30 Day Volume Average ??

[Chorlton]

Hi All,

Can anyone help me?

I want to add a simple 30day average indicator to my Metastock chart which contains volume, so that I can work out very quickly whether a certain days trading volume is either above or below average.

As I am very new to Metastock, any help would be gratefully received.................

Regards,

CCH

 

[TheBramble]

mov(v,30,s) if you want to include the last bar.

ref(mov(v,30,s),-1) if you dont.

 

[Chorlton]

My God !!! Didn't expect a reply so quick !!!!!!! Cheers

Can I be cheeky and ask one further question. Where do I type this code in???

 

[Chorlton]

Its OK Bramble .................... found out what to do

My HELP on Metastock isn't working properly so I have to do try and error by clicking different buttons !!!!

Thanks anyway though..............


BTW Can you help me with my other question I posted yesterday about Metastock Stock names & Epic codes ??


CCH

 

[TheBramble]

Tools / Indicator Bulider (Ctrl+B)

New

Name (anything that gives you a fighting chance of remembering what this indicator is about in 6 months time - "30day Vol SMA" might be useful)

Hit the OK button

Your newly created indicator will be the default one showing in the menu bar.

Click and drag the function symbol by the indicator name down onto your volume window.

 

[TheBramble]

BTW Can you help me with my other question I posted yesterday about Metastock Stock names & Epic codes ??

I doubt it. But I'll have a look and respond there if I can help.

 

[Chorlton]

Hi Bramble,


I've just tried this custom indicator but I don't think its really what I'm after.

What I'm trying to achieve is if the majority of the individual volumes are at a certain level with only a few either high or low exceptions, then the indicator line should roughly follow the average volume level.

With the moving average mov(v,30,s) , I end up with a line which seems to be positioned too high compared to the majority of the individual trading volumes.


Can you recommend any other better indicator for what I trying to accomplish? Apologies, if I am asking a very basic question................

Thanks,

CCH

 

[TheBramble]

Erm..a 30 day SMA on Vol (or on anything for that matter) will exhibit the characteristics of the data on which it is based.

"Too High - Too Low"? It is what it is - grasshopper.

It doesn't 'roughly follow the MA' - it IS the MA!!!

What you have with this indicator is exactly what you asked for and thought you were looking for. If the trace surprises you - what does that tell you about what you were planning on using it for or what you thought it meant?

If your line is 'too high' try cycling the stocks to get a 'feel' for how it calculates. I suspect the one stock you are basing your comments on may have one or two rather big days and they're displacing the MA in relation to much lower volume days.

If you want something a little more 'reactive' - try reducing the period to 10 or even 5 days. It gets bumpier, but might be more in line with what you want.

Try playing with the type of MA, Exponential, Weighted, Trig...

I don't use MetaStock any more and not too many indicators either, but I hope this helps.

 

[Chorlton]

Once again Thanks..........

I have already done the ideas which you suggested such as cycling through a few stocks to get a feel for how it calculates. Its clear now that maybe this isnt what I'm really after.

The majority of the volumes are around a certain level with the exception of a few being higher. Consequently, I'm looking for some form of indicator that would follow the majority of the volumes (almost like a best-fit line I guess) so that when there is either a reduced or increased trading day the volume bar will move either above or below that indicator line.

The problem with the MA is that as soon as you have a v.large volume day, the indicator line is then positioned at a much higher level, which makes it difficult to see any futher high or low volume days, rather than ideally falling back down to the normal average volume.

Not sure whether I'm making much sense but thanks for your input nonetheless.

Thinking about it, I could use a MA as long as I could remove these v.high and v.low days to give me a more balanced line. I have tried changing the period from 30 days right up to 300 days but as it still takes into account these odd highs & lows, the resulting line doesn't improve.

Is there any easy way to filter out these volume spikes so that I can create a more smoother line????

As always, many thanks.........

CCH

 

[TheBramble]

Is there any easy way to filter out these volume spikes so that I can create a more smoother line????

Yes. Use a completely 'home grown' indicator which wouldn't then be an MA

OR

Increase your period to 100 or 200 - that'll straighten it for you...

However, my telling you 'this isn't going to help', isn't going to help....

 

[SOCRATES]

You have to do it in your head, it is the best way.

 

[TheBramble]

You have to do it in your head, it is the best way.

I agree.

But we don't know how much experience Chorlton has or why he wants to do this. Maybe for a mechanised automated trading system; maybe for back-testing or; maybe even for scanning.

Plus I for one, am not sure that going through the indicator phase isn't the way to go to get to realising this or being able to do it more easily visually.

And there may be reasons why some prefer inds to no inds. Would make a good thread....

 

[SOCRATES]

Sssh ! Don't let cats out of bags. It will only attract unwanted attention.

 

[Chorlton]

Bramble,

I've decided to use a median line to indicate whether a certain days volume is up or down compared to the mean volume

Consequently, do you know how I could add up all the volumes over the last x days as I intend to add up all the volumes and then divide by the same number of days to achieve a line, with which I can base future volumes


Thanks,


CCH

 

[TheBramble]

Consequently, do you know how I could add up all the volumes over the last x days as I intend to add up all the volumes and then divide by the same number of days to achieve a line, with which I can base future volumes

That's exactly how the SMA does it!

 

[Chorlton]

Hi Bramble,

Apologies for my idiot postings. I know what I'm trying to achieve but beginning to realise that its not that straightforward.

How do I post an image on here??

What I'd like to do is post a chart and explain what I'm trying to do and why I think a MA is not right for the job.


Kind Regards,

CCH

 

[Chorlton]

Calculating Mean Volume Level

Hi Bramble,

I've mananged to upload a chart to show you what I'm trying to achieve.

The red line above the volume is a 30day SMA based on Volume. The problem is this line is so much higher than the majority of the volumes & consequently not really what I'm after. I have tried changing the periods from between 30 day to 120 day but the line is still not suitable for my needs.

What i'm looking for instead is a line similar to the one I've drawn in yellow (I only placed the line on roughly but hopefully it gives you the idea) which is almost like a median line which would allow me very quickly to visualise whether a certain days trading volume is on average higher or lower than say the mean average over x number of days.

The problem I have is that I have lost my metastock manual and am relying on the help button to try to write my own indicators.

Thanks for your help to date and any further help you can offer would be gratefully received.

CCH

 

[TheBramble]

OK. A few suggestions.

Contact Equis with your registration details and ask them to send another manual (or use the on-line version, or download the e-version).

The 'median' you are looking for is actually a 'mode' (the median is the central value of a sorted series - the mode is the value that most commonly/frequently occurs in a given sequence).

You could create this indicator yourself, but it would be fairly instrument specific. Without knowing what you are intending to use this indicator for I really can't think of how to help further.

As mentioned above, a visual guide is your easiest and quickest approach, but wont be suited to a high number of instruments or to automated systems.

 

[Chorlton]

Thanks for the help you've offered so far Bramble................