We will show you how to write a simple moving average trading system using cTrader and Microsoft Visual Studio, take advantage of our online video tutorial and downloadable source code.
In this video we will show you a code walkthrough from a pre-built automated strategy that opens and closes positions when two simple Moving Average values cross each other to signal a bullish or bearish trend, we also describe how to backtest and verify the logic of the robot and to pick out any strange anomalies that may occur.
Simple Moving Average Formula
The simple moving average (SMA) is the most basic of the moving averages used for trading. The simple moving average formula is calculated by taking the average closing price of a stock over the last "x" periods. Let's take a look at a simple moving average example with MSFT.
The last five closing prices for MSFT are:
28.93+28.48+28.44+28.91+28.48 = 143.24
To calculate the simple moving average formula you divide the total of the closing prices and divide it by the number of periods.
5-day SMA = 143.24/5 = 28.65
Alternative Code Block for the Crossover Signal
The following code may be more suitable for the crossover check, it functions better also for the first trade so that it opens only when the crossover occurs.
if (_sma1.Result.HasCrossedAbove(_sma2.Result.LastValue, 0))
Or
if (_sma1.Result.HasCrossedBelow(_sma2.Result.LastValue, 0))
Watch the Video
The video has been uploaded to 1080p High Quality, so do not forget to set your U-Tube video quality to 1080p HD.
Duration: 28 minutes
The Moving Average Crossover strategy is probably the most popular Forex trading strategy in the world
In the video, we demonstrate the Fast MA (SMA(5)) crossing above or below the Slow MA (SMA(20))
- A Bullish Crossover occurs when the Fast MA crosses ABOVE the Slow MA
- A Bearish Crossover occurs when the Fast MA crosses BELOW the slow MA.
ONE OF THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS STRATEGY
The Moving Average Crossover system catches good moves when the markets are trending, but is subject to whipsaws (losing trades) when the market is in a range (no trend), but this can be corrected using other indicators.
