{"id":19765,"date":"2020-05-27T13:29:35","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T13:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/?p=19765"},"modified":"2026-01-12T11:40:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T11:40:49","slug":"stock-indicators-7-popular-technical-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/tutorials\/stock-indicators-7-popular-technical-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"Stock indicators: 7 popular technical tools"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you are familiar with stock analysis, you probably know what a technical indicator is. If not, technical indicators are, in a nutshell, analytical tools that let you examine historical data and forecast future price trends and patterns.<\/p>\n<p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/products\/stock\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Highcharts Stock library<\/a> you rarely have to build custom technical indicators for your financial charts. Instead, dozens of built-in indicators are at your disposal. You may also create and add <a href=\"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/docs\/stock\/custom-technical-indicators\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">custom indicators<\/a> with minimal effort.<\/p>\n<p>In this article, we will explore the most commonly used technical indicators and how you can visualize them with Highcharts Stock to make a financial analysis charting tool that will rival any tool on the market.<\/p>\n<p>Before we take a look at some of the most<br \/>\ncommonly used technical indicators, we first need to need to add the <a href=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/indicators\/indicators.js\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">main indicator module<\/a> first, then add the module of the specific indicator. For instance, to use a linear regression indicator, add the following modules:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Main module\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/indicators\/indicators.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Linear regression indicator\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/indicators\/regressions.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Now, let\u2019s now check the list:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>1. EMA (Exponential Moving Average)<\/h2>\n<p>EMA is a moving average trading indicator. EMA measures the trend direction by using the exponential average of a period of time, then displays the result on a line. The demo below displays a trend direction using a period of 9 days (black line) and 50 days (green line):<\/p>\n<p><i>link to the <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/pen\/mdrwMJZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">demo<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"demo-container\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%;\" title=\"A stock chart using EMA (Exponential Moving Average) to displays AAPL stock price. By Mustapha Mekhatria\" src=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/embed\/mdrwMJZ?height=265&amp;theme-id=light&amp;default-tab=result\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\nSee the Pen <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/pen\/mdrwMJZ\">EMA (Exponential Moving Average)<\/a> by mustapha mekhatria<br \/>\n(<a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\">@mushigh<\/a>) on <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\">CodePen<\/a>.<br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To use EMA follow these steps:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Add EMA module\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/indicators\/ema.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Add this code under series\n<pre>{\r\n  type: 'ema',\r\n  linkedTo: 'aapl'\r\n}, {\r\n  type: 'ema',\r\n  linkedTo: 'aapl',\r\n  params: {\r\n    period: 50\r\n  }\r\n}<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><i><b>Remark<\/b><br \/>\nNotice that the default period is <code>9<\/code>. To change the default period use the <code>params<\/code> option.<\/i><\/p>\n<h2>2. MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence)<\/h2>\n<p>The MACD indicator is a powerful technical indicator as it is both a trend-following and a momentum indicator. The MACD is a set of two lines (one faster and one slower) and a histogram:<br \/>\n<i>link to the <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/pen\/KKgqvza\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">demo<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"demo-container\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%;\" title=\"A stock chart using MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) to display AAPL stock price. By Mustapha Mekhatria\" src=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/embed\/KKgqvza?height=265&amp;theme-id=light&amp;default-tab=result\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\nSee the Pen <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/pen\/KKgqvza\">MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence)<\/a> by mustapha mekhatria<br \/>\n(<a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\">@mushigh<\/a>) on <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\">CodePen<\/a>.