oscillator (STO)

Momentum Confluence

Indicators at a glance

Indicator	Type	Warmup	Lag	When to use
Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD)	🔴 Lagging	long_period + signal_period bars	≈ long_period / 2 bars	The workhorse momentum indicator. Use it for trend direction (MACD above zero = bullish), momentum shifts (signal line crossovers), and divergence detection. Works best on daily and higher timeframes.
Relative Strength Index (RSI)	🔴 Lagging	period bars	≈ period bars	The most widely used oscillator. Use it to spot overbought (>70) and oversold (<30) conditions, detect momentum divergences, and confirm trend strength. Versatile across all timeframes.
Wilders Relative Strength Index (Wilders RSI)	🔴 Lagging	period bars	≈ 2 × period bars	Wilder's original RSI with heavier smoothing. Use it when you want fewer but more reliable overbought/oversold signals. The extra lag filters out short-lived extremes.
Williams %R	🔴 Lagging	period bars	≈ period / 2 bars	A fast oscillator ideal for timing entries. Use it in ranging markets to spot when price is near the top or bottom of its recent range. Works well in combination with a trend filter.
Average Directional Index (ADX)	🔴 Lagging	2 × period bars	≈ 2 × period bars	Measures trend strength without regard to direction. Use ADX > 25 to confirm a strong trend is in place (and avoid range-bound strategies), or ADX < 20 to identify consolidation (and avoid trend-following strategies).
Stochastic Oscillator (STO)	🔴 Lagging	k_period + k_slowing + d_period bars	≈ k_period / 2 + k_slowing / 2 bars	Compares closing price to its recent range. Use it for overbought/oversold signals in sideways markets, and for %K/%D crossovers as entry triggers. Combine with a trend filter for best results.
Momentum Confluence	🔴 Lagging	max(money_flow_length, trend_wave_length) bars	≈ max(money_flow_length, trend_wave_length) bars	A composite score that merges RSI, Stochastic, and EMA-based momentum into a single value. Use it when you want one number to summarize overall momentum across multiple sub-indicators.

Detailed descriptions

Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD)

🔴 Lagging — ≈ long_period / 2 bars

Warmup: long_period + signal_period bars (default: 35 bars (long_period=26, signal_period=9))

The workhorse momentum indicator. Use it for trend direction (MACD above zero = bullish), momentum shifts (signal line crossovers), and divergence detection. Works best on daily and higher timeframes.

Relative Strength Index (RSI)

🔴 Lagging — ≈ period bars

Warmup: period bars (default: 14 bars (period=14))

The most widely used oscillator. Use it to spot overbought (>70) and oversold (<30) conditions, detect momentum divergences, and confirm trend strength. Versatile across all timeframes.

Wilders Relative Strength Index (Wilders RSI)

🔴 Lagging — ≈ 2 × period bars

Warmup: period bars (default: 14 bars (period=14))

Wilder's original RSI with heavier smoothing. Use it when you want fewer but more reliable overbought/oversold signals. The extra lag filters out short-lived extremes.

Williams %R

🔴 Lagging — ≈ period / 2 bars

Warmup: period bars (default: 14 bars (period=14))

A fast oscillator ideal for timing entries. Use it in ranging markets to spot when price is near the top or bottom of its recent range. Works well in combination with a trend filter.

Average Directional Index (ADX)

🔴 Lagging — ≈ 2 × period bars

Warmup: 2 × period bars (default: 28 bars (period=14))

Measures trend strength without regard to direction. Use ADX > 25 to confirm a strong trend is in place (and avoid range-bound strategies), or ADX < 20 to identify consolidation (and avoid trend-following strategies).

Stochastic Oscillator (STO)

🔴 Lagging — ≈ k_period / 2 + k_slowing / 2 bars

Warmup: k_period + k_slowing + d_period bars (default: 20 bars (k_period=14, k_slowing=3, d_period=3))

Compares closing price to its recent range. Use it for overbought/oversold signals in sideways markets, and for %K/%D crossovers as entry triggers. Combine with a trend filter for best results.

Momentum Confluence

🔴 Lagging — ≈ max(money_flow_length, trend_wave_length) bars

Warmup: max(money_flow_length, trend_wave_length) bars (default: 14 bars (money_flow_length=14))

A composite score that merges RSI, Stochastic, and EMA-based momentum into a single value. Use it when you want one number to summarize overall momentum across multiple sub-indicators.