Ichimoku Kinko Hyo
A complete analysis system in a single indicator: five lines and a cloud that show trend, key levels and momentum at a glance.
Ichimoku Kinko Hyo : literally "equilibrium chart at a glance" : was developed by Japanese journalist Goichi Hosoda, who published it in 1969 after decades of work. Its ambition: to gather in a single display everything a trader needs to know : the trend, its strength, its support levels and a projection into the future. Where most indicators answer one question, Ichimoku offers a complete reading system.
How it's calculated
Ichimoku is built on range midpoints (the average of the highest high and lowest low over a period) rather than averages of closes. With the default 9/26/52 parameters and a displacement of 26 (Hosoda's historical values, used in Screener.Trading), it plots five lines:
- Tenkan-sen (conversion line): midpoint of the last 9 candles' range : the fast line.
- Kijun-sen (base line): midpoint of the last 26 candles' range : the reference equilibrium level.
- Senkou Span A: the average of the Tenkan and Kijun, projected 26 candles into the future.
- Senkou Span B: midpoint of the last 52 candles' range, also projected 26 candles ahead. The space between the two Senkou lines forms the cloud (Kumo).
- Chikou Span (lagging line): the current close shifted 26 candles into the past, comparing today's price with yesterday's.
On the Screener.Trading chart, the projected cloud can additionally be displayed with a volatility band, which materializes the growing uncertainty of the projection as it extends into the future.
How to read it
- Position relative to the cloud: price above the Kumo, bullish context; below, bearish; inside, indecision.
- Cloud thickness: a thick Kumo represents a dense support or resistance zone; a thin Kumo is crossed more easily : "twists" (Senkou crossovers) mark potential shifts.
- Tenkan/Kijun cross: the Tenkan above the Kijun is a bullish signal, all the stronger when it occurs above the cloud.
- Chikou Span: clear above the price of 26 candles ago, it confirms open road; obstructed by past prices, it signals nearby resistance.
Ichimoku's strength (its holistic reading) is also its demand: signals matter through their convergence, not in isolation. And like all trend-following systems, it loses relevance in directionless markets, where price snakes through the cloud.
In the screener
Ichimoku's five lines are individually accessible in Screener.Trading rules. Concrete examples: "close above Senkou Span A and Senkou Span B on D1" to keep only assets above the cloud; "Tenkan-sen above the Kijun-sen on H4" to detect bullish crosses; "close above the Kijun-sen on D1" as a simple equilibrium filter.
Ichimoku lends itself remarkably well to multi-timeframe work: a rule can compare the hourly close to the daily Kijun, or require price above the cloud on both H4 and D1 to keep only trends aligned across horizons. On the chart, the multi-timeframe Ichimoku indicator even overlays a higher timeframe's cloud onto your current one.
Ichimoku is a trend system: in a directionless market, its signals contradict one another. Check that price has clearly left the cloud before trusting the crossovers.
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- IndicatorMulti-timeframe Ichimoku (MTF)Display the daily Ichimoku cloud directly on your hourly chart: higher timeframe levels become visible right where you trade.
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- IndicatorPrice: the raw data behind all technical analysisBefore any indicator, there is price. The close, open, high and low of each candle are the building blocks of your screener rules.
- IndicatorADX (Average Directional Index)The indicator that answers the question that comes before all others: is there a trend? Its +DI and -DI lines then reveal its direction.
- GlossaryTenkan-senThe Tenkan-sen, or Ichimoku conversion line, is the average of the highest high and lowest low over the last 9 periods, used as a short-term trend gauge.
- GlossaryKijun-senThe Kijun-sen, or Ichimoku base line, is the average of the highest high and lowest low over the last 26 periods, seen as the market's medium-term equilibrium level.
- GlossarySenkou Span AThe Senkou Span A is the average of the Tenkan-sen and Kijun-sen, projected 26 periods ahead, and forms the first boundary of the Ichimoku cloud.
- GlossarySenkou Span BThe Senkou Span B is the midpoint of the last 52 periods' range, projected 26 periods ahead, forming the slow boundary of the Ichimoku cloud.
- GlossaryChikou SpanThe Chikou Span is the current closing price shifted 26 periods back, used in Ichimoku to confirm a trend by comparing today's price with past price action.
- GlossaryKumo (Ichimoku cloud)The Kumo, or Ichimoku cloud, is the area between the Senkou Spans A and B, projected forward, which materialises support and resistance and sets the market's bullish or bearish bias.
- GuideBuilding your first screener, step by stepHow to turn a strategy idea into objective rules, pick the right asset universe, read scan results and iterate until you get a genuinely actionable list of opportunities.
- GuideBacktesting a trading strategy, step by stepBefore risking a cent, replay your strategy on historical data: backtest setup, reading the key metrics, and the traps of over-optimization.