SMA, EMA, golden and death crosses, MACD, Bollinger Bands, ADX/DMI, Parabolic SAR, the Ichimoku Cloud, MA alignment and pullbacks.
For: learners who can read candlesticks and want to judge trends with indicators
This course uses ideas from the courses below (optional; you can start right away).
More advanced courses that build on this one.
Average the last N closing prices and draw them as a smooth line that filters out day-to-day noise.
An EMA gives more weight to recent prices, so it turns faster than an SMA.
A short-term average crossing above a long-term one is a golden cross; crossing below is a death cross. The most classic trend signal there is.
The MACD line (DIF), the signal line (DEA) and the histogram: using the gap between two EMAs to measure the direction and strength of a trend.
The middle band is the 20-day moving average and the outer bands sit two standard deviations away: the bands "breathe" with volatility.
+DI and −DI show direction, ADX shows strength: only when ADX is above 25 is there usually a trend.
Dots below the price mean an uptrend, dots above mean a downtrend, and when the price crosses the dots, they flip.
The conversion line, base line, cloud and lagging span: trend, support and resistance, and momentum, all in one chart.
Moving averages stacked from shortest at the top to longest at the bottom is a bullish alignment, the reverse is bearish, and when they're twisted together it's a tangle.
In an uptrend, a dip to a rising moving average that then holds is often used as a chance to join the trend; when price gets too far from the average, it tends to fall back.