Useful Indicators For Swing Trading With ThinkOrSwim

[jserenson1153]

How do I find useful indicators to help me on my way to learning how to scan for eligible stocks for swing trading or for options trading.

 

[BenTen]

Did you check this page? https://usethinkscript.com/p/best-long-term-indicators-for-thinkorswim/

Personally, for swing trading, I use the BTD indicator.

How often are you trading? What's your average holding time?

 

[jserenson1153]

Did you check this page? https://usethinkscript.com/p/best-long-term-indicators-for-thinkorswim/

Personally, for swing trading, I use the BTD indicator.

How often are you trading? What's your average holding time?

I am still getting up to speed on options, and have not taken the dive yet. Currently I am totally out of the market. I did have some safe stocks and ETF's recommended to me from a friend who was a stock broker before he retired. But currently I am look into how to get back into the market and have been looking at Trader Travis who seems to have a conservative strategy to earn money slowly and with minimal risk.
I just purchased the 9 dollar a month so I am not eligible for the VIP indicators.
I guess I am looking to find an indicator that can scan for stocks that are trending up or down, and an indicator for entry and exit points.
I guess I am very cautious about entering as I am retired and will be using my retirement funds.
And am still educating myself as to how to get going.

Thanks for your response.

 

[MerryDay]

I am still getting up to speed on options, and have not taken the dive yet. Currently I am totally out of the market. I did have some safe stocks and ETF's recommended to me from a friend who was a stock broker before he retired. But currently I am look into how to get back into the market and have been looking at Trader Travis who seems to have a conservative strategy to earn money slowly and with minimal risk.
I just purchased the 9 dollar a month so I am not eligible for the VIP indicators.
I guess I am looking to find an indicator that can scan for stocks that are trending up or down, and an indicator for entry and exit points.
I guess I am very cautious about entering as I am retired and will be using my retirement funds.
And am still educating myself as to how to get going.

Thanks for your response.

https://usethinkscript.com/threads/basics-for-developing-a-good-strategy.8058/

 

[jserenson1153]

That link will be helpful.
I have decided to upgrade to the VIP as it will be much more beneficial than the 9 dollar a month plan.
It looks like I will be able to get a lot of useful information.
And have access to the premium indicators.
Thanks again

 

[roy123]

Looking for a scan with high win ratio for swing/position trading...any ideas?

 

[MerryDay]

Looking for a scan with high win ratio for swing/position trading...any ideas?

As VIP, you can start w/ narrowing down your potential list to the choicest stocks:
https://usethinkscript.com/threads/relative-strength-ranking.15999/

ALSO: for Swing Traders, the repainting future bars are key to the power of their strategies.
Future bars wait for confirmation that the bearish trend is over. A bull trend is established.
At that point, future bars scripts repaint back to where the trend started many bars ago.

Future bars work for swing traders because a well-established trend that started many bars ago on their middle timeframe is key to a good basic swing strategy that is trading strong long-term uptrending stocks.

Here is an example of a future bars indicator by the amazing @mashume:
The Hull Turning Point Indicator: https://usethinkscript.com/threads/...ng-points-and-concavity-2nd-derivatives.1803/


FYI: run from anyone who claims to have a "swing strategy with high win ratio"
Swing trading is more about the trader's research skills not about buy arrows.
It is important to ascertain the instrument's: financials, fundamentals, market news direction, understand current investor sentiment, the effects of economic data and geopolitical events.

 

[TPTrades]

Hello everyone,

I can’t be on the screen all day. Curious if anyone has found success with swing trading and would like to share their strategies. Just looking for a few tips to confirm whether I’m heading in the right direction.

-3 moving averages to avoid false signals.
-An oscillator to determine consolidating versus trending markets.
- Volume for buyer or seller pressure.

 

[METAL]

@MerryDay I believe that you predominantly swing trade. I was wandering if you have a system that works for you consistently that you are willing to share. I am trying to get better at swing trading and just haven't found a strat that seems to work. At the moment I have been studying 4H TF and using a 50 EMA along with a 200 EMA. It seems like this would work pretty well at first glance but I have lost twice when I actually trade.

If anyone else has a strat they use and it is working, Please also share.

FYI, The LRC strat I am using is truly amazing for intraday and scalping.

 

[ranebshekhar]

What is the best Trend Confirmation indicator/s to use for swing trading?

Any chart setup recommendation? Daily/Weekly etc...

 

[MerryDay]

Keep in mind that swing trading is more about the research and analysis into the financials, news and forward-looking guidance for the stock. These factors power the profitability of your swing trade.
https://usethinkscript.com/threads/best-time-frame-for-trading-for-thinkorswim.12209/#:~:text=Daytraders attempting to-,swing,-because they have

And exits are not the same as day-trading, where traders jump out at the slightest sign of trouble.
https://usethinkscript.com/threads/swing-trade-exits.17435/

Swing Trading means making the assumption based on your analysis that the trend will continue despite minor downturns.
read more here: https://usethinkscript.com/threads/...g-trading-with-thinkorswim.15068/#post-153460
So your exits, require staying in through the fluctuations, staying on top of any news that will adversely affect your trade and setting deeper stop-loss levels.
Swing trading is significantly more profitable but also riskier.

