AIQ: FISHER TRANSFORM STOCHASTIC OSCILLATOR

The AIQ code for Sylvain Vervoort’s put/call ratio indicator — named the IFTStoch indicator — and the related system from his article in the November issue of Stocks & Commodities, “Applying The Put/Call Ratio Indicator,” is provided at the website noted at the end of this writeup.

The code has been modified from the author’s formulas, which used weighted averaging. That type of averaging is not offered in AIQ as a built-in function and had to be coded long style; the result was very inefficient code that ran too slowly to be of any use. So I modified the formulas by substituting exponential averaging for the weighted averaging. The code now runs fast enough to be useful, and the indicators can be plotted without hanging up the processor.
I believe that the modified code can produce similar results. Although the values are not the same as the author’s values when using the same parameters, the resulting shapes of the indicators are similar.
On my website, I have a “PCratio.dta” data file that can be downloaded and saved into the “C:wintes32tdata” folder. Once the file is saved, go to the Data Manager module and run the utility “Rebuild Master Ticker List” to complete the data file installation process.
Using the system from Vervoort’s article called the SVE_Stoch_IFT, I ran a test on the NASDAQ 100 list of stocks using the Portfolio Manager module. The following capitalization settings were used:
  • Maximum of 10 open positions
  • Size each position at 10% of mark-to-market total capital
  • Take no more than three new positions per day
  • Compute the mark-to-market capital each day
  • Choose signals based on the IFTStoch indicator for ranking in descending order for longs.
In Figure 6, I show the equity curve for long-only trading on the NASDAQ 100 list of stocks. The return averaged 19% per year with a maximum drawdown of 50% on March 9, 2009.
Image 1
The short side, when tested separately from the longs, lost 91% of the initial capital by January 7, 2004, and then ceased to trade due to limited capital. The results of the short-side test are not shown.
I did not attempt to filter the trades using the put/call ratio indicators, since the author did not supply specific code for this purpose.
The code and EDS file can be downloaded from www.TradersEdgeSystems.com/traderstips.htm.
—Richard Denning
info@TradersEdgeSystems.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
for AIQ Systems

Tech bulletin – 10/27/2011

Windows OS automatic update causing corrupted registration

An update from Microsoft may casue your Trading Expert Pro to receive a ‘corrupted registration’ message. To resolve this issue follow these instructions

– Click on Start, Run (or start and in the search box of) and Type Regedit.

– Double click Regedit to start the Registry Editor.

– Double click H-Key Local Machine.

– Double click Software.

– Double click WoWxxxNode.

– Double click AIQ Systems.

– Double click TradingExpert 32.

– Highlight Registration and then press the Delete key on your keyboard.

Close the Windows Registry, open the TradingExpert main menu. The icons should auto-refresh.

If you are not a myTrack customer, give Barbara a call at 800-332-2999 to get a new key, or click on Applications, Registration and email us the Registration number.

THE JK HILO INDEX

By Jay Kaeppel

No single indicator will accurately forecast or coincide with every market top or bottom. Here, two indicators have been combined to form one indicator that can increase your chances of identifying buy or sell points.

As a student of the market, I have crunched a few numbers over the years. At the same time I have tried, and cautioned others also, to avoid the temptation to divide one number by another or multiply one number by another simply because we can.

Not every calculation involving market indicators enjoys any real purpose. In addition, many indicators react in a manner similar to other indicators. Almost all overbought/oversold indicators tend to get more oversold as the market declines and more overbought as the market rallies. So stringing together more than a handful of similar indicators does not necessarily provide any additional benefit.

The AIQ EDS code for Jay Kaeppel’s Jkhl indicator discussed in his article in this issue, “The JK HiLo Index,” can be downloaded from www.TradersEdgeSystems.com/traderstips.htm.

Image 1
AIQ SYSTEMS, THE JK HILO INDEX. This chart shows the JKHL indicator on a chart of the S&P 500 index together with a 200-bar moving average.