<br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The first line displays the difference between two moving averages, and the second line is a moving average of the first MACD line, whereas the Histogram is the difference between the two lines.<\/p>\n<p>To use the MACD in your chart follow these steps:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Add the EMA and the MACD modules, as MACD requires some functionalities from EMA:\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/indicators\/ema.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/indicators\/macd.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Add the MACD option under series with the default setting \u201c12, 26, 9\u201d:\n<pre>{\r\n  yAxis: 1,\r\n  type: 'macd',\r\n  linkedTo: 'aapl',\r\n  params: {\r\n    shortPeriod: 12,\r\n    longPeriod: 26,\r\n    signalPeriod: 9,\r\n    period: 26\r\n  }\r\n}<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>3. Bollinger bands<\/h2>\n<p>Bollinger bands belong to the volatility indicator type. Bolling bands are a simple moving average with three lines; a line in the middle to represent a simple 20-day moving average and two lines to represent the upper\/lower standard deviation:<\/p>\n<p><i>link to the <a href=\"https:\/\/jsfiddle.net\/gh\/get\/library\/pure\/highcharts\/highcharts\/tree\/master\/samples\/stock\/indicators\/bollinger-bands\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">demo<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"demo-container\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%;\" title=\"A stock chart using Bollinger bands to display AAPL stock price. By Mustapha Mekhatria\" src=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/embed\/XWjgaKZ?height=265&amp;theme-id=light&amp;default-tab=result\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\nSee the Pen <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/pen\/XWjgaKZ\">Bollinger bands<\/a> by mustapha mekhatria<br \/>\n(<a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\">@mushigh<\/a>) on <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\">CodePen<\/a>.<br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To use the Bollinger brands follow these steps:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Add the Bollinger brands module\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/indicators\/bollinger-bands.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Add this code under series:\n<pre>{\r\n  type: 'bb'\r\n}<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>4. Fibonacci (Retracements)<\/h2>\n<p>The Fibonacci tool is popular among traders, as it offers the possibility to predict how high or low the stock will go using levels or zones:<\/p>\n<p><i>link to the <a href=\"https:\/\/jsfiddle.net\/gh\/get\/library\/pure\/highcharts\/highcharts\/tree\/master\/samples\/stock\/annotations\/fibonacci-retracements\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">demo<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"demo-container\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%;\" title=\"A stock chart using Fibonacci (Retracements) to display AAPL stock price. By Mustapha Mekhatria\" src=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/embed\/ZEpyJLa?height=265&amp;theme-id=light&amp;default-tab=result\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\nSee the Pen <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/pen\/ZEpyJLa\">Fibonacci (Retracements)<\/a> by mustapha mekhatria<br \/>\n(<a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\">@mushigh<\/a>) on <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\">CodePen<\/a>.<br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To use the Fibonacci tool follow these steps:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Contrary to the rest of the technical indicator, the Fibonacci tool belongs to the annotation module instead of the indicator module, so be sure to add the annotation module\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/modules\/annotations.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Add the zones to the area you want to explore under the feature annotation:\n<pre>annotations: [\r\n  fibonacciRetracements(Date.UTC(2020, 1, 14), 105, Date.UTC(2020, 2, 14), 320)\r\n],<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>5. Ichimoku Kinko Hyo<\/h2>\n<p>Ichimoku indicator is a set of five lines that help traders to see support\/resistance levels and trend direction:<\/p>\n<p><i>link to the <a href=\"https:\/\/jsfiddle.net\/gh\/get\/library\/pure\/highcharts\/highcharts\/tree\/master\/samples\/stock\/indicators\/ichimoku-kinko-hyo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">demo<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"demo-container\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%;\" title=\"A stock chart using Ichimoku Kinko Hyo to display AAPL stock price. By Mustapha Mekhatria\" src=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/embed\/ExgXvWR?height=265&amp;theme-id=light&amp;default-tab=result\" height=\"700\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\nSee the Pen <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/pen\/ExgXvWR\">Ichimoku Kinko Hyo<\/a> by mustapha mekhatria<br \/>\n(<a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\">@mushigh<\/a>) on <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\">CodePen<\/a>.