Multi-timeframe indicator analysis – looking for experienced input
For a beginner to begin with I'd recommend:
https://www.mql5.com/en/articles/3074
https://www.mql5.com/en/articles/5022
https://www.mql5.com/en/articles/4534
https://www.longdom.org/open-access-pdfs/developing-profitable-trading-system-2168-9458-4-145.pdf
Bear in mind: search first! There's almost nothing that hasn't already been programmed for Mt4/5!
Either in the CodeBase or articles - both for free for you - or in the market or as signal.
I’m currently trying to improve my understanding of trading, especially through the use of technical indicators. I’ve been advised to follow a fairly common but logical approach: first identify a market bias on higher timeframes, and once that bias is clear, move down to lower timeframes to look for confirmations or better timing
This is a valid approach. Using the H4 timeframe as a filter for trading the M15 timeframe is quite common.
The issue is that I’m still at an early stage, and my knowledge of indicators is quite limited. I’m familiar with the most common ones such as RSI, EMA, Bollinger Bands and MACD, but I don’t really know on which timeframes they are truly relevant, nor how they should be properly configured. Most of the time, I feel like I’m using them “by default” rather than really understanding what they are telling me about the market.
In theory, most technical indicators are designed to work similarly in any timeframe and a lot of people believe that they do. In reality, it's much more nuanced. If you check out the volatility statistics for various pairs on say, myfxbook, you'll see that volatility varies widely across pairs and intrapair--across timeframes. So if you use a momentum indicator, for example, on a pair or timeframe that has poor volatility and is largely rangebound, it's probably not going to work out very well.
I mainly focus on XAUUSD, EURUSD and AUDNZD. One question I often ask myself is whether the same indicators and settings can be used across these different instruments, or if everything should be adapted depending on the pair, its volatility and its overall behavior. For example, does what works on gold make sense on a calmer Forex pair, or is that a flawed assumption?
It depends. If you use the same exact indicator(s), the same exact settings, and the same exact timeframe on both XAUUSD and EURUSD, it's probably not going to work out very well. That is not to say that you can't change indicator settings and/or timeframes to adapt your strategy to a different pair. Again, see those volatility stats.
I’m really looking for help regarding indicator logic and parameterization. My goal is not to copy an existing strategy, but to understand how indicators can be used to read market direction, filter poor conditions, and eventually build something coherent on my own. For now, I’m only doing paper trading, as I want to focus on understanding the logic rather than chasing results.
As an example, put a momentum-ish oscillator on H4 XAUUSD--the MACD Signal Line with a zero level. Next, put up a 13 period EMA. Finally, add in a 50 period EMA. Without even getting into trading conditions, let's just think about the wealth of info that's on the chart. First, you have the slopes of each indicator (up or down--not measured angles). Slopes can be analyzed on merely the last 2 bars or as far back in bars as you like. Second, the oscillator also has a zero level (above or below). Third, you have the positions of price, the EMA 13, and the EMA 50 as they are relative to each other (crossovers). A common mistake of new traders is to jump to another strategy before even analyzing all of the data that is already before them. In the case of XAUUSD, buy-only logic would be wise.
I also have many questions about timeframes. Which timeframe is actually the most relevant for defining a bias on higher timeframes? H4, H1, Daily? And for confirmations or entries, which lower timeframes make the most sense? Are there HTF/LTF combinations that tend to work better than others, or is it mostly a matter of trading style and experience?
The H4 chart is quite popular for bias filtering. It sits at the bottom of "higher timeframes" and at the top of "lower timeframes." And the M15 timeframe, for entries and exits, is frequently paired with the H4 timeframe. Personally, I prefer to substitute the M20 timeframe for the M15 so yes, style and experience matters.
Given everything that exists in the trading space today, with unrealistic promises and a lot of scams, I prefer to build my understanding myself and know exactly what I’m doing. That said, I’m aware that learning alone can quickly become inefficient, which is why I’m asking here.
This is precisely the attitude to have because it's warranted. You're already ahead of a large number of traders in this sense.
frames. So if you use a momentum indicator, for example, on a pair or timeframe that has poor volatility and is largely rangebound, it's probably not going to work out very well.
