Market Insights

The S&P 500 fell 1.4 percent yesterday, but in some ways the move was much bigger than that.

The chart below includes two custom indicators highlighting the size of a symbol’s move. Both show that Thursday’s drop was the most dramatic in over a year. (They’re included in this zip file.)

The higher study plots the size of a single day’s move in points. It simply calculates the difference between the high and the low. A single line of EasyLanguage code plots this range:

• plot1(high-low);

The study, called “hi low range,” shows that the S&P 500 swung 156 points, the biggest move since October 13, 2022.

Percentage Range

Traders seeking the change in percent can use the second indicator, which also has just one line of code:

• plot1((high/low ) – 1 );

This study, called “hi low rng pct,” shows a range of 2.9 percent between the high and low. It was the biggest swing in percentage terms since November 30, 2022.

Outside Day

Thursday’s drop might not have seemed so big, based on simple percentage change. After all, the index suffered bigger drops on July 17 and July 24. What made it stand out?

The difference is that prices rallied early and then failed. (They rose almost 0.8 percent in the first 15 minutes of trading.) Next, as sellers took control, the index crossed below its low the previous session. The resulting “bearish outside day” is a potential reversal pattern.

Customers looking to create similar indicators can follow these steps:

• Open the EasyLanguage tool. From TradeStation’s desktop platform, click the Apps menu and select EasyLanguage.
• Click File and then “New Indicator.”
• Enter details on the following dialog box.
• Write code in the editor that opens.

Once completed, users can press F3 to verify the study. It can be added to charts using the Studies menu.

You can also visit our Learn section for more information and training on EasyLanguage.