MT4 indicators are mathematical calculations based on prices and other variables of the market. They are used to measure current conditions as well as forecast potential price movement and market direction. 

The MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform is preloaded with a variety of technical indicators ready for immediate use. Below you will find a list of the indicators available.

Accelerator/Decelerator Oscillator — AC

Acceleration/Deceleration is an oscillating indicator used to measures acceleration and deceleration of the current momentum. This indicator will change direction before any changes in the overall momentum.  In turn,  the AC will change its direction before the price. If you realize that Acceleration/Deceleration is a signal of an earlier warning, it gives you evident advantages.

Accumulation/Distribution — A/D

When the Accumulation/Distribution indicator grows, it means accumulation (buying) of a particular security, as the overwhelming share of the sales volume is related to an upward trend of prices. When the indicator drops, it means distribution (selling) of the security, as most of sales take place during the downward price movement. It is used to measure the amount of buying and selling pressure by weighting it with the relative location of price.

Alligator

Alligator Technical Indicator is a combination of Moving Averages that use fractal geometry and nonlinear dynamics. The blue line represents the Alligator’s Jaw. It is based on a 13-period Smoothed Moving Average, moved 8 bars into the future. The red line represents the Alligator’s Teeth. It is based on an 8-period Smoothed Moving Average, moved 5 bars into the future. The green line represents the Alligator’s Lips. It is based 5-period Smoothed Moving Average, moved 3 bars into the future. Lips, Teeth and Jaw of the Alligator show the interaction of different time periods. As the 3 lines move, clear trends develop. The Alligator indicator indicates when to follow the trend and when to refrain from entering the market over certain periods.

Average Directional Movement Index — ADX

A trend indicator used to determine the strength of a prevailing trend.

Average True Range — ATR

This volatility indicator dynamically measures the typical range between price high/low/close over a set period.

Awesome Oscillator — AO

This blended momentum and trend indicator is a 34-period simple moving average subtracted from a 5-period simple moving average and plotted through the middle points of the bars. It shows direction of the market’s momentum at the present moment.

Bollinger Bands — BB

A volatility indicator used to visually judge the relationship between price and volatility changes. When the markets become more volatile, the bands widen and they contract during less volatile periods.

Commodity Channel Index — CCI

An oscillating indicator used to measure the deviation of the commodity price from its average statistical price. Good for catching tops and bottoms.

DeMarker — DeM

An indicator used to compare the most recent price action to the previous period's price in an attempt to measure market demand. It is generally used to identify price exhaustion and can also be used to identify market tops and bottoms.

Elder-rays – Bulls & Bears

Blended trend following and oscillating indicators used to reflect the current buying pressure versus the current selling pressure.

Envelopes

This volatility indicator is formed with two moving averages, one shifted higher above the other creating a band which defines the upper and the lower boundaries of the price range. The trading assumption is to sell when price reaches the upper boundary of the band and to buy when price reaches the lower boundary.

Force Index — FRC

This index measures the buying pressure at each price increase, and the sell pressure at each price decrease. The force of each market movement is characterized by its direction, scale and volume. If the closing price of the current bar is higher than the preceding bar, the force is positive. If the current closing price if lower than the preceding one, the force is negative.

Fractals

The Fractal indicator is used to indicate tops and bottoms of the market based solely on the succession of price action. A buy fractal is a series of at least 5 successive bars, with the highest HIGH in the middle, and two lower HIGHs on both sides. The reversing set is a series of at least 5 successive bars, with the lowest LOW in the middle, and two higher LOWs on both sides, which correlates to the sell fractal. The fractals have High and Low values and are indicated with the up and down arrows.

Ichimoku Kinko Hyo

Used to indicate market trend, this indicator is predefined to characterize the market trend with Support and Resistance Levels and to generate buying and selling signals. If the Tenkan-sen line increases or decreases, the trend exists. When it goes horizontally, it means that the market is in a range or channel. This indicator works best on daily and weekly charts.

Moving Average Convergence/Divergence — MACD

A momentum and strength indicator that shows changes in the relative movements of shorter and longer moving averages. Good for identifying changes in momentum.

Market Facilitation Index — BW MFI

This indicator shows the change of price for one tick which equates to a market increase or decrease. Multiple ticks are used in conjunction to determine market conditions.

Momentum

A simple indicator which compares later prices to earlier prices to gauge strength and momentum.

Money Flow Index — MFI

Similar to OBV, but enhanced by the addition of momentum characteristics based on relative location of price. Can be used as both a primary and confirming indicator.

Moving Average — MA

Moving averages are one of the oldest and most popular technical analysis tools. A moving average is the average price over a given period. As the price changes, its moving average either increases or decreases indicating market direction. When the instrument price rises above its moving average, a buy signal appears.  If the price falls below its moving average, there is a sell signal. The advantage of trading a moving average is it typically places a trader on the "right" side of the market because prices do not rise much without the price rising above its average price. The disadvantage of using a moving averages is it lags which can cause a trader to buy or sell late. MetaTrader 4.0 provides four moving averages: Simple (SMA), Exponential (EMA), Smoothed (SMMA), and Linear Weighted (LWMA).

Moving Average of Oscillator — OsMA

Moving Average of Oscillator is the difference between the oscillator and oscillator smoothing. In this case, Moving Average Convergence/Divergence base-line is used as the oscillator, and the signal line is used as the smoothing.

On Balance Volume — OBV

This volume indicator adds and subtracts volume to a running total, depending on whether price moves up or down. A good confirming indicator.

Parabolic SAR

A technical analysis strategy that uses a trailing stop and reverse method called "SAR," or Stop-And-Reverse, to determine good exit and entry points.

Relative Strength Index — RSI

This momentum indicator used to measure price relative to past prices. The indicator is front-weighted for sensitivity, but filters out noise well.

Relative Vigor Index — RVI

A responsive oscillator in which movement is normalized to the trading range of each bar. The RVI is based on price movement. Prices tend to close higher than they open in up markets and close lower than they open in down markets. The vigor, or energy, of the price movement is thus established by where the prices end up at the close. To normalize the index to the daily trading range, divide the change of price by the maximum range of prices for the day.

Stochastic Oscillator

A highly sensitive indicator used to catch tops and bottoms early.

Williams’ Percent Range — %R

This oscillator measures the relative location of closing price in relation to the high-low range over a set time period. It is used to determine market entry and exit points.