Resources for managing risk and reward:
"The Essentials of Risk Management" by Michel Crouhy, Dan Galai, and Robert Mark.
"Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk" by Peter L. Bernstein
These books are highly regarded in the field.

Review your long-term charts to determine if the stock is a candidate for your type of TREND strategy.
Trend-following strategies thrive and are profitable for those stocks with long-term charts that show persistent directional movements.
VIP-ers can read more about the Tenets of Trading and see my setup here:
https://usethinkscript.com/threads/automated-trend-line-drawing.18181/

We have had over three months of clean directional movement, but beware, the market ran hot; and there are stocks that could be headed for correction.
Stocks that are showing increasing volatility, with significant swings that deviate from the 200sma and 50ema on their daily chart, are not suitable candidates for a swinging trend-following setup.

These types of stocks are traded with Mean Reversion Strategies.
Reversion trading is the trading of stocks that do not have perfectly lovely long-term uptrends.
They can be more profitable, but are riskier as they have no trend to follow.
Reversion trades are not suitable if you can not stay active in monitoring their price movements.

Review of your 3 timeframes is critical.
three timeframes on vip: https://usethinkscript.com/threads/automated-trend-line-drawing.18181/#post-139275

• Review your indicators on your trading timeframe.
• Review that there is an overall trend on your weekly timeframe to ensure that your stock is a TREND candidate
• and then use price action to time your entry on your lowest timeframe.

Most common mistakes in trading: https://usethinkscript.com/threads/automated-trend-line-drawing.18181/#post-139310
What stocks to trade: https://usethinkscript.com/threads/automated-trend-line-drawing.18181/#post-139336

@ranebshekhar

 

[ranebshekhar]

@MerryDay thank you so much for the details. I believe i have the 3 time period chart setup.
Looking for some help with stock scanner, which can help me pick right candidates for Swing trading.

Any scanner suggestion?

 

[MerryDay]

@MerryDay thank you so much for the details. I believe i have the 3 time period chart setup.
Looking for some help with stock scanner, which can help me pick right candidates for Swing trading.

Any scanner suggestion?

As was discussed in the VIP forum
https://usethinkscript.com/threads/market-sentiment-spxa200r.20239/

The climate has changed from a strong bullish market with robust momentum and economic conditions.

to

A neutral climate, with equal potential for upward or downward movement.

1966, was the last time, the market saw four bearish days in the final days of December.
And in the years, that a santa rally did not materialize, January saw a continuation of the bearish trend.

The fight in this neutral climate will see volatility that will yield interesting opportunities for day traders.
But not the most auspicious time for swingers.

It does provide time for you to define what kind of swinger, you are.
Are you looking to trade the market movers? The liquidity of these large caps means their dip can be counted on to retrace.
Or are you looking for greater risk/ greater reward of stocks of whose retracements tend to yield greater profits; but there is less guarantee of when or if they will retrace.

On the VIP forum here: https://usethinkscript.com/forums/questions-and-support.37/post-thread
You can write up your request.
Explain how you see your swing trade style and provide some of your favorite past trades

Look through these scan filters. See if any apply to your style of trading:
https://usethinkscript.com/threads/vip-news.16119/#post-149258

 

[AlwaysLearning]

@antwerks

Entering a trade at a reasonable price is often the easy part (thanks to BTD study) - the real challenge lies in knowing when to close the position. I frequently find myself selling too early, whether it's after recovering from a loss back to breakeven or taking a small profit, only to watch the price continue climbing and regret not holding longer.

I’m always on the lookout for a reliable study or setup that provides clear signals for booking profits. While VIP members have access to the Take Profit indicator, I’ve found it less effective for short-term trading. My primary focus is swing trading, where I buy long-dated options but typically exit within two weeks.

One common issue I’ve noticed with RSI is that, in a strong uptrend, it can remain in the overbought zone for an extended period—without necessarily indicating an imminent price drop. This makes it challenging to use RSI alone as an exit signal.

Through this community, I’ve learned a lot and tested various indicators. Many work well in trending markets, but I’ve refined my approach to focus on BTD Conservative for swing trading and ATR support and resistance. This strategy has been effective, but as I mentioned earlier, I still struggle with exiting trades too soon.

Have you experienced similar challenges? What strategies or indicators do you rely on for timing exits in swing trading? Also, I tried your study but noticed it consistently shows a score of 0 on the 2-minute chart—any thoughts on that?

 

[useThinkScript]

@antwerks

Entering a trade at a reasonable price is often the easy part (thanks to BTD study) - the real challenge lies in knowing when to close the position. I frequently find myself selling too early, whether it's after recovering from a loss back to breakeven or taking a small profit, only to watch the price continue climbing and regret not holding longer.

