Indicator Basics: My Favorite Indicators

I always make my final decisions based on the price chart, but here are the indicators that I use most.

Trend Indicators

I use a 100-day Exponential Moving Average almost exclusively to identify trending stocks. Look for price respecting the moving average to signal a trend, or whipsawing for a ranging market.

Money Flow

Chaikin Money Flow gave to many false signals, so I developed Twiggs® Money Flow to identify accumulation or distribution.

Momentum Indicators

I do not use oscillators that much, but my favorites are the Detrended Price Oscillator, which is great for highlighting divergences, and the classic Stochastic Oscillator.

Volatility

You can't do better than Jack Schwager's Volatility Ratio.

Trend Channels

While not really an indicator, my favorite tool for following trending markets is the Standard Deviation Channel.