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Point and figure chart

The "Point & figure" chart type is only available in the "Chart Analysis" widget.

In contrast to the line and bar charts, the "Point & figure" chart type shows larger trends and is more suitable for medium to long-term analysis. Strictly speaking, the point & figure chart should be seen as an indicator. The major difference between point & figure and line or bar charts is that line charts are continued on every day where realised prices are established. The point & figure chart is only continued if the price was large enough.

The point & figure chart is a combination of X and O columns, the so-called boxes. The X indicates increasing prices (upwards trend), the O falling prices (downwards trend).

Special configuration options for this chart type are available in the settings menu:

ElementDescription
Box size

Enter the corresponding box size.

The default setting for the box size is "1".

The box size defines the rate range for a box, that is, a price must change by this value for a new box to be plotted. Minor changes are "ignored".

Example:

Box size 5: The price must rise (fall) 5 points above (or below) the price of the last box for the next "X" (or "O") to appear.

Box scaling type

Select the required order Box scaling here. The following types are available:

  • Automatic (Default)
  • Custom
  • Percentage
  • Traditional
  • ATR

Details to the "Traditional" type

This method uses a predefined table with price ranges to define the box sizes.

Details to the "ATR" type

This box scaling type is based on the daily “Average True Range (ATR)”. The Average True Range (ATR) is a measure for the volatility of a security. A higher ATR value causes greater boxes. The dynamical scaling (ATR) estimates the Average True Range for a security in the period to define the box sizes. The default period for the ATR is 20 days.

Reversal amount

Enter the relevant reversal amount.

The default setting is the reversal amount "3".

This value defines how many boxes the security must produce in the reverse direction to produce a "reverse column".

Example:

Box size 5 and reversal amount 3: The price must run 3 boxes (or 15 points) against the current direction to create a reverse column.

Box size and reversal amount are also shown in the legend for the point & figure charts.

Month viewThis display is deactivated by default; when activated, the following month abbreviations are displayed for the start of each month (instead of "X" or "O"):
Code

Month

1

January

2

February

3

March

4

April

5

May

6

June

7

July

8

August

9

September

A

October

B

November

C

December

Advantages of this chart type

  • Small price movements are not shown in the chart and thus facilitate the analysis
  • Patterns can be recognised more easily because time is not displayed visually
  • Drawing support and resistance lines is relatively simple
  • Trend lines are easy to recognise

To switch to this chart type, select the "Point & figure" chart from the drop-down list again.

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