Which indicators should I start with?

Start with EMA(8/21), RSI(14), and Bollinger Bands. Master them before adding more.

How much capital should I risk per trade?

Risk 0.5%–2% per trade depending on experience. For intraday start at 0.5%.

Should I trade intraday or swing?

Choose based on temperament: intraday needs fast decision-making; swing needs patience. Many traders combine both with strict rules.

Hero SVG: Candlesticks and indicator-driven trading

Best Trading Strategies Using Technical Indicators — Intraday & Swing Trading Guide (India 2025)

Technical trading is the art and science of using price, volume and mathematical indicators to create repeatable rules that tell you when to enter, how to manage risk, and when to exit. This guide teaches practical strategies for both intraday (minutes–hours) and swing trades (days–weeks), focusing on EMA, RSI, MACD, Supertrend and Bollinger Bands.

Why indicators — and why less is more

Indicators help quantify market moves. But too many indicators = confusion. Use a small set: one trend filter (EMA/Supertrend), one momentum tool (RSI/MACD), and one volatility measure (Bollinger/ATR). Combine with price action (support, resistance, pattern) for higher probability setups.

How to read timeframes

Timeframe selection changes the behaviour of indicators. Intraday: 1m/5m/15m charts. Swing: 4H/daily. Always confirm intraday bias with the higher timeframe (e.g., daily trend) before taking aggressive trades.

Setup tip: Save templates in your charting platform — one template for intraday (fast EMA + Supertrend), one for swing (slow EMAs + MACD + Bollinger).

Checklist before trading

Have a written plan: entry, SL, target, position size.
Confirm higher-timeframe trend.
Use liquidity filters — prefer high-volume stocks / index.
Set a max daily loss; stop trading if hit.

Intraday Strategies — Fast, disciplined & repeatable

Intraday trading rewards discipline more than prediction. Below are two practical intraday strategies you can test in a paper account — one trend-following, one volatility-breakout based.

Strategy 1 — EMA(8/21) + Supertrend(10,3) + RSI(14)

Timeframe: 5-minute (or 15-minute for volatile stocks)

Trend filter: EMA8 above EMA21 = bullish; EMA8 below EMA21 = bearish.
Supertrend confirmation: Only trade in the direction of Supertrend signal.
RSI filter: RSI >50 for longs (avoid >80), RSI <50 for shorts (avoid <20).
Entry: Enter on candle close which satisfies all 3 conditions.
Stop-loss: Recent swing low/high or fixed % (0.4–1% depending on volatility).
Target: 1:1.5 or 1:2 RR, trail with EMA8 or Supertrend.

Why it works: EMA captures micro-trend; Supertrend filters noise using ATR; RSI checks momentum so you don't enter exhausted moves.

Strategy 2 — Bollinger Band Breakout + Volume (Scalp)

Timeframe: 1-minute or 5-minute; good for liquid largecaps & indices.

Identify a squeeze — Bollinger band compression for several candles.
Wait for a breakout candle outside the band on volume >1.5x average.
Enter on confirmation candle close; SL tight below breakout candle low.
Targets are small (0.5–1.5%) with partial exits and tight trailing stops.

Scalping tip: factor in broker spread and slippage — they matter at small targets.

Position sizing for intraday

Choose a fixed risk per trade (e.g., 0.5% of account). Calculate position size = (Account × risk%) / (entry − stop). This avoids blowups.

Common intraday pitfalls

Overtrading after a few wins.
Ignoring spread & slippage.
Not checking macro events (FOMC, RBI, inflation prints).
Chasing breakouts without confirmation.

— Swing & positional strategies with multi-timeframe confirmation.

Swing & Positional Trading — patient, higher-timeframe edge

Swing trading uses daily/4H frames. It seeks multi-day to multi-week moves with wider stops and larger targets. Key: multi-timeframe alignment and patience.

Strategy 1 — MACD trend + EMA pullback

Timeframe: Daily (confirm on weekly)

Trend: EMA21 above EMA50 → bullish.
Momentum: MACD line crosses above signal and histogram turns positive.
Entry: On a pullback to EMA21 or support with a bullish reversal candle and rising volume.
Stop-loss: below EMA50 or major support; Target: previous resistance or 2x risk.

This structure finds trending stocks and buys on value points during pullbacks — higher win rate and managed risk.

Strategy 2 — Bollinger Squeeze breakout for multi-week moves

Identify prolonged low-volatility on daily charts (narrow bands), wait for breakout on high volume with MACD confirming direction. Use weekly closure for strong conviction if holding weeks/months.

Selecting stocks for swing trades

Prefer mid-to-large caps with average daily volume > threshold.
Exclude stocks with pending corporate actions (splits/rights) unless you plan around them.
Check basic fundamentals if holding for months — high debt or shrinking revenues are red flags.

Real example (educational): Infosys swing setup

Daily: EMA21 crosses EMA50; MACD histogram turns positive. Price pulls back to EMA21 and forms a bullish engulfing with rising volume — enter next day open. SL under EMA50. Trail with EMA21.

Holding periods & taxes (note)

Cash equities: Short-term capital gains (STCG) apply if held ≤ 12 months; Long-term (LTCG) if >12 months (special rules apply for equities — check current tax law). For swing trades of days/weeks, consider STCG implications on net returns.

— Risk management, psychology, tools, checklist and schema (final part).

Risk Management & Trading Psychology — The real edge

Position sizing (simple formula)

Risk per trade = Account Balance × Risk % (e.g., 0.01 for 1%) Position Size = Risk per trade / (Entry Price − Stop-loss Price)

Rules you must keep

Never risk more than 1–2% of account on a single trade (intraday: 0.5–1%).
Define max daily loss (e.g., 4% of account) and stop trading for the day if hit.
Use hard stop-loss orders; avoid moving stops to justify wrong trades.

Trading psychology

Accept losses as cost of doing business; focus on process, not outcomes.
Keep a journal: record setup, entry, exit, size, emotion — review weekly.
Build routines: pre-market prep, post-market review, weekly performance analysis.

Tools & platforms

Charting: TradingView (web), Kite (Zerodha)
Backtesting: TradingView Pine scripts, Amibroker, Python backtests
Journaling: Google Sheets, Edgewonk, simple CSV logs
News: ET Markets, Moneycontrol, Reuters for macro events

Daily checklist before market open

Scan for top gap movers and high-volume stocks.
Remove instruments with corporate actions or low liquidity.
Check economic calendar for events (RBI, CPI, GDP, US jobs).
Set daily max loss and per-trade risk.

Tools Hub: Use our curated tools & scanners — Stock Market Tools Hub

Practical trade management examples (recap)

Short example steps for intraday: identify trend (EMA), wait for Supertrend + RSI confirmation, enter on candle close, SL at swing low, trail with EMA8, exit at target or when Supertrend flips.

FAQs (short answers)

Q: Can beginners use these strategies?

A: Yes — start with small size, backtest, then paper-trade. Learn one strategy thoroughly before adding others.

Q: How long to practice before live trading?

A: At least 30–90 successful demo trades with consistent positive expectancy and good risk control.

Author: News Network India — Publisher: www.news-network.in