Email of the day (3)
Comment of the Day

October 25 2010

Commentary by Eoin Treacy

Email of the day (3)

on printing charts and using indicators:
"I can't print any charts from the International Equity Library. Are you updating or fixing something, and is that the reason the Chart Library is temporarily out of order?

"Furthermore a question on Chart Sensitivity Analysis? How do you utilize the "MACD"? Do you find it's more reliable to flag "OVERBOUGHT" and/or "OVERSOLD" Conditions.

"I have used "STOCHASTIC & RSI" as indicators, but found that in a strong upmove / downmove both indicators can continuously be overbought/oversold, and the stock keeps moving higher/lower.

"Also have you used FIBONACCI LEVELS FOR CALCULATION OF RETRACEMENTS as well as to calculate Upmoves from a consolidation or do you not use them?

"I look forward to hearing from you."

Eoin Treacy's view Thank you for these questions. I've tested the functionality for printing charts and it seems to be working fine. To recap, if you wish to print a chart from the Fullermoney Chart Library select the chart you are interested in and the default size from the Options menu (found to the left of the charcoal bar found above the chart) then right click. Choose 'Print Picture' from the resulting menu. In your print menu, I would suggest selecting the landscape orientation for the best results.

Personally I rarely use indicators other than a 200-day MA because I believe that everything one needs to know about the emotions driving the market and the interaction between supply and demand is evident from the price action and the consistency characteristics evident in all trends.

With regard to the indicators you mention, MACD is a momentum indicator while stochastics and RSI are oscillators. If one is to make any use of these tools then it is important to realize that they are designed to work in different market circumstances. Momentum indicators generally work best in trending markets and oscillators in ranging markets.

In a powerfully trending market an oscillator will move to a persistently overextended reading because the indicator compares present action to what has gone before. Following a powerful breakout or impressive trend the current price will appear remarkable relative to the previous action creating the overextended reading but needs to be viewed in the context of the wider market environment.

Momentum indicators will be much less reliable in a trendless environment. However, even following a significant advance, an MACD signal may be caused by a reaction within the overall trend rather than an emphatic topping signal. Again, the indicator needs to be viewed in the context of the wider market.

Fibonacci retracements are most useful in markets where most of the participants are aware of them such as Foreign Exchange and bond futures. In my opinion, other than as a background level of knowledge, the utility of Fibonacci retracements is too subjective to be of any other analytical use.

Back to top