08/02/2023 |
TrendSpider Software Update: Multiple Tickers In Visual Scripting
Hello, traders, and welcome to another TrendSpider software update! In this update, we’re pleased to bring a much-requested functionality to our Visual Scripting; The ability to define the conditions of multiple tickers within a single script. Let’s dig into the details!
For many traders on the platform, Visual Scripting is a vital component of their analysis, providing a user-friendly way to create and manage trading strategies and setups without the need for complex programming languages.
With this update, users can now define the conditions of an alternative asset(s) within the script of their currently selected asset, and this new functionality is available almost everywhere scripts are used, from the Strategy Tester to Alerts, Smart Checklists, and Trading Bots.
Accessing Multi-Ticker Conditions
In order to add a secondary ticker condition to your script, you must first create the condition(s) for your selected ticker. We refer to the first condition group within your script as the ‘Root Block’, and this root block will continue to function as it always has; without the option of defining a secondary ticker.
Once the conditions for your selected ticker have been defined, you can then select a secondary ‘Condition Group’ via the ‘Add parameter here’ button.
Once selected, a new drop-down menu titled ‘On Current Symbol’ will appear within the new condition group to the right of the ‘All of the following’ and ‘Happened’ drop-down menus.
When you click ‘On Current Symbol’, you’ll be given the option to choose between defining conditions for your primary ticker or an alternative one.
When you select ‘On Other Symbol’, a text box will appear which allows you to input the ticker you’d like to define additional conditions for. In the image below, we’re looking for hourly conditions on SPY to be true as well as the three daily conditions for our selected symbol.
Why Use Multiple Tickers In Scripts?
The purpose of utilizing more than one ticker within a script is to leverage inter-market relationships and correlations to make more informed trading decisions. In essence, the movement of one asset can influence, or be influenced by, the movement of another.
In addition, traders can use multi-ticker conditions to improve their risk management by monitoring market conditions that can impact the primary asset and enhance the accuracy of their trading strategies.
Here are some examples to consider:
Utilizing Multi-Ticker Conditions In The Strategy Tester
Understanding the performance of a major index, like SPY or QQQ, can be crucial when considering a trade on an individual stock, as these ETFs often reflect the broader market sentiment. For that reason, it might be wise to include some minimum conditions that must be true for the index in order to trigger a trade entry or exit on an individual name within it.
In the below image, this new functionality is used within the Strategy Tester to define a general condition for the QQQ that must be true in order to trigger an entry on the individual name we’re testing. Do note that it’s not necessary to include multiple tickers in both the entry and exit.
Utilizing Multi-Ticker Conditions In The Smart Checklist
There are times when it is helpful to understand the current state of the individual names that make up a sector. If a sector index is experiencing a powerful move, like in the chart of XLE below, a trader might wonder if the move is being influenced by the over or under-performance of a single name or if the individual components are participating, as well.
In the below example, multi-ticker functionality is utilized within the Smart Checklist to see how several well-known oil names are currently performing. For each asset, we’re looking for a green candle on the daily time frame to coincide with the strength seen in the sector ETF. As visualized by the green-colored boxes, all of the assets within the list are meeting the criteria and, therefore, are participating along with the ETF.
Being able to understand this with just a quick glance adds an additional layer of ease and confidence to a long-bias trade idea. Were one of these assets not participating, that could suggest the potential for future rotation into that asset or be a reason to look more deeply into its fundamentals or technicals to understand why.
Utilizing Multi-Ticker Conditions In Alerts
Many traders like to monitor correlations and/or divergences between different markets to glean insights into the assets they trade. For instance, if you’re tracking both the US Dollar and the S&P 500 to trade futures intraday, perhaps you’d like to know when the dollar rises while the S&P 500 falls.
In the below Multi-Factor Alert created for the ES-mini futures, we’ve defined that the UUP is green with an oversold RSI reading while the SPY is red with an overbought RSI reading. Being able to consolidate alerts in this way allows for a level of complexity that previously was impossible, and also frees up valuable space for additional alerts to be created.
Recommendations For Utilizing Multiple Tickers
First and foremost, though it’s not a hard rule, it is recommended to use the same asset classes within each unique script. This means that this functionality will work best when comparing stocks to stocks, crypto to crypto, currencies to currencies, and so on. This is particularly true in the Strategy Tester, and especially so when you’re utilizing the ‘X Candles Ago’ function. If you receive a warning prompt like the one pictured below, it’s likely that there is not enough correlation between the secondary asset(s) and the primary asset.
In addition, users should refrain from utilizing different multiple ticker conditions between their entry and exit criteria. For example, If you’re testing a strategy on QQQ and want to include a SPY condition within your entry, your exit should only utilize SPY conditions if you do want to include additional assets within it.
As always, we hope you find this update helpful and, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us via the ‘Contact Us’ button in the bottom right-hand corner of your chart view.
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