Bloomberg
`
`
`
`CHARTING & TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
`A Step by Step Guide
`Oliver T. Woolf MSTA
`21 November 2011
`Version: 2.2
`
`0$5.(76$/(57  (;+,%,7 
`
`

`
`1. Starting Point
`GRAP<GO>
`
`This is your starting point for charting within Bloomberg. Here you will find links to:
`
`„ Your customized charts created in G<GO>
`
`„ Sample charts with Technical Studies
`
`„ Templates for some more advanced studies
`
`„ Charts of the Day
`
`„ Charting Guides and Resources
`
`
`
`

`
`Click into one of the Sample G categories to see examples of the studies available…
`
`and then click on one of them to launch it. The chart will automatically generate buy and
`sell signals according to the study selected. Here I have selected the RSI study which is
`an indicator of MOMENTUM…
`
`In order to modify this chart further you will need to select the ‘Save to G’ option.
`
`
`
`

`
`TECH<GO>
`TECH<GO> is our Technical Study Browser which has been specifically designed to
`allow the user to search for Technical Studies, read their descriptions, and immediately
`launch them into Chart templates.
`
`„ Easily browse all 148 technical studies we currently have available in G<GO>
`charts
`
`„ Each study has a tail which serves as a shortcut. For example
`GPC TRNDR TRNST<GO> will launch a Candle Chart with Bloomberg’s
`Proprietary Trender and Trendstall studies.
`
`„ View a description of a technical study by selecting it
`
`„ Immediately launch the indicator into a historical or intraday chart which can
`subsequently be saved as a template in G<GO>
`
`„ Find out what new has been added to our technical study library such as:
`ƒ Chaikin Money Flow
`ƒ Psychological Line
`ƒ Spearman Indicator
`ƒ Ultimate Oscillator
`ƒ Z-Score
`
`
`
`

`
`2. New Look G,GP,GPC,GPO…
`
`Customizable floating toolbar
`increases chart space by
`replacing the old grey tabs
`
`Tabs and Matrix allow for far more flexibility when toggling between different time
`ranges and frequencies.
`
`
`
`

`
`G<GO>, GP<GO>, GPO<GO> and GPC<GO> now all allow you to add additional
`securities and select the type of data to be charted via AUTOCOMPLETE.
`
`You can also search for, and add, technical studies via AUTOCOMPLETE or the
`TECHNICAL STUDY BROWSER…
`
`
`
`

`
`The Zoom now has an ‘Undo’ feature which allows you to go back step by step should
`you zoom incrementally from within a Zoom.
`
`Of great importance is the option to be able to save any chart that you have created in
`GP<GO>, GPC<GO> or GPO<GO> including annotations, studies and events. This is
`done via ‘SAVE AS’ and will allow you to use it as a template going forward. In this way
`the different charts are integrated in a consistent manner and GP<GO>, GPC<GO> or
`GPO<GO> can be used as a scratch pad for G<GO>.
`
`
`
`

`
`3. Customized Chart Templates
`G<GO>
`Whether you have launched and saved your chart from TECH<GO>, converted and
`saved it from GP<GO> or GPC<GO>, or simply created it from scratch from within
`G<GO>, G<GO> then serves as both the database into which the chart template is
`saved, and also the platform from which to enhance and customize it.
`
`Every charting template you create has a number. You can run G + that number as a
`shortcut to gain immediate access to that template, e.g. G10<GO>
`
`Once you have opened/ created a template, in order to add new Technical Studies to
`the chart click on the ‘Securities and Studies’ tab above the chart from where you can
`either add studies via AUTOCOMPLETE or use our TECHNICAL STUDY BROWSER.
`
`Any changes that you make shall be saved automatically.
`
`By clicking on the pencil sign on the right of a study you can change the properties of
`the study and how it is displayed on the chart. There is also an optional ‘Study’ toolbar
`which will allow you to do the same.
`
`Here I am adding Bollinger Bands to the chart as a measure of VOLATILITY… and
`Stochastics for Momentum
`
`
`
`

`
`It is also possible to add Buy and Sell Signals to the chart according to a Strategy
`incorporating one or more of the Technical Studies. To do this you need to go to the
`‘Events’ tab and choose Event… > Strategies & Studies > Create New…
`
`In this particular example I want to see Buy or Sell Alerts if the RSI crosses above 30 or
`below 70 respectively. However as this strategy functions best in an oscillating market I
`have added that the ADX (an indicator of trend strength) must be below 25 as an
`additional filter.
`
`This strategy has identified 3 Selling points on the chart below
`
`
`
`

`
`In the ‘Events’ tab you can also choose from a list of different event types to add to the
`chart in order to see how they have impacted upon the price of the security selected.
`
`By selecting ‘US Recessions’ I can highlight these on a historical chart of the Dow
`Jones Industrial Average.
`
`The farthest tab on the right is the ‘Chart View Options’ which allows you to set
`defaults specifically for this chart, such as whether to show the new ‘Study’ toolbar or
`the Grid lines. There is also an option to scale the various Y axes independently on a
`multiple security chart.
`
`
`
`

