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Saturday, November 1, 2025
Knowledge BaseGlossary

Glossary

Algorithmic Trading can be a complex subject. Keep your knowledge current with this glossary of key concepts, terminology, and technical indicators.

Shooting Star

Shooting Star

Shooting Star

A type of candlestick formation that results when a security's price, at some point during the day, advances well above the opening price but closes lower than the opening price.

Signal Line

Signal Line

A moving average plotted alongside a technical indicator and is used to create transaction signals.

Simple Moving Average - SMA

Simple Moving Average - SMA

Simple Moving Average - SMA

A simple, or arithmetic, moving average that is calculated by adding the closing price of the security for a number of time periods and then dividing this total by the number of time periods. Short-term averages respond quickly to changes in the price of the underlying, while long-term averages are slow to react.

Special Memorandum Account - SMA

Special Memorandum Account - SMA

A special account where excess margin generated from a client's margin account is deposited. Also known as "special miscellaneous account".

Speed Resistance Lines

Speed Resistance Lines

Speed Resistance Lines

A tool in technical analysis that is used for determining potential areas of support and resistance. This tool, consisting of three trendlines, is created by drawing the first trendline from the most recent low to the most recent high when the asset is in an uptrend, and from the most recent high to the most recent low when the asset is in a downtrend. The other two trendlines are drawn with smaller angles in an attempt to predict areas that will act as possible barriers in the event of a retracement.

Spinning Top

Spinning Top

Spinning Top

A type of candlestick formation where the real body is small despite a wide range of price movement throughout the trading day. This candle is often regarded as neutral and used to signal indecision about the future direction of the underlying asset.

Star

Star

Star

A type of candlestick formation that is identified when a small bodied-candle is positioned above the price range of the previous candle as a result of a gap in the underlying assets price.

STARC Bands

STARC Bands

A type of technical indicator that is created by plotting two bands around a short-term simple moving average (SMA) of an underlying asset's price. The upper band is created by adding a value of the average true range (ATR) - a popular indicator used by technical traders - to the moving average. The lower band is created by subtracting a value of the ATR from the SMA.

Stick Sandwich

Stick Sandwich

A technical trading pattern in which three candlesticks form what appears to be a sandwich on the trader's screen. Stick sandwiches will have the middle candlestick oppositely colored of the candlesticks on either side of it, both of which will have a larger trading range than the middle candlestick. Stick sandwich patterns can occur in both bearish and bullish indications.

STIX

STIX

A short-term trading oscillator that compares the amount of volume flowing into advancing and declining stocks. The STIX oscillates around the 50 level, with values over 50 generated when advancers outnumber decliners, and values less than 50 resulting when advancers are less than decliners. The trading range for the STIX is generally between 42 and 58, with levels below 42 indicating extremely oversold conditions, and levels above 58 denoting extremely overbought conditions.

Stochastic Oscillator

Stochastic Oscillator

Stochastic Oscillator

A technical momentum indicator that compares a security's closing price to its price range over a given time period. The oscillator's sensitivity to market movements can be reduced by adjusting the time period or by taking a moving average of the result.

StochRSI

StochRSI

An indicator used in technical analysis that ranges between zero and one and is created by applying the Stochastic Oscillator formula to a set of Relative Strength Index (RSI) values rather than standard price data. Using RSI values within the Stochastic formula gives traders an idea of whether the current RSI value is overbought or oversold - a measure that becomes specifically useful when the RSI value is confined between its signal levels of 20 and 80.
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