Your Building Blocks for Algo Trading

Spectral Alpha comes pre-loaded with a powerful collection of indicators. These are not your average indicators; they've been carefully curated and developed based on their predictive ability and potential to capture diverse market behaviors. Think of them as your building blocks for crafting effective trading algorithms.

Types

We've categorized our indicators into five main types:

1. Smoothing: These indicators, such as moving averages and low-pass filters, help you identify trends and filter out noise from the market data. They smooth out the price action, making it easier to spot underlying patterns.
2. Oscillator: Oscillators encompass a wide range of market behaviors. Their output is generally bounded within a specific range and isn't directly tied to market prices. They can help identify overbought and oversold conditions, momentum shifts, and potential turning points. Examples include the Relative Strength Index (RSI), Stochastic Oscillator, and Band Pass Filter.
3. Regime: These indicators help you detect and measure different market regimes, such as trending vs. sideways markets, high vs. low volatility periods, or bull vs. bear markets. Examples include the Fractal Dimension Index, Mean Reversion Index.
4. Transforms: Transforms modify the output of other indicators to improve the signals they generate. This can involve techniques like Fisher transforms, z-scores, cubing, and automatic gain control. These transformations can enhance the sensitivity or responsiveness of your indicators.
5. Triggers: These are utility indicators that help highlight crossovers or specific trigger levels for generating trading signals. They can be used to identify points where a moving average crosses a price level, or when an oscillator reaches an extreme value.

Controls

Two main buttons help you manage your indicators:

1. Load: This button calculates the indicator and displays it on the chart.
2. Hide/Show: This adds the indicator to your algorithm but prevents it from being plotted on the chart. This is useful for utility indicators like the Average True Range (ATR), which might be used in stop-loss calculations but don't need to be visually displayed.

Settings

Before loading an indicator, you can customize its settings and appearance:

Input

• Data Source: Currently, you can select market data as the input source. In the future, you'll be able to use other datasets in your algorithm, such as equity curves and drawdown statistics.
• Improving Indicator Behavior:
  • Custom Bar Inputs: Using custom bars instead of standard close-to-close data can significantly improve indicator behavior by reducing noise and minimizing the impact of data discrepancies or outliers.
• Market Data Series:
  • Open, High, Low, Close: Standard bar data.
  • OHLC4: The average of the open, high, low, and close prices.
  • HLCC4: A close-biased average: (High + Low + Close x 2) / 4
  • HLC3: The average of the high, low, and close prices.
  • HL2: The average of the high and low prices.

Parameters

• Label: Give your indicator a unique label to distinguish it from others of the same type.
• Indicator-Specific Parameters: Each indicator has its own set of parameters that you can adjust. This might include the window length for a moving average, the period for an oscillator, or the threshold for a trigger.

Style

Customize the visual appearance of your indicator:

• Color: Choose the color of the indicator line.
• Line Width: Adjust the thickness of the line.
• Line Type: Select from various line types (solid, dashed, dotted).

Levels

Add horizontal lines to your indicator outputs. These can be used for:

• Visualizing Trigger Points: Mark key levels where you might want to enter or exit a trade.
• Setting Filters: Define zones of support or resistance, or identify overbought/oversold conditions.

You can also customize the line style and add labels to the price axis for easier reference.

Markers

Add rule-based markers to your indicator series. These markers provide visual cues that highlight important events or conditions.

These markers offer a flexible way to highlight specific points on your chart based on predefined rules. You can use them to:

• Mark Signal Occurrences: Highlight points where your indicator crosses a certain level or generates a trading signal.
• Identify Key Events: Mark significant price movements or volatility spikes.
• Visualize Backtest Results: Mark entry and exit points, stop-loss orders, and take-profit orders.

You can customize the appearance of your markers, including their shape, color, and size. You can also add labels to provide additional context.