I’m always on the lookout for a reliable study or setup that provides clear signals for booking profits. While VIP members have access to the Take Profit indicator, I’ve found it less effective for short-term trading. My primary focus is swing trading, where I buy long-dated options but typically exit within two weeks.

One common issue I’ve noticed with RSI is that, in a strong uptrend, it can remain in the overbought zone for an extended period—without necessarily indicating an imminent price drop. This makes it challenging to use RSI alone as an exit signal.

Through this community, I’ve learned a lot and tested various indicators. Many work well in trending markets, but I’ve refined my approach to focus on BTD Conservative for swing trading and ATR support and resistance. This strategy has been effective, but as I mentioned earlier, I still struggle with exiting trades too soon.

Have you experienced similar challenges? What strategies or indicators do you rely on for timing exits in swing trading? Also, I tried your study but noticed it consistently shows a score of 0 on the 2-minute chart—any thoughts on that?

It appears you are attempting to daytrade but for a longer time-period.

Swing trading is about choosing instruments with strong financials, good volatility, high liquidity and an overall trend of higher highs and higher lows that have dipped (due to temporary market pullbacks) enough to present an attractive potential profit.

Think of yourself as a hobo jumping on a fast-moving freight train headed for a perfect designation that had to temporarily slow down due to slow-moving traffic ahead.

BUT make sure, it is a "temporary slow-down". Don't buy into basement dwellers. Look for entry once price has risen above support, and is showing buyer interest (volume, momentum, etc… on your middle timeframe), and has a confirmed trend on your lower timeframe.

The premise of swing trading is that the instrument will stay in motion with the same speed and direction unless acted upon by an external catalyst. No one has proven Newton wrong, yet!

If you are trading an instrument that is correlated to the market; your oscillators are reflecting the vacillation in that market. Yes, if the entire energy sector is showing weakness; you absolutely should investigate if an external catalyst is ending your energy stock trade. But jumping out based on a fluctuation signal from an oscillator or trend indicator, which might not be pertinent to your sector or your instrument; is not a good exit strategy for swing traders.

Hitting that attractive potential profit or your pre-drawn resistance level, your stop-loss or passing down through your support or the appearance of an external catalyst that didn't exist previously, or you didn't take into account, that is threatening your trade are the swing trader exit points.

The hobo does not jump off his free ride, because of temporary congestion points. He chose his train because it has a history of long rides, he looked at the schedule and knows where the train will hit the next large population point and have to slow down or stop. He stays on until then unless hit by a train imbediment.

Keep in mind, that many of the strategies and discussions on this forum are for day traders.
Whereas swing traders never ever look at 2min charts nor micromanage their trades.
Long-time Swing Trader @BenTen said it best:
https://usethinkscript.com/threads/...same-return-as-day-trading.21045/#post-153274

Here is an example of analyzing a swing trade chart:
https://usethinkscript.com/threads/swing-trade-example.21159/

 

[AlwaysLearning]

This is excellent

 

[majidg]

@antwerks

Entering a trade at a reasonable price is often the easy part (thanks to BTD study) - the real challenge lies in knowing when to close the position. I frequently find myself selling too early, whether it's after recovering from a loss back to breakeven or taking a small profit, only to watch the price continue climbing and regret not holding longer.

I’m always on the lookout for a reliable study or setup that provides clear signals for booking profits. While VIP members have access to the Take Profit indicator, I’ve found it less effective for short-term trading. My primary focus is swing trading, where I buy long-dated options but typically exit within two weeks.

One common issue I’ve noticed with RSI is that, in a strong uptrend, it can remain in the overbought zone for an extended period—without necessarily indicating an imminent price drop. This makes it challenging to use RSI alone as an exit signal.

Through this community, I’ve learned a lot and tested various indicators. Many work well in trending markets, but I’ve refined my approach to focus on BTD Conservative for swing trading and ATR support and resistance. This strategy has been effective, but as I mentioned earlier, I still struggle with exiting trades too soon.

Have you experienced similar challenges? What strategies or indicators do you rely on for timing exits in swing trading? Also, I tried your study but noticed it consistently shows a score of 0 on the 2-minute chart—any thoughts on that?

can you please provide the BTD indicator codes? Thanks

 

[useThinkScript]

can you please provide the BTD indicator codes? Thanks

@antwerks's BTD Buy The Dip is a VIP indicator:
https://usethinkscript.com/forums/buy-the-dip.32/

 

[antwerks]

can you please provide the BTD indicator codes? Thanks

As noted above the BTD in its configurations is a VIP indicator. Joining VIP is way more than worth it. Just the VIP discussion boards alone is worth 10X the cost!!! I have been putting most of my scripts over there lately (probably to the dismay of the ADMINS) but the responses are awesome and the content golden. Go join!!