Technical analysis glossary
Plain-English definitions of the technical analysis terms used on TickerLean, from RSI and MACD to golden cross and moving averages. These are explanations of concepts, not recommendations; please read the Investment Disclaimer.
Technical analysis
The study of past prices and trading volume to describe a market’s behaviour. It does not look at a company’s earnings, products or economy, and it cannot predict the future.
Technical indicator
A formula applied to price data, such as RSI or a moving average, that summarises something about price behaviour, for example momentum, trend or volatility.
Ticker symbol
The short code that identifies a listed security on an exchange, for example AAPL for Apple or 005930 for Samsung Electronics. Outside the US, Yahoo Finance adds an exchange suffix such as .KS or .T. See the ticker symbol and suffix list.
RSI (Relative Strength Index)
A 0–100 momentum oscillator that compares the size of recent gains with recent losses, usually over 14 days. Readings above about 70 are traditionally called overbought and below about 30 oversold. TickerLean loosens or ignores those levels depending on the trend. See how it works.
Stochastic oscillator (%K)
Shows where today’s close sits within the recent high–low range, from 0 to 100. Values near 100 mean the price closed near the top of its range; near 0, near the bottom.
CCI (Commodity Channel Index)
Measures how far price is from its recent average relative to typical deviation. Large positive values mean price is stretched above its average; large negative values mean stretched below.
Bollinger Bands and %B
Bands drawn two standard deviations above and below a 20-day moving average. %B shows where the price sits between the lower band (0%) and the upper band (100%).
MACD
Moving Average Convergence Divergence: the difference between a fast (12-day) and a slow (26-day) exponential moving average. The histogram is the gap between that line and its 9-day signal line. A positive and rising histogram suggests strengthening upward momentum.
Moving average (SMA)
The average closing price over a fixed number of days, such as 20, 50 or 200. Price above its moving average is commonly read as an uptrend, and below as a downtrend.
Golden cross
When the 50-day moving average rises above the 200-day moving average. Many traders treat it as a sign of a longer-term uptrend. It is a lagging signal and often appears after much of a rise has happened.
Death cross
When the 50-day moving average falls below the 200-day moving average, commonly read as a longer-term downtrend. Like the golden cross, it lags price.
ROC (Rate of Change)
The percentage change in price over a set number of days. TickerLean uses 12 days as a simple momentum measure.
Overbought and oversold
Descriptions of a price that has risen or fallen unusually fast. They are not instructions: in a strong trend a stock can stay overbought for a long time.
Market regime
TickerLean’s label for the broad trend: uptrend, downtrend or sideways, based on the price and its 50-day and 200-day averages. It changes which oscillator thresholds apply.
Buy / neutral / sell reading
The vote each indicator casts under its rule. TickerLean counts the votes; the percentages show agreement between indicators, not the probability of a price move.
Historical check (backtest)
A replay of rules on past data to see what happened afterwards. TickerLean compares the price 20 trading days after similar readings with all days. Past results do not guarantee future results.
KOSPI and KOSDAQ
The two main stock markets of South Korea. KOSPI lists large established companies (Yahoo suffix .KS); KOSDAQ lists smaller and growth companies (suffix .KQ).
Trading day
A day on which an exchange is open. A year has roughly 250 trading days, which is why a 200-day average covers about nine months of calendar time.