Psychological Line (PSY)

What is the psychological line (PSY)?

The psychological line (PSY) is a technical indicator used in stock trading that relies on the psychology of market participants. It presumes that traders resist paying more for a share unless the stock continues to rise, and they resist selling it for less than others are getting for it unless the price continues to decline.

The PSY indicator helps traders identify overbought and oversold conditions. Overbought conditions occur when PSY crosses above line 70, indicating that the stock price has been up for days and has reached the overbought area. Conversely, oversold conditions occur when PSY crosses below line 30, suggesting that the stock is likely to reverse upward soon.

How to use PSY to trade?

Let's take a look at an example scenario using the PSY indicator. During a typical trading session, the stock's PSY moved above line 70, signaling that the stock price had been up for several days and had reached the overbought area. Subsequently, a downward trend followed, and the stock price fell, indicating that selling pressure had overcome buying pressure.

On the other hand, during another trading session, the PSY of the same stock crossed line 30 after being in the oversold area for more than seven days. The price then went up before crossing line 70, demonstrating that buying power dominated the trading.

While the PSY indicator can be helpful in determining market sentiment, traders should not rely solely on this indicator to make trading decisions. It's important to note that the PSY indicator cannot predict the exact moment when the reversal will occur. However, traders can combine the PSY indicator with other technical indicators to improve their entry and exit decisions. For instance, traders can use the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator, Relative Strength Index (RSI), or Moving Averages to help confirm or filter the signals provided by the PSY indicator.