! THE JK HILO INDEX
! Author: Jay Kaeppel, TASC October 2011
! Coded by: Richard Denning 8/12/2011
! www.TradersEdgeSystems.com

! HIGH-LOW INDICATORS:
! JKlogic:
NewH is TickerUDF(“OCEXCH”,[New Highs]).
NewL is TickerUDF(“OCEXCH”,[New Lows]).
Adv is TickerUDF(“OCEXCH”,[Adv Issues]).
Dec is TickerUDF(“OCEXCH”,[Dec Issues]).
Unch is TickerUDF(“OCEXCH”,[Unch Issues]).
Tot is Adv + Dec + Unch.
PctNH is (NewH / Tot) * 100.
PctNL is (NewL / Tot) * 100.
HLidx is min(PctNH,PctNL).
avgHLidx is simpleavg(HLidx,10).

! JK VERSION OF HIGH LOW LOGIC INDICATOR:
JKlogic is iff(avgHLidx > 2.15 or avgHLidx < 0.40,avgHLidx,1). ! JK NEW HIGH PERCENT:
JKnH is simpleavg(NewH / (NewH + NewL),10).

! COMBINED TWO JK INDICATORS:
!Plot as single line with upper 90 lower 20 support
JKHL is JKlogic * JKnH * 100. 

—Richard Denning
info@TradersEdgeSystems.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
for AIQ Systems

THE JK HILO INDEX

By Jay Kaeppel

No single indicator will accurately forecast or coincide with every market top or bottom. Here, two indicators have been combined to form one indicator that can increase your chances of identifying buy or sell points.

As a student of the market, I have crunched a few numbers over the years. At the same time I have tried, and cautioned others also, to avoid the temptation to divide one number by another or multiply one number by another simply because we can.

Not every calculation involving market indicators enjoys any real purpose. In addition, many indicators react in a manner similar to other indicators. Almost all overbought/oversold indicators tend to get more oversold as the market declines and more overbought as the market rallies. So stringing together more than a handful of similar indicators does not necessarily provide any additional benefit.

The AIQ EDS code for Jay Kaeppel’s Jkhl indicator discussed in his article in this issue, “The JK HiLo Index,” can be downloaded from www.TradersEdgeSystems.com/traderstips.htm.

Image 1
AIQ SYSTEMS, THE JK HILO INDEX. This chart shows the JKHL indicator on a chart of the S&P 500 index together with a 200-bar moving average.

! THE JK HILO INDEX
! Author: Jay Kaeppel, TASC October 2011
! Coded by: Richard Denning 8/12/2011
! www.TradersEdgeSystems.com

! HIGH-LOW INDICATORS:
! JKlogic:
NewH is TickerUDF(“OCEXCH”,[New Highs]).
NewL is TickerUDF(“OCEXCH”,[New Lows]).
Adv is TickerUDF(“OCEXCH”,[Adv Issues]).
Dec is TickerUDF(“OCEXCH”,[Dec Issues]).
Unch is TickerUDF(“OCEXCH”,[Unch Issues]).
Tot is Adv + Dec + Unch.
PctNH is (NewH / Tot) * 100.
PctNL is (NewL / Tot) * 100.
HLidx is min(PctNH,PctNL).
avgHLidx is simpleavg(HLidx,10).

! JK VERSION OF HIGH LOW LOGIC INDICATOR:
JKlogic is iff(avgHLidx > 2.15 or avgHLidx < 0.40,avgHLidx,1).

! JK NEW HIGH PERCENT:
JKnH is simpleavg(NewH / (NewH + NewL),10).

! COMBINED TWO JK INDICATORS:
!Plot as single line with upper 90 lower 20 support
JKHL is JKlogic * JKnH * 100. 

—Richard Denning
info@TradersEdgeSystems.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
for AIQ Systems

Time Tested Trading Tips… September 12.

Steve Palmquist.

Author of ‘The Timely Trades Letter’. ‘How to Take Money from the Markets’, and Money-Making Candlestick Patterns.


