Introduction to

CHARTING & TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

in Bloomberg
A Step by Step Guide
Oliver T. Woolf CAIA, MSTA
7 July 2014
Version: 5.1
1. Starting Point ......................................................................................................................... 3
CHART<GO> ......................................................................................................................... 3
TECH<GO> ........................................................................................................................... 5
2. G,GP,GPC,GPO… ................................................................................................................. 6
3. Chart Library .........................................................................................................................10
G<GO> .................................................................................................................................10
4. Chart Wizard .........................................................................................................................11
5. Creating Colour Themes .......................................................................................................13
6. Deleting Charts / Creating Reports ........................................................................................14
7. Adding Annotations ...............................................................................................................15
8. Adding Studies ......................................................................................................................16
9. Adding Signals / Creating Alerts ............................................................................................17
10. Viewing Events in Charts ....................................................................................................20
11. Playlists ...............................................................................................................................22
12. Bloomberg Proprietary Studies............................................................................................23
TRENDSTALL .......................................................................................................................23
TRENDER.............................................................................................................................24
13. Adding More Securities/ Data Lines ....................................................................................25
14. Launchpad ..........................................................................................................................28
15. Market Breadth ...................................................................................................................31
16. Custom Studies & Backtesting ............................................................................................33
STDY<GO>...........................................................................................................................33
BTST<GO> ...........................................................................................................................34
BT<GO> ...............................................................................................................................35
17. Other Data Visualization Tools ............................................................................................39
MKTP<GO> Market Picture..................................................................................................39
PFP<GO> Point & Figure ......................................................................................................40
IGPV<GO> Intraday Volume Analysis ...................................................................................40
RRG<GO> ............................................................................................................................41
GS<GO> ...............................................................................................................................41
18. Excel ...................................................................................................................................42
=BTH() ..................................................................................................................................42
19. PowerPoint..........................................................................................................................44
20. Technical Strategies Newsletter ..........................................................................................45
BRIEF<GO>..........................................................................................................................45

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1. Starting Point
CHART<GO>

This is your starting point for charting within Bloomberg. Here you will find links to:

 Your customized charts created in G<GO>

 Sample charts with Technical Studies

 Templates for some more advanced studies

 Charts of the Day

 Charting Guides and Resources

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Click into one of the Sample G categories to see examples of the studies available…

and then click on one of them to launch it. The chart will automatically generate buy and
sell signals according to the study selected. Here I have selected the RSI study which is
an indicator of momentum…

In order to modify this chart further you will need to select the Save to G option.

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TECH<GO>
TECH<GO> is our Technical Study Browser which has been specifically designed to
allow the user to search for Technical Studies, read their descriptions, and immediately
launch them into Chart templates.

 Easily browse all 200+ technical studies we currently have available in G<GO>
charts (this figure includes those contributed by third party providers)

 Each study has a tail which serves as a shortcut. For example

GPC TRNDR TRNST<GO> will launch a Candle Chart with Bloomberg’s
Proprietary Trender and Trendstall studies.

 View a description of a technical study by selecting it

 Immediately launch the indicator into a historical or intraday chart which can
subsequently be saved as a template in G<GO>

 Find out what new has been added to our technical study library such as:

 Accumulation
 Elliott Wave
 Marubozu Line
 Range Average with SD Bands
 Recommendation Ratio

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2. G,GP,GPC,GPO…
Using the floating toolbar buttons, you can activate the Track cross-hairs, open the
Annotation Palette, and activate the News date picker or the Zoom tool.

When you hover the mouse cursor over the floating toolbar, additional buttons appear.
Repositioning the floating toolbar:
You can reposition the floating toolbar by grabbing the handle on the left side and
dragging it to a more desirable location.
Changing the size and appearance:
Click on the Setup icon on the right side to expose a menu that allows you to customize
the floating toolbar appearance and size. The location and size are automatically saved
on every G chart.

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The Period/Range buttons and Matrix allow for far more flexibility for toggling between
different data frequencies and date ranges.
The Period/Range buttons can be customized within the Shortcuts option in the matrix.

