Composite symbols (custom spreads)

A composite symbol is defined by a mathematical expression where other symbols are used as variables. On TrendSpider, composite symbols must always start from the equality sign
=. i.e., =SPY.CHG / QQQ.CHG or =1 / ^EURUSD.

When you define a composite symbol, you basically define a formula which will be applied to every candle on your chart. In case you are using composites involving asset types which have different trading sessions, the composite values will only be defined for time stamps where all of the base symbols involved have candles.

Composite charts can have all the indicators, chart patterns, and other TA tools applied, just like all the other charts on TrendSpider. Composite symbols are supported wherever other symbols are supported: you can see them on charts, you can backtest on them, you can use them in Compare or Relative Strength indicators, and you can create alerts on them etc. There are two exceptions, listed in the Limitations section below (p.2 and p.3).

Operations supported

Mathematical operations supported are: +, -, /, *, (, ), %, ^. You can use up to 9 unique symbols in a composite expression. Composites can involve any asset type TrendSpider supports. Please note that if you're using cryptos in your composites, then you must also specify the exchange name (see the Limitations section below).

Some symbols do have operation signs (like ^) as their natural part, so for the purpose of simpliticy, please always use space to separate your math operators from symbols. I.e., do prefer =AAPL.CHG / SPY.CHG over =AAPL.CHG/SPY.CHG.

In case if you're browsing a composite chart usign a chart type which illustrates OHLC, then these values are being defined as follows:

• open: result of the operation applied to "open" of every symbol involved
• high: first, result of the operation applied to "high" of every symbol involved is computed. next, the resulting "high" is defined as max of (open, high, low, close)
• low: first, result of the operation applied to "low" of every symbol involved is computed. next, the resulting "low" is defined as min of (open, high, low, close)
• close: result of the operation applied to "close" of every symbol involved

Using particular data points in composites

You can refer to particular data points of charts in your composites. i.e., a composite of
=SPY / QQQ is an OHLC chart computed according to the rules above. But a composite of
=SPY.O / QQQ.O is a Line chart (means each candle only has 1 data point) where each value is equal to "open of SPY divided by open of QQQ". Here's a list of data points you can refer to:

• .O: open price
• .H: high price
• .L: low price
• .C: close price
• .V: volume
• .CHG: change%, defined as (close - prevClose) / prevClose
• .ACHG: absolute change%, abs((close - prevClose) / prevClose)
• .SIZE: contract unit for Futures. I.e., HOJ24.SIZE is 42,000, as per the contract specification

Here are some examples of composites explained. Please note that these don't necessarily make sense from the standpoint of trading, they are just illustrations of what's doable:

1. =SPY/QQQ is an OHLC chart illustrating prices of SPY divided by prices of QQQ.
2. =(META + GOOG + MSFT + NFLX+ AAPL) / 4 is an average price for FAANG. Like a basic custom index.
3. =(META + GOOG * 3 + MSFT + NFLX+ AAPL) / 6 is an average price for FAANG but GOOG will be weighted 3 times more than other constituents of this list.
4. =META.ACHG / SPY.ACHG is a ratio between change% of META and change% of SPY. I..e., if applied to a Daily chart, that would illustrate relative strength of META against SPY. Any time this value is above 1, META is outperforming SPY (in terms of price change% at a given candle).
5. =ES1!.V / ES2!.V is a ratio of Volume on the next ES contract vs Volume on a contract after next.
6. =(AAPL.C * 2 + AAPL.O + AAPL.H + AAPL.L) / 5 is a Weighted Close price for AAPL.
7. =BINANCE:^ETHBTC / BINANCE:^LTCETH illustrates how much BTC one LTC costs on Binance in case if you first trade ETH for BTC and then buy LTC for ETH.
8. =1 / BINANCE:^LTCBTC will give an value almost equivalent to the previous example.

Limitations of composite symbols

1. You can't use more than 9 base symbols within a composite
2. Composite symbols never have volume
3. If you're using cryptos in your composites, then you must also specify the exchange name. I.e., =BINANCE:^ETHBTC / BINANCE:^LTCETH, not =^ETHBTC / ^LTCETH
4. Annotations on composites are sensitive to whitespaces in a formula. I.e., if you paint lines on =SPY/QQQ then they will work, but if you open =SPY / QQQ then you won't see them. If you go back to =SPY/QQQ, your lines will be there.
5. Composite charts don't receive any real time updates. Think of them as of snapshot data generated at the moment when you have requested it. It uses real time data, but simply receives no updates after generated. If you need to see the updated data, you'll have to refresh the chart.
6. Composite symbols have their trading session defined as "24/7, UTC time zone"