Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://tradewatch.io/docs/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Technical indicators are mathematical transformations of historical price and volume data used to identify trends, momentum shifts, volatility regimes, and volume patterns. The indicators endpoint computes values on demand from TradeWatch’s historical price data — you do not need to maintain your own time series.
Endpoint
Endpoint: GET /stocks/{symbol}/indicators
Omit the name parameter to receive a list of all supported indicator keys. Supply name to compute a specific indicator. Use period to override the default lookback window in trading days.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
symbol | Stock ticker symbol (path parameter, e.g. AAPL) |
name | Indicator key (e.g. rsi, macd). Omit to receive the full list of available keys. |
period | Lookback period in trading days. Defaults vary by indicator. |
curl "https://api.tradewatch.io/stocks/AAPL/indicators" \
-H "api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
Trend Indicators
Trend indicators identify the direction and strength of a price trend.
| Indicator | Key | Default period | What it shows |
|---|
| Simple Moving Average | sma | 20 | Average closing price over N periods; smooths short-term noise |
| Exponential Moving Average | ema | 20 | Like SMA but weights recent prices more heavily |
| Weighted Moving Average | wma | 20 | Linear-weighted average; most sensitive to recent prices |
| MACD | macd | — | Difference between 12- and 26-period EMA; signal line is 9-period EMA of MACD |
| Supertrend | supertrend | 10 | ATR-based trend-following indicator with dynamic support/resistance levels |
| Ichimoku Cloud | ichimoku | — | Multi-component system showing support, resistance, trend direction, and momentum |
| Average Directional Index | adx | 14 | Measures trend strength regardless of direction |
- MACD crossover: When the MACD line crosses above the signal line, it may indicate building bullish momentum; crossing below may indicate bearish momentum. Crossovers near the zero line carry more weight.
- ADX: Values above 25 indicate a strong trend; below 20 suggests a ranging or sideways market. ADX measures trend strength, not direction — use alongside the +DI and -DI components to determine which direction the trend is moving.
Example
curl "https://api.tradewatch.io/stocks/AAPL/indicators?name=macd" \
-H "api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
# 50-period SMA instead of the default 20
curl "https://api.tradewatch.io/stocks/AAPL/indicators?name=sma&period=50" \
-H "api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
Momentum Indicators
Momentum indicators measure the speed of price movement and identify overbought or oversold conditions.
| Indicator | Key | Default period | What it shows |
|---|
| Relative Strength Index | rsi | 14 | Oscillator 0–100; measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes |
| Stochastic Oscillator | stochastic | 14 | Compares the closing price to the price range over N periods |
| Williams %R | williams-r | 14 | Inverse of Stochastic; identifies potential turning points |
| Commodity Channel Index | cci | 20 | Measures how far price deviates from its statistical average |
| Momentum | momentum | 10 | Raw price change over N periods |
| Rate of Change | roc | 12 | Percentage price change over N periods |
- RSI: Above 70 is conventionally considered overbought (potential reversal downward); below 30 is oversold (potential reversal upward). These thresholds are guidelines — in strong trends, RSI can remain overbought or oversold for extended periods.
- Stochastic Oscillator: Above 80 = overbought; below 20 = oversold. The %K and %D crossover is often used as a timing signal.
- Williams %R: Scaled −100 to 0. Readings above −20 indicate overbought; below −80 indicate oversold.
Example
curl "https://api.tradewatch.io/stocks/AAPL/indicators?name=rsi" \
-H "api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
# Shorter RSI period for more sensitivity
curl "https://api.tradewatch.io/stocks/AAPL/indicators?name=rsi&period=9" \
-H "api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
Volatility Indicators
Volatility indicators measure the magnitude of price fluctuations, independent of direction.
| Indicator | Key | Default period | What it shows |
|---|
| Bollinger Bands | bollinger | 20 | Price envelope: middle SMA ± 2 standard deviations |
| Average True Range | atr | 14 | Average daily price range; raw measure of volatility |
| Keltner Channel | keltner | 20 | ATR-based envelope around an EMA |
| Donchian Channel | donchian | 20 | Highest high and lowest low over N periods |
- Bollinger Band squeeze: When the bands narrow significantly (low volatility), it often precedes a significant price move. The direction of the breakout is not implied by the squeeze itself.
- ATR: Use ATR to size stop-loss distances proportionally to current volatility rather than using a fixed point value. A stock with an ATR of 5requireswiderstopsthanonewithanATRof0.50.
- Keltner vs Bollinger: When Bollinger Bands contract inside the Keltner Channel, it signals exceptionally low volatility and a high-probability squeeze setup.
Example
curl "https://api.tradewatch.io/stocks/AAPL/indicators?name=bollinger" \
-H "api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
curl "https://api.tradewatch.io/stocks/AAPL/indicators?name=atr" \
-H "api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
Volume Indicators
Volume indicators combine price and trading volume to confirm trends or identify divergences.
| Indicator | Key | What it shows |
|---|
| On-Balance Volume | obv | Cumulative volume flow — rising OBV indicates buying pressure |
| Accumulation/Distribution | ad | Relates the close’s position within the day’s range to volume |
| VWAP | vwap | Volume-weighted average price for the current trading session |
- VWAP: Institutional traders use VWAP as a benchmark execution price. A stock trading above VWAP during the session indicates bullish intraday sentiment. VWAP resets at the start of each trading session — it is a same-session metric.
- OBV divergence: If price makes a new high but OBV fails to confirm, the uptrend may be weakening (and vice versa for downtrends). Divergence between price and OBV is a common reversal signal.
- A/D vs OBV: A/D accounts for where the close falls within the day’s range, not just whether price was up or down. It can diverge from OBV when closes are consistently near session lows even on up days.
Example
curl "https://api.tradewatch.io/stocks/AAPL/indicators?name=vwap" \
-H "api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
curl "https://api.tradewatch.io/stocks/AAPL/indicators?name=obv" \
-H "api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
Tuning the Period Parameter
The period parameter controls the lookback window in trading days. A shorter period reacts faster to recent price changes but generates more noise. A longer period smooths output but lags further behind current price action.
Common starting points by indicator:
| Indicator | Short-term | Standard | Long-term |
|---|
| RSI | 9 | 14 | 21 |
| SMA / EMA | 10 | 20 | 50 / 200 |
| Bollinger Bands | — | 20 | — |
| ATR | — | 14 | — |
| Stochastic | 9 | 14 | — |