G<GO>, GP<GO>, GPO<GO> and GPC<GO> now all allow you to add additional
securities. You can do this via the Compare button which also allows you to quickly
create a ratio or spread.

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Or, if more securities are needed, click on Security/Study to open the side-panel then
use the Add Security menu.

You can also search for and add technical studies, via Auto complete or the Technical
Study Browser, from the Add Study menu

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The Zoom has an Undo feature which allows you to go back step by step should you
zoom incrementally from within a Zoom.

Of great importance is the option to be able to save any chart that you have created in
GP<GO>, GPC<GO> or GPO<GO> including annotations, studies and events. This is
done via SAVE AS and will allow you to use it as a template going forward. In this way
the different charts are integrated in a consistent manner and GP<GO>, GPC<GO> or
GPO<GO> can be used as a scratch pad for G<GO>.

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3. Chart Library
G<GO>
Whether you have launched and saved your chart from TECH<GO>, converted and
saved it from GP<GO> or GPC<GO>, or simply created it from scratch from within
G<GO>, G<GO> then serves as both the database into which the chart template is
saved, and also the platform from which to enhance and customize it.
Every charting template you create has a number. You can run G + that number as a
shortcut to gain immediate access to that template, e.g. G10<GO>, or if you type G +
the name of the chart it should appear in the Auto complete

At the top are 3 additional options:

1) Create Chart
2) Actions
3) Bulk Mode
These shall be discussed in the subsequent sections

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4. Chart Wizard
By clicking on 1) Create Chart in G<GO> you will arrive at the Chart Wizard.

This allows you to create a customized chart from scratch by choosing from various
different chart templates.
The chart templates include:
1. Standard Chart
Regular time chart where you can add studies and annotations but the
security remains locked
2. Standard Chart (Template)
Same as Standard Chart but the security is unlocked
3. Spread or Ratio Chart
Spreads / ratios can be done in a Standard Chart but this is a quick shortcut
4. Seasonality Chart
5. Scatter Graph (discussed later)
6. Relative Rotation Graph (discussed later)
7. Scrolling Tick Chart
The wizard takes you through the creation of the chart step by step:
In the first step you will be asked to choose the securities and date fields you wish to
chart followed by the option to add studies and events to the chart.

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In the final section you can select a colour theme to apply to the chart:

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5. Creating Colour Themes
By clicking on 2) Actions in G<GO> and then Edit My Display Themes you will arrive at
the Theme Manager.

There are grey tabs across the top that pertain to every aspect of your charting, from
the back ground colours, to the colours of the candles, bars, axes and histograms.
If you need to use very specific colour hues, such as to adhere to a corporate colour
scheme, click into the colour and then choose Custom to specify the colour
coordinates…

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6. Deleting Charts / Creating Reports
By clicking on 3) Bulk Mode in G<GO> you will unveil checkboxes on the left of the
charts which allows you to perform actions on multiple charts at once.
Tick the checkboxes of the charts you wish to use and then from the Actions menu you
can choose to Share, Tag, Delete, Create Report (in PDF format as below), or apply a
colour theme to these charts.

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7. Adding Annotations
In the Annotations button in the floating toolbar you will find a list of annotations
including trend lines and Fibonacci annotations. These can also be access by right
clicking on the chart and choosing the Annotate menu. You can store your 8 favourites
which can be quickly accessed via right click.
These annotations are ‘sticky’ meaning that every time you bring up the same security
you will still see the same annotations until you delete them. You can directly create a
price alert on a trend line by right clicking on it.

Favourites within the

Annotations Palette

Once you have saved a chart in G<GO> all annotations you draw for a given security
shall be saved in the Annotations tab from which you can easily toggle them on and off
across different time frames.

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8. Adding Studies
In order to add new technical studies to a chart click on the Security/Study tab above
the chart from where you can either add studies via Auto complete or click on Browse to
use our Technical Study Browser.

