Parabolic SAR with the ADX overlay

17 Jun 2022

The following indicator and chart pattern is based on a twist from Welles Wilder's parabolic stop and reverse. This is a trend following system which is essentially a dynamic trailing stop loss for longs and shorts. The system is often criticized for it's poor performance in choppy rangebound markets so people often combine it with other signals that attempt to identify a "trend" the ADX is a popular indicator with three indicators, the DI+ "Positive Directional Indicator" the DI- "Negative Directional Indicator" and then a combination of the two, the ADX "Average Directional Indicator". Generally speaking, if the DI+ is above the DI- and the ADX is greater than 25 then we are in a positive trending market. If the DI+ is less than the DI- and the ADX is greater than 25 then we are in a negative trending market. If the ADX is less than 25 then there is no trend in place and we are in a range bound "choppy market".

So, I created this chart to show when the ADX is > 25 (or you can enter your own number) and the DI+ is > DI- then the background will be green. Vice versa, when the ADX is >25 and the DI+ is < DI- then we are in a negative trending market and the background color will be red. If the ADX is < 25 (or whatever you choose) then we are in a choppy 'range-bound" market.

Regarding the ParSAR. Pay attention to the "+" marks. they indicate whether we are bullish or bearish. When we cross through a + then we revert to the opposite. "Stop And Reverse". They are a simple calculation of a starting percentage, an incremental increase in that percentage, and a max percentage increase. If you want your system to trade less, decrease the "maximum" If you want it to trade more, increase the maximum.

Tinker around with these and you might find a healthy strategy you can trade on.

If you add Take Profit Targets and Stop Loss Targets, this is an even more productive strategy. Try it out on ETHUSDT with a 2hr time horizon and 0.02, 0.023, 0.2.