Ichimoku Cloud
All-in-one Japanese trend system with five lines that define support, resistance, momentum, and trend direction simultaneously.
Ichimoku Cloud (Ichimoku Kinko Hyo — "one glance equilibrium chart") plots five components: Tenkan-sen (9-period conversion), Kijun-sen (26-period base), Senkou Span A (avg of the two, shifted +26), Senkou Span B (52-period midpoint, shifted +26), and Chikou Span (current close shifted −26).
The shaded area between Span A and B is the Kumo (cloud). Price above a bullish (green) cloud is in an uptrend; below a bearish (red) cloud, in a downtrend. A thick cloud is strong support/resistance; a thin cloud is easy to pierce. Entry signals require all five components aligned — Tenkan/Kijun cross above the cloud, Chikou above price history, and a bullish cloud ahead.
Example
USD/JPY is trading above a thick green cloud. Tenkan-sen crosses above Kijun-sen above the cloud, and Chikou Span clears the historical highs. All five conditions align — a classic Ichimoku buy signal. The bottom of the cloud provides the stop-loss reference.
Related Terms
Average Directional Index (ADX)
Non-directional trend-strength gauge (0–100); readings above 25 indicate a trending market, below 20 suggest a range.
IntermediateKeltner Channel
Volatility envelope using a 20-period EMA as midline and ATR multiples (typically 2×) as upper and lower bands.
IntermediateParabolic SAR
Trend-following stop-and-reverse indicator that plots dots above (downtrend) or below (uptrend) price, accelerating as the trend matures.
IntermediatePivot Points
Price levels calculated from the prior period's high, low, and close that act as projected support (S1–S3) and resistance (R1–R3) for the next session.
BeginnerSimple Moving Average (SMA)
Arithmetic mean of the last n closing prices — the simplest smoothing tool and anchor for countless other indicators.
Beginner