If it is a saved chart in G<GO> any changes that you make will save automatically.
By clicking on the pencil sign on the right of a study you can change the properties of
the study and how it is displayed on the chart. There is also an optional ‘Study’ toolbar
in G<GO> (highlighted in red) which will allow you to do the same.
To access your own custom studies (discussed in more detail later), click into
Security/Study, +Study, Browse and then User Defined.

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9. Adding Signals / Creating Alerts
It is also possible to add Buy and Sell Signals to the chart according to a Strategy
incorporating one or more technical studies. To do this go to the ‘Events’ tab and
choose Event… > Strategies & Studies > My Global Strategies > Create New…
Select the studies you wish to use from the Available factors on the left and then create
your rules at the bottom assigning symbols on the left. Use the Join column to combine
multiple conditions and 2) Add Rule to add a new signal.

Give the strategy a title and then hit Update. Then select it from your Global Strategies
into Current Events and hit Update again to see the signals.

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To convert the signals into alerts click on the small alarm bell next to the strategy in the
Events tab. These alerts will be saved in ALRT<GO>

This allows you the select the Source for the alert (which could be a list rather than a
single security), the delivery method, and also the periodicity of the chart/strategy.

Rather than displaying Buy or Sell signals on the chart it is also possible to paint the
bars in the chart by changing the Action in the strategy to ‘Draw Paintbar’ rather than
‘Show Icon’

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The rules above are painting the bars green if the 20 day moving average is greater
than the 50 day, and red if it is less than. The results can be seen in the image below.

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10. Viewing Events in Charts
In the Events tab you can also choose from a list of different event types to add to the
chart in order to see how they have impacted upon the price of the security selected.
By selecting U.S. Labour for example I can view Change in Non-Farm Payroll, colour-
coded according to positive / negative surprise.

In +Add Event > Browse there are many more options. By selecting US Recessions I
can highlight these recessions on a historical chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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The News option adds a scrolling panel in order to see the impact of the news, as it
occurs, on the price.

The TA Patterns option is an automatic price pattern recognition tool created by

Recognia. It is also possible to search for patterns across lists of securities, and set up
alerts, using the NH RCG<GO> command.

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11. Playlists
The farthest tab on the right is the Chart View Options which allows you to set defaults
specifically for this chart.
The Source allows you to scroll through a list of securities using the current G template.

Choose your security list to unveil the Play button in the top left.

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12. Bloomberg Proprietary Studies
TRENDSTALL
 The TrendStall™ study is derived from the traditional ADX (DMI) indicator by
combining the components of this indicator to show the trend strength regardless
of direction.

 Developed to help traders indentify when the current trend momentum has
reached a point at which it is likely to stall, that is, lose momentum before
continuing or reverse the current trend.

 The point at which the trend is likely to begin stalling is identified by green (end
of downtrend) and red (end of uptrend) triangles on the chart itself.

 The ADX-ROC histogram is created by taking a Rate of Change (ROC) of the

ADX line which measures the rate of acceleration within the trend.

 The triangles appear when the ADX-ROC reverses direction from a peak value
that is above the threshold level (minimum requirement to confirm a sustained
move has occurred).

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TRENDER
 The Bloomberg Trender Indicator is an adaptive indicator that defines the degree
and direction of the trend in a way that attempts to capture the majority of the
position profit while minimizing whipsaws.

 The tool is designed to stay just out of range of the typical pullbacks in price
within the trend, like a trailing stop.

 The input value, "Sensitivity", adjusts the probability for the next day's expected
range to stay within the limits projected by the Trender algorithm.

Trender combines extremely well with Trendstall, as Trendstall warns that momentum is
waning, thus anticipating possible reversals, but Trender filters out the false signals
when momentum resumes in the direction of the initial trend.

