QStick

The average of (close − open) over N bars: have candles been closing above or below where they opened? Positive is a run of white bodies, negative a run of black ones — a candle-chart read expressed as a number.

Signature

QStick(period, on=<source>)

Argument	Type	Required	Notes
period	int Param or literal	Yes	Window. Default 8, bounds 1–400.
on=	symbol	No	Source symbol. Defaults to the trade symbol. Reads open and close.

Formula

$$ \text{QStick} = \frac{1}{n}\sum_{i} (C_i - O_i) $$

Warmup

period bars; partial average during the lead-in.

Reading the value

q.value
q > 0
q.crossed_above(0)

Example

class QStickBias(Strategy):
    """Long while candle bodies are net positive."""
    trade = Symbol()
    sizing = FixedCapital()

    def execute(self):
        q = QStick(8, on=self.trade)
        if q.crossed_above(0) and self.trade.is_flat:
            self.buy(self.trade, reason="Bodies turned positive")
        if q.crossed_below(0) and self.trade.is_long:
            self.sell(self.trade, self.trade.position, reason="Bodies turned negative")

Notes

• Tushar Chande.
• In price units, so it is not comparable across instruments — divide by price or by ATR if you need that. BalanceOfPower is the range-normalised cousin.