`
`4. Bloomberg Proprietary Studies
`
`TRENDSTALL
`
`„ The TrendStall™ study is derived from the traditional ADX (DMI) indicator by
`combining the components of this indicator to show the trend strength regardless
`of direction.
`
`„ Developed to help traders indentify when the current trend momentum has
`reached a point at which it is likely to stall, that is, lose momentum before
`continuing or reverse the current trend.
`
`„ The point at which the trend is likely to begin stalling is identified by green (end of
`downtrend) and red (end of uptrend) triangles on the chart itself.
`
`„ The ADX-ROC histogram is created by taking a Rate of Change (ROC) of the
`ADX line which measures the rate of acceleration within the trend.
`
`„ The triangles appear when the ADX-ROC reverses direction from a peak value
`that is above the threshold level (minimum requirement to confirm a sustained
`move has occurred).
`
`
`
`

`
`TRENDER
`
`„ The Bloomberg Trender Indicator is an adaptive indicator that defines the degree
`and direction of the trend in a way that attempts to capture the majority of the
`position profit while minimizing whipsaws.
`
`„ The tool is designed to stay just out of range of the typical pullbacks in price
`within the trend, like a trailing stop.
`
`„ The input value, "Sensitivity", adjusts the probability for the next day's expected
`range to stay within the limits projected by the Trender algorithm.
`
`Trender combines extremely well with Trendstall, as Trendstall warns that momentum is
`waning, thus anticipating possible reversals, but Trender filters out the false signals
`when momentum resumes in the direction of the initial trend.
`
`
`
`

`
`4. Adding Annotations
`
`In the ‘Annotations’ tab in the chart you will find a list of annotations including trend
`lines and Fibonacci annotations. You can store your 4 favourites for quick access.
`
`These annotations are ‘sticky’ meaning that every time you bring up the same security
`you will still see the same annotations until you delete them. You can directly create a
`price alert on a trend line by right clicking on it.
`
`Favourites within the
`Annotations Palette
`
`Once you have saved a chart in G<GO> all annotations you draw for a given security
`shall be saved in the ANNOTATIONS tab from which you can easily toggle them on and
`off across different time frames.
`
`
`
`

`
`5. Adding More Securities/ Data Lines
`
`The new Hotspot in Multi-Security Charts in G and Launchpad provides the ability to
`change the primary security of the chart directly from the dashboard. In addition, it
`supports a rich set of commands to quickly add, move or modify lines on the chart.
`
`Here are some examples…
`
`ADD
`
`Add a new Data line with CO1 Comdty
`(continuous Brent Crude)
`Add a new ratio of Brent (CO1 Comdty) to
`WTI (CL1 Comdty)
`Add a new spread line of the primary
`security with Brent Crude
`
`;CO1 Comdty
`
`;CO1 Comdty/CL1 Comdty
`
`;-CO1 Comdty
`
`MODIFY
`
`Change Primary Security to Dell Equity
`(Affects first Data line OR first security on
`first relative line)
`Change the primary line to the WTI - Brent
`spread
`Change primary line to IBM Equity
`Change all lines with IBM Equity to DELL
`Equity
`Change second security of all ratios to
`SPX Index
`Change first securities in all spreads to
`DELL Equity
`Change spread (–) to ratio (/) in GT2 Govt
`– GT10 Govt
`Change all lines from spreads to ratios
`Change first security of all relative lines to
`DELL
`Change second security of all relative
`lines to DELL
`
`REMOVE
`
`Dell Equity
`
`CL1 Comdty - C01 Comdty
`
`\IBM Equity
`IBM Equity = DELL Equity
`
`/SPX Index
`
`DELL Equity-
`
`GT2 Govt – GT10 Govt = /
`
`- = /
`DELL Equity#
`
`#DELL Equity
`
`Remove all data lines with security IBM
`Equity (relative lines untouched)
`Remove all IBM Equity / SPX Index
`
`!IBM Equity
`
`!IBM Equity / SPX Index
`
`
`
`

`
`relative lines (data lines untouched)
`Remove all relative lines with IBM Equity
`as first Security
`Remove all relative lines with IBM Equity
`as second security
`Remove all relative lines
`
`!IBM Equity#
`
`!#IBM Equity
`
`!#
`
`Further information can be found in DOCS 2063039<GO>.
`
`Hence if I have a chart with ‘VOD LN Equity’ and a type into the yellow box
`‘;VOD LN Equity/ UKX Index’, it will add that ratio as a new data line.
`
`If I then want to see the ratio in a new sub-panel I can just drag and drop the new data
`line down to the X axis so I now have in 2 steps a chart of Vodafone and its Relative
`Strength against the FTSE 100…
`
`
`
`