<br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To use the Ichimoku indicator follow these steps:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Add the ichimoku-kinko-hyo module\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/indicators\/ichimoku-kinko-hyo.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Add the five lines under the series feature\n<pre>{\r\n  type: 'ikh',\r\n  linkedTo: 'aapl',\r\n  tenkanLine: {\r\n    styles: {\r\n      lineColor: 'lightblue'\r\n    }\r\n  },\r\n  kijunLine: {\r\n    styles: {\r\n      lineColor: 'darkred'\r\n    }\r\n  },\r\n  chikouLine: {\r\n    styles: {\r\n      lineColor: 'lightgreen'\r\n    }\r\n  },\r\n  senkouSpanA: {\r\n    styles: {\r\n      lineColor: 'green'\r\n    }\r\n  },\r\n  senkouSpanB: {\r\n    styles: {\r\n      lineColor: 'red'\r\n    }\r\n  },\r\n  senkouSpan: {\r\n    color: 'rgba(0, 255, 0, 0.3)',\r\n    styles: {\r\n      fill: 'rgba(0, 0, 255, 0.1)'\r\n    }\r\n  }\r\n<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>6. RSI (Relative Strength Index)<\/h2>\n<p>The relative strength index helps traders to detect overbought and oversold conditions. The RSI visualizes the stock\u2019s strength vs. its price history on one line. The line has a scale from 0 to 100:<\/p>\n<p><i>link to the <a href=\"https:\/\/jsfiddle.net\/gh\/get\/library\/pure\/highcharts\/highcharts\/tree\/master\/samples\/stock\/indicators\/rsi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">demo<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"demo-container\">&lt;<iframe style=\"width: 100%;\" title=\"A stock chart using RSI (Relative Strength Index) to display AAPL stock price. By Mustapha Mekhatria\" src=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/embed\/poEwrVd?height=265&amp;theme-id=light&amp;default-tab=result\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\nSee the Pen <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/pen\/poEwrVd\">RSI (Relative Strength Index)<\/a> by mustapha mekhatria<br \/>\n(<a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\">@mushigh<\/a>) on <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\">CodePen<\/a>.<br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To use the RSI indicator follow these steps:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Add the RSI module\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/indicators\/rsi.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Add the RSI line under the series feature\n<pre>{\r\n  yAxis: 1,\r\n  type: 'rsi',\r\n  linkedTo: 'aapl'\r\n}<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>7. Stochastic<\/h2>\n<p>A stochastic indicator, like the RSI indicator, is used to identify the overbought and oversold conditions. But instead of using one line, the stochastic indicator uses two lines:<\/p>\n<p><i>link to the <a href=\"https:\/\/jsfiddle.net\/gh\/get\/library\/pure\/highcharts\/highcharts\/tree\/master\/samples\/stock\/indicators\/stochastic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">demo<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"demo-container\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%;\" title=\"A stock chart using Stochastic to display AAPL stock price. By Mustapha Mekhatria\" src=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/embed\/QWKgMxg?height=265&amp;theme-id=light&amp;default-tab=result\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\nSee the Pen <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\/pen\/QWKgMxg\">Stochastic<\/a> by mustapha mekhatria<br \/>\n(<a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\/mushigh\">@mushigh<\/a>) on <a href=\"https:\/\/codepen.io\">CodePen<\/a>.<br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To use the stochastic indicator follow these steps:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Add the stochastic module\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/indicators\/stochastic.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Add the stochastic line under the series feature\n<pre>{\r\n  yAxis: 1,\r\n  type: 'stochastic',\r\n  linkedTo: 'aapl'\r\n}<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Technical indicators help to get better insights from complex graphs by visualizing price and volume trends. And Highchart Stock offers you a range of indicators that can be used in a simplified way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Explore the most commonly used technical indicators and how you can visualize them with Highcharts Stock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":19789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"meta_title":"","meta_description":"","hc_selected_options":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[210],"tags":[788,883],"coauthors":[699],"class_list":["post-19765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tutorials","tag-finance","tag-highcharts-stock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19765"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25392,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19765\/revisions\/25392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19765"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=19765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}