A detailed reference for the technical indicators available in SFZ Capital's Strategy Creator. Understand how each works and when to use them in your automated trading bots.
SFZ Capital's visual bot creator supports the following technical indicators. You can combine them to build entry and exit conditions â€- no coding required.
The EMA gives more weight to recent prices than a simple moving average, making it more responsive to new information. It's the most commonly used indicator for identifying trend direction.
Common periods: 9 (short-term), 21 (medium), 50 (long-term), 200 (major trend). Shorter EMAs react faster to price changes; longer EMAs are smoother and better for trend confirmation.
RSI measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes to evaluate overbought or oversold conditions. It oscillates between 0 and 100.
Standard period: 14. Readings above 70 are considered overbought; below 30 is oversold. These thresholds are adjustable in the SFZ bot creator.
MACD tracks the relationship between two EMAs. It's useful for identifying trend changes, momentum strength, and potential entry/exit timing.
The MACD histogram shows the difference between the MACD line and signal line. Expanding histogram = increasing momentum; contracting = waning momentum.
Bollinger Bands consist of a middle band (SMA) with upper and lower bands placed at standard deviations away. They expand during volatile periods and contract during quiet ones.
Approximately 95% of price action falls within the default 2-standard-deviation bands. Band width itself is an indicator of volatility.
ATR measures market volatility by averaging the true range (the greatest of: current high − low, |high − previous close|, |low − previous close|) over a period.
ATR doesn't indicate direction â€- it measures how much an asset typically moves. Higher ATR = more volatile. It's invaluable for setting dynamic stop-losses.
| Indicator | Category | Best For | Default Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMA | Trend | Trend direction & crossover signals | 9 / 21 / 50 |
| RSI | Momentum | Overbought/oversold conditions | 14 |
| MACD | Momentum | Trend changes & timing | 12, 26, 9 |
| Bollinger Bands | Volatility | Mean reversion & breakouts | 20, 2ÃÆ’ |
| ATR | Volatility | Stop placement & position sizing | 14 |
No single indicator is reliable on its own. SFZ's bot creator lets you layer multiple indicators â€- for example, EMA for trend direction + RSI for timing + ATR for stop placement. Backtest different combinations to find what works best for your target market.