Overbought or Oversold? Stochastic Oscillators Can Help

Setting stop-loss orders can help limit potential losses in case the price continues to rise despite overbought conditions. Timing market entry and exit points is a challenge that every trader faces. When a security is in an overbought condition, it might be a good time for traders to consider taking profits and for potential buyers to wait for the price to pull back. Mastering the art of trading in overbought and oversold conditions is a continual learning process. The strategies and tools discussed in this article are not a guarantee for success but are foundational elements that can enhance your trading acumen.

Deciphering the Overbought Condition

It measures the strength of the current price relative to past prices. Although you can calculate the RSI yourself, it is integrated into almost all trading platforms — just enable it in the tool settings. You can also try to identify oversold market conditions using support and resistance levels. This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result.

Options Trading

Discover how to increase your chances of trading success, with data gleaned from over 100,00 IG accounts. For example, if the RSI isn’t able to reach 70 on a number of consecutive price swings during an uptrend, but then drops below 30, the trend has weakened and could be reversing lower. Investment values start to drop when demand for overbought assets begins to decline. Discover the range of markets and learn how they work – with IG Academy’s online course.

1. We want to clarify that IG International does not have an official Line account at this time.
2. One can apply these signals to gain more insight when deciding on buying or selling a security.
3. Therefore, if the weight of the data is strong, the price could keep rising.
4. This is especially true for the crypto market, which is incredibly unpredictable and volatile and does not always follow conventional trading patterns.
5. During the financial crisis, sellers kept pushing the stock market into oversold conditions from September to December, 2008.
6. The RSI is calculated in a separate window under the price chart.

Ask Any Financial Question

Any information contained in this site’s articles is based on the authors’ personal opinion. These articles shall not be treated as a trading advice or call to action. The authors of the articles or RoboForex company shall not be held liable for the results of the trades arising from relying upon trading recommendations and reviews contained herein. The RSI assesses the position and dynamics of the current price related to the preceding period. The RSI is calculated in a separate window under the price chart. We recommend that you seek independent financial advice and ensure you fully understand the risks involved before trading.

Trending News

We want to wait until the RSI falls back below 70 and then place our sell trade. To take advantage of overbought levels, you would aim to identify the point oversold vs overbought at which the market reaches its highest extremity. At which point, you’d open a short position to take advantage of the market correcting to a lower price.

Welles Wilder Jr. and introduced in the 1978 book “New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems,” RSI is a measurement of stock price change momentum. But other trade signals can help traders when overbought and oversold asset prices don’t change course right away. For instance, the moving average convergence divergence and moving average crossovers both allow traders to verify RSI indicators. As we’ve explored in this comprehensive guide, understanding these market conditions is not merely about recognizing an RSI above 70 or below 30. It’s about synthesizing multiple indicators, applying proven strategies, and adhering to a disciplined risk management plan. No matter whether you are a beginner or an expert investor, one of your biggest priorities in trading will likely be finding the correct entry and exit points.

In an uptrend, there are more gains, keeping the RSI at higher levels. In a downtrend, on the other hand, the RSI tends to stay at lower levels. Like many professions, trading involves a lot of jargon that is difficult to follow by someone new to the industry. It’s our job as instructors to fill in as many knowledge gaps as possible to make the education process as simple as possible.

Once price exhibits these extreme market conditions, probabilities say that a market reversal is likely to be on the cards. Overbought market conditions show the bulls in total control, shown on the chart by an extended move in price to the upside. An overbought level can emerge immediately when a financial asset’s price has a parabolic move. You could see a good example of an overbought level in the chart below.

Today, we will take a look at what it means for a currency pair to be overbought or oversold, and most importantly, what trading opportunities arise from these situations. With us, you can also attach stop-losses and limit-closes to your positions, which can close your trade when a specific price level is hit. While stop-losses enable you to cap your risk, limit-closes would help you lock in any profits earned. You’d take the opposite strategy for oversold levels – finding the bottom of a market, and opening a long position to take advantage of the impending upward move. Bollinger Bands are a volatility indicator consisting of a simple moving average (middle band) and two standard deviation lines above and below it (upper and lower bands). Generally, an RSI value above 70 indicates that a security is becoming overbought and may be primed for a price pullback.