Looking at Tick and Trin values, when is a good time to buy a stock, and when should it be sold?

Question

If I see a tick of +200 or higher, and trin of .9 or less, does that mean it is a good time to buy the stock? Or do I have that backwards?

I know nothing is an exact science, but generally speaking, what are the tick and trin values to look for when I am ready to buy and when I'm ready to sell stock?

Answer 1

The TICK and TRIN are short-term indicators that active traders find useful as decision support tools.

Each exchange has its own TICK and TRIN. Most traders watch the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) TICK and TRIN and the NASDAQ Stock Exchange TICK and TRIN.

If the TICKs are at extreme levels (+/- 400 points), the movement is running out of energy and offers an excellent reversal possibility.
Note when the TICKs stop rising or falling, the market frequently reverses at this time. A momentum chart of TICK can be helpful in pinpointing this action.
TRIN is a measure of the ratio of advancing to declining stocks and weighs that to the ratio of advancing and declining volume. The relative value of TRIN isn’t as important as its direction. If the TRIN value is holding at a particular level, one can assume no new buying or selling is coming into the market.
If, however, TRIN is rising 5 to 8 points, it indicates selling is coming into the market place. Conversely, if TRIN is falling, say 5 to 8 points, buying is entering the market. A change of direction of the TRIN indicates a market turn.
When the market opens it is best to wait until a majority of the issues have traded before using this indicator. (A good way to know when the majority of stocks have traded is to sum the advancing and declining stocks.)