This article explains in detail a simple quantitative trading strategy based solely on candle direction. It generates long/short signals directly according to the closing price relationship.
I. Strategy Logic
The strategy purely judges direction based on candle close, with the logic being:
Go long when close is greater than open.
Go short when close is less than open.
Position sizing can be configured.
Backtest date range can be set.
By simply determining candle closes up or down, the most basic trend following signals are formed. Despite being very primitive, it constitutes a complete trading system.
II. Advantages of the Strategy
The biggest advantage is the extreme simplicity and intuition, solely judging based on candle direction without indicators.
Another advantage is the ability to control risk through position sizing.
Lastly, backtest time ranges can be set to test different periods.
III. Potential Risks
However, some issues exist:
Firstly, just candle direction is insufficient for accurate market judgment, resulting in poor signal quality.
Secondly, the lack of stop loss and take profit fails to control trade risks.
Lastly, the absence of parameter tuning leads to instability.
IV. Summary
In summary, this article has explained a simple quantitative trading strategy based purely on candle direction. It forms a complete system through the most basic price relationship analysis. But improvements are needed such as parameter optimization and adding stops. Overall it provides a very simple and primitive strategy concept.
/*backtest
start: 2023-08-15 00:00:00
end: 2023-09-02 00:00:00
period: 3h
basePeriod: 15m
exchanges: [{"eid":"Futures_Binance","currency":"BTC_USDT"}]
*/
//@version=2
strategy("BarUpDn time limited", overlay=true, pyramiding=1, default_qty_type = strategy.fixed, default_qty_value = 1 )
//input boxes for the limit date
yearLimit = input(2016,title="year")
monthLimit = input(9, title="month")
dayLimit = input(1, title="day")
//function that checks if the current date is more recent than the limit
dateOk(yl,ml,dl) =>
ok = timestamp(yl,ml,dl,0,1) < time
checkDate = dateOk(yearLimit,monthLimit,dayLimit)
conditionUp = close > open ? true : false
conditionDown = close < open ? true : false
if ( checkDate )
strategy.entry("BarUp", strategy.long, when = conditionUp)
strategy.entry("BarDn", strategy.short, when = conditionDown)