`
`FLEXIBILITY IS KEY:
`
`Manipulation both of the data fields charted and the visualization format is very easy. In
`this way it is easy to combine both fundamentals and technicals together.
`
`In addition to the price the above chart also displays:
`
`„ PE and Estimated PE data for the current year
`
`„ Volume
`
`„ Icons that highlight when Dividends were announced (there are many other
`events and corporate actions that can also be displayed)
`
`„ Distribution buckets that provide a deeper insight into a security’s liquidity at
`different price levels. These can be added from the ‘Chart View Options’ tab.
`
`(These distribution levels can be added with a right click and can also be applied
`to technical studies)
`
`
`
`

`
`6. Creating PDF Reports
`
`Creating impressive PDF reports is also incredibly easy…
`
`Choose ‘Report Mode’ from the ‘Actions’ menu and then highlight the templates you
`wish to include in your report
`
`
`
`

`
`7. Launchpad
`
`The new charting functionality is just as readily accessible in Launchpad.
`Drag and drop axes from one side to the other or switch security panels on the fly…
`
`Drag and drop a data line to overlay
`it or move it to a new panel
`
`Keyboard Zoom - Use CNTRL and the Arrow keys to pan and zoom on the fly…
`
`
`
`

`
`Distributions – Show distributions to see the zones in which the price has been most
`active (also applicable to studies)…
`
`Annotation Toggle - Toggle annotations on/off without deleting or ghosting
`Annotation Favorites - Select up to four of your favorite annotations for easy access
`
`
`
`

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`

`
`8. Alerts
`ALRT<GO>
`The new ALRT<GO> allows you to create alerts for either a single security or a list of
`securities dependent on the realization of a combination of technical criteria.
`
`In this particular example I want to
`be alerted to Trender changes from
`bearish to bullish or vice versa
`across all members of the S&P
`index.
`
`„ Choose from 15 different Technical Studies including our own proprietary
`Trender and Fear and Greed indicators.
`„ You can apply alerts to any security universe including Equity indices, portfolios,
`Launchpad monitors, EQS search results and CIX indices.
`„ An alert on a security list counts as just one alert no matter how many members
`the list comprises of.
`
`eg. An alert on the members of the S&P (see the above image) will count as just
`one alert not 500.
`„ The alerts will be delivered according to your preference via the Command Line,
`Launchpad Popup, Launchpad Panel or email. Sound notifications are also
`available.
`
`
`
`

`
`8. Custom Studies and Backtesting
`STDY<GO>
`With the STDY<GO> opt-in feature you can design your own Technical Studies either
`via the Custom Studies SDK in Microsoft Visual Studio using C# or VB.Net, or more
`simply, by using Bloomberg’s proprietary CS.Lite easy scripting language as per the
`snapshot below…
`
`The Syntax Help provides all the expressions for the Technical Studies aswell as
`mathematical operators in order to start building your study
`
`To add these custom studies into your G<GO> charts you will find them amongst all the
`other Technical Studies within the ‘User Defined Studies’ folder.
`
`
`
`

`
`BT<GO>
`In BT<GO> you can backtest strategies, on existing technical studies, your own
`proprietary studies and even combinations of multiple studies...
`
`Below is a sample example of some of the predefined strategies using the most
`common indicators...
`
`You can then click into any of the individual studies in order to see a more in depth
`analysis of the strategy.
`
`
`
`

`
`Select ‘New Strategy’ to create your own custom made strategy.
`
`Below I am recreating the strategy I used in Section 2, above, to create alerts in my
`G<GO> chart, which combined RSI and ADX in order to buy and sell on exiting Over
`Sold and Over Bought levels in the RSI, with ADX functioning as a filter to measure the
`degree of trend.
`
`Once inside the results screen you can click into ‘Optimize’, to find which would have
`been the optimum parameters for the studies used in order to have generated the
`maximum profit over the period and frequency selected.
`
`
`
`

`
`By widening the period ranges for the parameters of the various studies Bloomberg will
`then find the best case scenario.
`
`In this particular case the Optimzation is telling me that this strategy, over the past year,
`would have performed best with a 11 period RSI and a 13 period DMI (for the ADX).
`
`It is possible to visualize these results in a 3D format which makes it easier to see
`optimum period ‘zones’…
`
`
`
`

`
`You can also view the trades that resulted from this strategy in a scatter plot format…
`
`
`
`

`
`9. Additional Charting Tools
`
`There are many other popular charts and technical tools in Bloomberg such as…
`PFP<GO>
`
`Point and Figure focuses purely on price movement and eliminates minor fluctuations.
`MKTP<GO>
`
`Market Picture focuses on the relationship between price and volume in a distribution
`format.
`
`
`
`

`
`IGPV<GO>
`
`Use IGPV<GO> for detailed intraday analysis on volume and VWAP.
`RRG<GO>
`
`RRG<GO> is a fascinating function. Designed by Julius de Kempenaer it displays
`Relative Sector Rotation based on a proprietary formula for normalized relative
`strength and momentum of that relative strength. It can also be applied to other security
`universes and asset classes too.
`
`
`
`

`
`10. Excel
`=BTH()
`Downloading technical data to Excel, both historical and real-time, is now easy via our
`Technical Analysis wizard in the Bloomberg add-in…