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13. Adding More Securities/ Data
Lines
The new Hotspot in Multi-Security Charts in G and Launchpad provides the ability to
change the primary security of the chart directly from the dashboard. In addition, it
supports a rich set of commands to quickly add, move or modify lines on the chart.
Here are some examples…
ADD
Add a new Data line with CO1 Comdty (continuous Brent ;CO1 Comdty
Crude)
Add a new ratio of Brent (CO1 Comdty) to WTI (CL1 ;CO1 Comdty/CL1 Comdty
Comdty)
Add a new spread line of the primary security with Brent ;-CO1 Comdty
Crude

MODIFY
Change Primary Security to Dell Equity Dell Equity
(Affects first Data line OR first security on first relative line)
Change the primary line to the WTI - Brent spread CL1 Comdty - C01 Comdty
Change primary line to IBM Equity \IBM Equity
Change all lines with IBM Equity to DELL Equity IBM Equity = DELL Equity
Change second security of all ratios to SPX Index /SPX Index
Change first securities in all spreads to DELL Equity DELL Equity-
Change spread (–) to ratio (/) in GT2 Govt – GT10 Govt GT2 Govt – GT10 Govt = /
Change all lines from spreads to ratios -=/
Change first security of all relative lines to DELL DELL Equity#
Change second security of all relative lines to DELL #DELL Equity

REMOVE
Remove all data lines with security IBM Equity (relative !IBM Equity
lines untouched)
Remove all IBM Equity / SPX Index relative lines (data lines !IBM Equity / SPX Index
untouched)
Remove all relative lines with IBM Equity as first Security !IBM Equity#
Remove all relative lines with IBM Equity as second !#IBM Equity
security
Remove all relative lines !#

Further information can be found in DOCS 2063039<GO>.

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Hence if I have a chart with ‘VOD LN Equity’ and a type into the yellow box
‘;VOD LN Equity/ UKX Index’, it will add that ratio as a new data line.
If I then want to see the ratio in a new sub-panel I can just drag and drop the new data
line down to the X axis so I now have in 2 steps a chart of Vodafone and its Relative
Strength against the FTSE 100…

Flexibility is key
Manipulation both of the data fields charted and the visualization format is very easy. In
this way it is easy to combine both fundamentals and technicals together.

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In addition to the price the above chart also displays:

 PE and Estimated PE data for the current year

 Volume

 Icons that highlight when Dividends were announced (there are many other
events and corporate actions that can also be displayed)

 Distribution buckets that provide a deeper insight into a security’s liquidity at

different price levels. These can be added from the ‘Chart View Options’ tab.

(These distribution levels can be added with a right click and can also be applied
to technical studies)

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14. Launchpad
The new charting functionality is just as readily accessible in Launchpad.
Drag and drop axes from one side to the other or switch security panels on the fly…

Drag and drop a data line to

overlay it or move it to a new
panel

Keyboard Zoom - Use CNTRL and the Arrow keys to pan and zoom on the fly…

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Distributions – Show distributions to see the zones in which the price has been most
active (also applicable to studies)…

Annotation Toggle - Toggle annotations on/off without deleting or ghosting

Annotation Favorites - Select up to four of your favorite annotations for easy access

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15. Market Breadth
Market breadth data gauges the general strength of an index by measuring the
number/percentage of the index constituents that adhere to a given criteria.
The example below shows the S&P 500 in panel 1, the percentage of its members
above their 50 week moving average in panel 2, and the percentage of members
making new 52 week highs/lows in panel 3.

These breadth fields can be used in other functions. For example they can be used in
GS<GO> (discussed later) to compare the health of different markets…

Market breadth fields are available for 54 different markets and an exhaustive list of

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fields available can be found by loading an index and then typing FLDS BREADTH
<GO>.

There is a sample Launchpad View for Market Breadth which can be inserted into your
existing Launchpad. Type ‘Sample Views’ into the Launchpad toolbar and then hit Add
to Current

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16. Custom Studies & Backtesting
STDY<GO>
With the STDY<GO> opt-in feature you can design your own Technical Studies either
via the Custom Studies SDK in Microsoft Visual Studio using C# or VB.Net, or by using
Bloomberg’s proprietary CS.Lite easy scripting language as per the snapshot below…

The Syntax Help provides all the expressions for the Technical Studies as well as
mathematical formulae and other operators in order to start building your study. There is
also an interactive forum for questions and examples which can be accessed via option
3 at the top of the function.