It depends. If you use the same exact indicator(s), the same exact settings, and the same exact timeframe on both XAUUSD and EURUSD, it's probably not going to work out very well. That is not to say that you can't change indicator settings and/or timeframes to adapt your strategy to a different pair. Again, see those volatility stats.
As an example, put a momentum-ish oscillator on H4 XAUUSD--the MACD Signal Line with a zero level. Next, put up a 13 period EMA. Finally, add in a 50 period EMA. Without even getting into trading conditions, let's just think about the wealth of info that's on the chart. First, you have the slopes of each indicator (up or down--not measured angles). Slopes can be analyzed on merely the last 2 bars or as far back in bars as you like. Second, the oscillator also has a zero level (above or below). Third, you have the positions of price, the EMA 13, and the EMA 50 as they are relative to each other (crossovers). A common mistake of new traders is to jump to another strategy before even analyzing all of the data that is already before them. In the case of XAUUSD, buy-only logic would be wise.
The H4 chart is quite popular for bias filtering. It sits at the bottom of "higher timeframes" and at the top of "lower timeframes." And the M15 timeframe, for entries and exits, is frequently paired with the H4 timeframe. Personally, I prefer to substitute the M20 timeframe for the M15 so yes, style and experience matters.
I will try this. Thanks. I am well aware that different parameters will act differently based on which pair we are on, but it's really finding those sweet spots with the proper indicators that would help me get ahead of most rubbish out there.
For a beginner to begin with I'd recommend:
https://www.mql5.com/en/articles/3074
https://www.mql5.com/en/articles/5022
https://www.mql5.com/en/articles/4534
https://www.longdom.org/open-access-pdfs/developing-profitable-trading-system-2168-9458-4-145.pdf
Bear in mind: search first! There's almost nothing that hasn't already been programmed for Mt4/5!
Either in the CodeBase or articles - both for free for you - or in the market or as signal.
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Hello everyone!
I’m currently trying to improve my understanding of trading, especially through the use of technical indicators. I’ve been advised to follow a fairly common but logical approach: first identify a market bias on higher timeframes, and once that bias is established, move down to lower timeframes to look for confirmations or better timing.
The issue is that I’m still at an early stage, and my knowledge of indicators is quite limited. I’m familiar with commonly used tools such as RSI, EMA, Bollinger Bands and MACD, but I don’t really know on which timeframes they are most relevant, nor how they should be properly configured. Most of the time, it feels like I’m using them by habit rather than truly understanding what they are telling me about market behavior.
I mainly focus on XAUUSD, EURUSD and AUDNZD. One question I often ask myself is whether the same indicators and settings can be applied across these instruments, or if they should be adjusted depending on the asset, its volatility and its overall behavior. For example, does an indicator setup that works reasonably well on gold still make sense on a calmer Forex pair, or is that a flawed assumption?
I’m particularly looking for guidance on indicator logic and parameterization. My goal is not to copy an existing strategy, but to understand how indicators can be used to read market direction, filter poor conditions and, over time, build a consistent analytical framework. For now, I’m only doing paper trading, as I want to focus on understanding the logic rather than on results.
I also have a lot of questions regarding timeframes. Which timeframe is actually the most relevant for defining a bias on higher timeframes? H4, H1, Daily? And for confirmations or entries, which lower timeframes tend to make the most sense? Are there HTF/LTF combinations that are generally more coherent, or is it mainly a matter of trading style and experience?
Given everything that exists in the trading space today, with unrealistic promises and a high number of scams, I prefer to build my understanding step by step and know exactly what I’m doing. At the same time, I’m aware that learning in isolation can quickly become inefficient, which is why I’m asking for input here.
One additional question I have is whether it would make sense, from a learning perspective, to try building a simple system that combines several of these indicators into a single framework, purely as an analytical tool. The idea would not be to automate decisions, but to structure the analysis and better understand how different indicators interact across timeframes.
If this approach is reasonable, I would also be interested in knowing which language or environment would be the most appropriate for this kind of learning project. I don’t have a strong development background, and coding directly in MQL5 / C++ feels quite complex at this stage. I’m mainly looking for something that supports experimentation and understanding rather than execution or performance.
If some of you have experience with multi-timeframe analysis, indicator usage, or indicator parameterization, I would really appreciate your insights.
Thank you in advance to those who take the time to reply.