Serious traders will go through a learning curve as they study market behavior and how their trading systems function. They will have times when they run into situations that have not been experienced or researched and they may be unsure of what to do. This is normal, it is the price of admission to the trading business. My general rule is that when I am unsure I close the position. It is hard to go broke taking profits so my focus is on needing a clear reason to stay in a position, not wondering whether or not I should get out. If there is no clear reason to hold I take profits and move on to another trade.

When trading I am not holding out for the perfect trade, there is no such thing. Trading is about managing risks and I use the current market conditions to determine how many trades to be taking and the appropriate position sizing to use. Setups with more room to run are prioritized above ones with little room to run. Setups triggering on stronger volume compared to the previous days volume are prioritized above ones with lower trigger day volume. Setups with shallower pullbacks are prioritized above ones with deeper pullbacks. I then look at the setups that are triggering and start from the top of the prioritized list and work down until I run out of setups or fill the number of positions I am interested in.


The successful trader has a tool box with a variety of trading tools for use in different market conditions. The trader, like the carpenter, must go beyond just acquiring the tools. Traders must understand which tool to use for a specific task, and have a clear understanding of how the tool works, and what can and cannot be done with it. I have extensively tested several trading systems, the results of this testing on specific trading trading tools are outlined in ‘How to Take Money from the Markets’, and Money-Making Candlestick Patterns. The testing process helps us understand how stocks usually behave after forming a specific pattern such as being outside the Bollinger Bands, showing strong distribution or accumulation, or pulling back or retracing during a trend. Understanding what a stock is most likely to do forms the beginning of a trading strategy. Trading without this information is taking unknown risks.

Time Tested Trading TIps, August 29…

Steve Palmquist.

Author of ‘The Timely Trades Letter’. ‘How to Take Money from the Markets’, and Money-Making Candlestick Patterns.

At a recent trading conference several traders were talking about exit strategies at lunch and one noted that he ‘liked to hold positions for about a week’. When asked why, he had no reason for the decision; it just ‘felt right’ to him. Trading on tips, emotions, or what ‘just feels right’ is unlikely to produce good long term results. Trading should be based on the careful analysis and testing of each trading system that a trader uses. Testing does not eliminate risk or guarantee results, but it can help to give a good idea of how a system has actually performed.

In trading range market environments I generally exit a position if the stock approaches the upper Bollinger Band or a horizontal resistance point. I do not want to hold out for the last dime, I want to be taking profits as the stock approaches resistance. In a trading range market it is generally better to get out too early than too late. It is tough to go broke taking profits. By definition the market usually retraces at resistance. If the market usually retraces from resistance then I want to be out of the position before it does and use the funds for another trade that is just triggering and starting its run.

Eventually almost all resistance areas are broken, but if the stock usually retraces at resistance then I want to go with the odds and be positioned to profit if the stock does the normal thing and retraces. If it does retrace I have my profits and can use them in a new trade. If the stock breaks above resistance I still have my profits and can still take another trade. From a risk management standpoint I am better off to have taken the profits. I am always trying to position myself to profit if the market and my positions do the normal thing. When something unusual happens I may loose a few bucks, but by definition unusual things do not happen often. One of the keys to trading is learning what usually happens in a given situation and then being positioned to profit if it does.

The successful trader has a tool box with a variety of trading tools for use in different market conditions. The trader, like the carpenter, must go beyond just acquiring the tools. Traders must understand which tool to use for a specific task, and have a clear understanding of how the tool works, and what can and cannot be done with it. I have extensively tested several trading systems, the results of this testing on specific trading trading tools are outlined in ‘How to Take Money from the Markets’, and Money-Making Candlestick Patterns. The testing process helps us understand how stocks usually behave after forming a specific pattern such as being outside the Bollinger Bands, showing strong distribution or accumulation, or pulling back or retracing during a trend. Understanding what a stock is most likely to do forms the beginning of a trading strategy. Trading without this information is taking unknown risks.

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