To add these custom studies into your G<GO> charts you need to go to ‘Browse All
Studies’ and then go to the ‘User Defined’ folder.

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BTST<GO>
BTST<GO> is a quick way to check the performance of some popular technical
strategies. In the Simulation Control tab you can define the time window and periodicity.

You can then click into any of the individual studies in order to see a more in depth
analysis of the strategy including risk statistics and profitability ratios.

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BT<GO>
In BT<GO> you can backtest and optimize strategies, on existing technical studies,
your own proprietary studies and even combinations of multiple studies...Select ‘New
Strategy’ to create your own custom made strategy.
Below I am recreating the strategy employed in Section 2 to create alerts in my G<GO>
chart, using RSI to buy and sell according to Over Sold and Over Bought levels in the
RSI, and combining ADX as a condition to measure whether or not there is a trend.
I can define exit rules such as % stops and choose whether to trade at market, stop or
limit. It is also possible to incorporate other securities and data fields into a strategy.

Once inside the results screen you can click into Launch > Parameter Optimization to
find which would have been the optimum values for the variable components of the
studies according to a criteria such as total profit.

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In this case the Optimization results are telling me that various period combinations of
RSI and ADX would have performed better than the standard values of 14.

It is possible to visualize these results in a 3D format which makes it easier to identify

optimum performance ‘zones’…

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From the Launch menu you can test the strategy over a basket of securities by
choosing Multi-Security Analysis…

and you can also create alerts on the strategy…

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In the ‘Multi-Strategy Worksheet’ mode you can compare different strategies. Click on
Chart to compare the performance graphically…

…or Scatter Chart to break the strategies down by different metrics in a scatter plot
format…
The example below measures Total Profit of each strategy on the Y axis and Max %
Drawdown on the X axis. Bollinger bands clearly performed best in this case.

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17. Other Data Visualization Tools
There are many other charting tools in Bloomberg that allow you to visualize the data in
a different, and sometimes unique, manner… These charts are also in the G Wizard.

MKTP<GO> Market Picture

Market Picture is an analysis of time at price in a distribution format.

 It is based on the statistical properties of a normal distribution
 It helps identify key zones of market activity as well as market direction
 It is very useful for locating levels of support / resistance
 Very useful proxy for volume when it is not available (e.g. FX)

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PFP<GO> Point & Figure

Point and Figure focuses purely on price movement and eliminates minor fluctuations.

IGPV<GO> Intraday Volume Analysis

Use IGPV<GO> for detailed intraday analysis on volume and VWAP.

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RRG<GO>

Designed by Julius de Kempenaer RRG<GO> displays Relative Sector Rotation

based on a proprietary formula for normalized relative strength and momentum of that
relative strength. It can be applied to other security universes and asset classes too.

GS<GO>

GS<GO> is a scatter plot chart that allows for the comparison of 4 data sets (X axis, Y
axis, marker size, marker colour) over a user selected universe of securities

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18. Excel
=BTH()
Downloading technical data to Excel, both historical and real-time, is now easy via our
Technical Analysis wizard in the Bloomberg add-in…

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It is also possible to import live charts from the G<GO> database into Excel via the
Chart Library option…
These charts work exactly like charts in the terminal so they update dynamically and
can be annotated / modified.

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19. PowerPoint
The Charts Library is also available in the PowerPoint addin. The benefit of Bloomberg
charts in PowerPoint is that, although linked to the terminal for the creator and thus
modifiable and refreshable, they become static images once disseminated.

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20.Technical Strategies Newsletter
BRIEF<GO>
Our fortnightly newsletter which you can subscribe to in BRIEF<GO> highlights how to
use our many technical tools to create trade ideas in current market scenarios. And,
once a quarter we issue our ‘Quarter in Brief’ outlook which won the award for ‘Best
Specialist Research’ at the 2014 awards of The Technical Analyst magazine.

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