The Stochastic oscillator is meant to girate between 100 and 0. A very low level means emotions have caused people to sell in panic. A very high level means emotions have caused people to become too greedy.
Look for buying opportunities when the Stochastic oscillator nears its lower reference line. Look for selling opportunities when the Stochastic oscillator nears its upper reference line. Buying when the Stochastic oscillator is low is emotionally hard because markets usually look terrible near bottoms, which is precisely the right time to buy. When the Stochastic indicator rallies to its upper reference line, it tells you to start looking for selling opportunities. This also goes against the grain emotionally. When the Stochastic indicator rallies to a top, the market often looks fantastic, which is a good time to sell.
Newbie traders use indicators by themselves. Don’t do this. Use the Stochastic indicator with other technical indicators. Keep in mind that when a powerful uptrend begins, the Stochastic indicator quickly becomes overbought and begins showing premature sell signals. In a sudden panic sell off, the Stochastic indicator quickly becomes oversold and begins showing premature buy signals. Therefore, this indicator only works if you use it with other trend-following indicators.
Should you wait for the Stochastic indicator to turn up before buying? Should you wait for it to turn down before selling? No. If you wait until the Stochastic turns, you’ll miss out on making a lot of money. What you are trying to do is enter as soon as the Stochastic indicator reaches an extreme. View very low or very high Stochastic readings as a measure of the emotion in the crowd that is trading your stock. The more the emotion, the better. It is easier to make money from emotional traders than it is from calm, rational traders.
Go long when the Stochastics traces a bullish divergence, that is, when prices fall to a new low but the indicator makes a more shallow low. Go short when the Stochastics traces a bearish divergence, that is, when prices rise to a new high but the indicator ticks down from a lower peak than during the previous rally. In an ideal buying situation, the first Stochastics low is below and the second above the lower reference line. The best sell signals occur when the first top of the Stochastics is above and the second below the upper reference line.
Do not buy when the Stochastics is above its upper reference line and do not sell short when it is below its lower reference line. This is probably the most useful way to use the Stochastic. Moving averages are better than the Stochastics at identifying trends, MACD-Histogram is better at identifying reversals, channels are better at identifying profit targets, and the ADX is quicker at catching entry and exit points. The trouble with them is that they give action signals most of the time. The Stochastic identifies no trade zones.