Do We Need Indicators?

Discussion in 'Technical Analysis' started by BOC, Mar 5, 2017.

  1. Handle123

    Handle123

    Stand at top of ten foot ladder and flip a coin, some will clearly see Heads or Tails, others can't even see the coin, does it really matter to me whether someone else can see what I see or not, I certainly don't care if I don't know them. Why does everyone even give a shit? I can care less what anyone believes.
     
    #41     Mar 13, 2017
    themickey likes this.
  2. SunTrader

    SunTrader

    AAPL 200.png OK now I understand, that you believe 200 DMA somehow gives a measurement of trend.

    Attached is a chart pic of Apple with 200 SMA. Point #1 crosses up and over moving higher (if you ignore two prior crosses that failed), point# 2 back down double bottom moves higher again, point#3 MA reading is finally greater than the reading the day before. All the while, months before, point#4 is the trend change/actual bottom.

    MA's lag, 200 period MA's laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag. Trend is price and MA's are obviously not price.
     
    #42     Mar 13, 2017
    murray t turtle likes this.
  3. %%
    I see your points, SunTrader; actually i/we/ institutions learned that from IBD[ Investors Business Daily ]+profitable trend trading.They do laaaaaag LOL.Nice chart, SunTrader ;i look @ all data when i study AAPL a stock,SPY........................................................
     
    #43     Mar 13, 2017
  4. wrbtrader

    wrbtrader

    You can be sure via backtesting your trade method with an indicator you like. Next, try to apply it in realtime and you'll discover the "lagging" aspect. Yet, some people (not many) that use indicators do in fact use the lagging aspect to their advantage. Simply, they don't care about the lagging aspect.

    Do we need indicators ? I don't think so but you can easily answer that question for yourself via backtesting and simulator trading along with learning more about the markets so that you don't need to ask questions like that.

    Indicators or price (as in charts or bid/ask) itself doesn't show "everything" we need to know. In fact, some of the world's most successful traders or investors do not even use this info because their deep pockets allows them to use other useful information that most retail folks do not have access to.

    I'm not saying that price itself shows everything. I'm saying that indicators and price do not show "everything" and the info they show you may understand.

    This is why many successful traders or investors look at more than just price itself or look at more than just indicators...they don't have tunnel vision.
     
    #44     Mar 14, 2017
  5. I like volume indicator, helps define liquidity. Price with out volume means very little.
     
    #45     Mar 14, 2017
  6. algofy

    algofy

    I've also heard many say price matters and volume does not. Many ways to Rome...
     
    #46     Mar 14, 2017
  7. without volume there are no trades or liquidity
     
    #47     Mar 14, 2017
  8. themickey

    themickey

    A lagging indicator is very detrimental to profits in my opinion.
    The more they lag, the later the entry and later the exit, big negative on profits.
    If you attempt to overcome via a faster indicator, then you end up trading a shorter time frame and still with the lagging entry and exit signals but worsening losses.
    There is no way around it when used as entry/exit signals.
     
    #48     Mar 14, 2017
  9. carl0215

    carl0215

    True. Volume is the ultimate Price Driver. Am I going to be sued for using that phrase? Although price driver in Latin means snake oil salesman.
     
    #49     Mar 14, 2017
  10. algofy

    algofy

    lol price driver TM
     
    #50     Mar 14, 2017