Technical Indicators

Bollinger Bands look like an envelope around the price of the instrument. The widths of the bands are determined by the standard deviation. Standard deviation refers to the volatility of the instrument’s price movements. Still, the biggest challenge is identifying the direction of the breakout. To do this, we recommend that you use other tools or strategies to predict the direction. For example, if the Bollinger Bands squeeze is happening at a period when there is a bullish pennant or flag, it could be a signal of a bullish breakout.

It is an intraday indicator that looks at the average price of an asset when compared to its volume. Bollinger Bands are often confused with Keltner Channels because of their close resemblance. In fact, it is often difficult to tell the difference between the two indicators when they are applied in a chart. Ideally, you can predict when a breakout is about to happen by looking at the formation of the Bollinger Bands. When the bands are squeezed, it is often a sign that a breakout will happen.

Bollinger Bands Trading Strategy & Period Setting

The settings can be adjusted to suit different trading styles. When the instrument’s price moves towards the upper band, this is a signal that it is overbought. As a general rule, traders look to sell when they believe that an instrument is overbought.

Variance is a measurement of the spread between numbers in a data set. Investors use the variance equation to evaluate a portfolio’s asset allocation.

Risk Disclaimer

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• The M-Top was confirmed with a support break two weeks later.
• When the bands lie close together, a period of low volatility is indicated.
• This evolving top formed a small head-and-shoulders pattern.
• Because in trending markets, the market can remain “cheap” or “expensive” for a long period of time.
• The bands are based on volatility and can aid in determining trend direction and provide trade signals.
• For example, if the Bollinger Bands squeeze is happening at a period when there is a bullish pennant or flag, it could be a signal of a bullish breakout.

A double bottom occurs when there is a fall in price, followed by a rise, followed by another fall that is close to the previous low, and finally another rise. This overlay can be found in the Overlays section on the P&F Workbench. M-Tops were also part of Arthur Merrill’s work that identified 16 patterns with a basic M shape. Bollinger uses these various M patterns with Bollinger Bands to identify M-Tops, which are essentially the opposite of W-Bottoms.

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However, if prices move immediately back inside the band, then the suggested strength is negated. A moving average is a technical analysis indicator that helps level price action by filtering out the noise from random price fluctuations. Bollinger Bands® are a technical analysis tool developed by John Bollinger for generating oversold or overbought signals. Keltner Channels tend to generate more trading signals than Bollinger Bands as they measure volatility based on range. This makes some analysts think that Bollinger Bands are a more reliable indicator. Bollinger Bands and Keltner Channels are very similar technical indicators, as both are based upon volatility and average prices. When price action trades between the lower bands of both Bollinger Bands deviations, the potential of an extended downtrend is dominant.

It can be a useful tool when combined with other trading indicators. Bollinger Bands® are a popular technical analysis​ tool that indicates whether an instrument’s price is high or low on a relative basis.

Indicators V ~ Z

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• Follow this step-by-step guide to learn how to scan for hot stocks on the move.
• Changing the number of periods for the moving average also affects the number of periods used to calculate the standard deviation.
• Find out how you can use these two stock-picking strategies together.
• Price penetration of the bands alone is not an indicator to enter a trade.
• Bollinger Bands can be used in most time frames, from very short-term periods, to hourly, daily, weekly or monthly.
• It involves jumping into the bandwagon of an already-existing trend.
• Upon selecting Bollinger Bands, the default setting will appear in the parameters window .

In a strong uptrend, prices usually fluctuate between the upper band and the middle band. As a result, in a strong uptrend, consider looking bollinger bands for buying opportunities at the middle band. If the uptrend is not so strong, corrections may be deeper and reach the lower BB.

Type — Type of moving average to compute 0 (simple) (default)

For example, you could use the two in trend following and to find reversals. Bollinger Bands is a significantly different indicator to a VWAP. For starters, VWAP stands for Volume-Weighted Average Price.