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2019issue C066

Stochastic scan thresholds, averages, and formula syntax

The published scan pair used a 12-period stochastic oscillator with a 1-period internal setting, compared that reading with a 3-period simple average of the same oscillator, and kept 78 as the shared threshold on both the long-candidate and short-candidate sides. Editorial interpretation: lookback, threshold, short average, and punctuation are separate knobs, and reversing long versus short does not automatically imply a complementary 22 level.

  • The published pair used a 12-period stochastic oscillator with a 1-period internal setting and compared that reading with a 3-period simple average of the same oscillator.
  • Both the long-candidate and short-candidate formulas used 78 as the shared scan threshold rather than pairing 78 with a complementary 22.
  • A reader asked whether a long screen should use 22 while keeping 78 on the short side; the reply treated the published pairing as an earlier decrease indication and described another decrease screen that required the oscillator to sit below 78 and below its 3-period average.
  • A later correction kept the same long and short logic and changed only comma punctuation in the oscillator token to period punctuation so the expressions would parse.
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Current trackStochastic oscillator170 readingsMoving average449 readings

A published scan pair and its parameter knobs

The published scan pair used a 12-period stochastic oscillator with a 1-period internal setting and compared that reading with a 3-period simple average of the same oscillator. The stochastic oscillator is a bounded oscillator built from that defined price lookback. The moving average is a simple average of recent oscillator values and is used here as a local baseline with a 3-period lookback.

Editorial interpretation: treat a stock-scan formula as a parameter contract. The oscillator lookback, the fixed threshold, the short average of the oscillator, and the punctuation that encodes those tokens are separate knobs.

One shared threshold on both sides

Both the long-candidate and short-candidate formulas used 78 as the shared oscillator threshold rather than pairing 78 with a complementary 22. A scan threshold is a fixed oscillator level that splits names into above-threshold and below-threshold branches of a boolean screen.

In this archive note, the long-candidate scan flags names when the oscillator is already above the chosen threshold, or is below it but above its short average. The short-candidate scan flags names when the oscillator is already below the chosen threshold, or is above it but below its short average.

Other decrease screens and a repurchase wait

A reader treated 78 as an overbought reading and asked whether a long screen should instead use a 22 oversold level while keeping 78 on the short side. A reply stated that more than one formula can flag declining names and described the published pairing as the earlier decrease indication among the options discussed.

An alternative decrease screen required the oscillator to sit below 78 and simultaneously below its 3-period average. If a 22-threshold deep-decline formula is used, the reply said to wait until the oscillator is back above its 3-period average before treating the name as a repurchase candidate.

Punctuation that makes the same logic parse

A later correction kept the same long and short logic but replaced comma punctuation in the oscillator token with period punctuation so the expressions would parse. Formula syntax is the punctuation and function spelling that make a parameter set parse on a given scan platform. It is distinct from the numeric choices themselves.

Educational research material, not investment advice. Historical source context does not establish present-day performance.
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All readings on this track · 42 readings
  1. 1987Stochastic fast and slow construction as a rebuildable stack
  2. 1989Building the stochastic oscillator from close location
  3. 1990Monthly stochastics as a multi-year bond regime filter
  4. 1990Walk-forward screen for yen indicator rules
  5. 1990Slow stochastic construction for index pullback entries
  6. 1991Random Walk Index construction with an adaptive lookback
  7. 1991Building a two-stage stochastic oscillator from close location
  8. 1992Constructing fast and slow stochastic oscillator lines
  9. 1992Constructing nested stochastic lookbacks
  10. 1994Construct the four-state price-volume rank before filtering it
  11. 1996Crowded stochastics, false breakouts, and hidden stops
  12. 1997Fade and follow entries from stochastic extremes
  13. 1998Oversold confirmation as a staged rule-based-entry case
  14. 1999Constructing regular and slow stochastic oscillators
  15. 2001Construct a variable-interval simple moving average from stacked extremes
  16. 2001Threshold RSI and stochastic setups with next-bar stops
  17. 2001Two tests of a rate-adjusted earnings-yield gap
  18. 2002Constructing a two-line stochastic from a range-normalized close
  19. 2002Inspect mechanical stochastic daytrade rules on one bar
  20. 2003Constructing an adaptive stochastic RSI
  21. 2003Four parameters that construct a stochastic oscillator
  22. 2004Volume breakout as signal, pullback as entry
  23. 2004A first currency-market checklist with two averages and a slow stochastic
  24. 2005Shared-scale cycle indexes with companion oscillators
  25. 2005Current-bar versus prior-bar range construction for the stochastic oscillator
  26. 2005Two-session moving-average pullback short
  27. 2006Market condition as a permission layer for moving averages and oscillators
  28. 2008Lock the stop at support before sizing a stochastic entry
  29. 2010Construct a center-line volume oscillator and read it with a stochastic oscillator
  30. 2010Sharpened RSI turns with rainbow averages and a slow stochastic
  31. 2011Build a Spearman rank oscillator from ordered closes
  32. 2012Gold as a regime-dependent hedge in the euro-area crisis
  33. 2012Pairing moving averages with variable-length stochastics
  34. 2014Two-leg stochastic stress oscillator as a rebuild drill
  35. 2014Ingress dates as price bases for relative strength, stochastics, and moving averages
  36. 2017Constructing a dual EMA stochastic from range normalization
  37. 2018Constructing a two-stage stochastic RSI for comparable price-oscillator divergences
  38. 2018Combining a weekly stochastic, a long moving average, and two-day resistance
  39. 2018Weekly and daily stochastic readings with a long moving average and support
  40. 2018A confirming workflow for rotating from discretionary to staples
  41. 2019Stochastic scan thresholds, averages, and formula syntax
  42. 2020Constructing Slow %K as a two-stage helper
By fieldIndicators and filters682 readingsBy year201975 readings
All 170 readings tagged Stochastic oscillator
Also on Stochastic oscillator5 readings
1987Stochastic fast and slow construction as a rebuildable stack1990Walk-forward screen for yen indicator rules1994Read one advance-decline pair through three windows1994Construct the four-state price-volume rank before filtering it1996Constructing Bollinger bands, percent-b, and stochastics