Mark Fisher Indicator (MBF)

This study from Mark B. Fisher has two parts: Renko-style bricks drawn on a variably-scaled, time-based chart and Fisher bars displayed below that chart. These volume bars have different durations than bricks, so each bar can correspond to several bricks and vice versa.

MBF can be used only with intraday charts. You can also open a bar chart with this study applied automatically using a Mark Fisher chart.

Charting starts at the session open. If can be applied to regular symbols but not to their inversions or to synthetic strategies and other complex expressions.

You can specify conditions for MBF.

This study cannot be used with trading interfaces, monitors, or quote boards.

MBF requires an enablement.

Bricks

Bricks show the duration of the price range movement. The height of the brick shows the range of prices, and the width of the brick shows the length of time it took to realize that range.

The price range can be specified in ticks or notional value, for example, 1 tick or $0.25 (Brick Unit parameter).

A new brick is started each time the price range is exceeded in either direction. A brick is not fully drawn until it is completed; that is, a new brick isn’t drawn until the price range has been exceeded.

Positive price movements are represented by green bricks, while negative are red. You can change the colors (Display Brick, Color parameter).

Each brick has two components: a shaded area that marks the full span of time and an optional solid bar (stripe) at the end of the timespan (Display Brick, Stripe parameter). The stripe corresponds to the volume bar.

Bricks also have optional wicks (Display Brick, Wick parameter). The wick identifies the actual price range during the duration of the brick.

A brick in progress is drawn as a hollow brick. If the trading session ends before a brick can be completed, it remains hollow. If the market direction of a hollow brick cannot be determined, its color is determined by the Display Brick, MBF Color parameter.

Null bricks

Null bricks are created to fill price gaps and have no actual trade volume. You can suppress the generation of null bricks (see Max Null Brick parameter).

Renko chart users should note that null bricks are displayed differently for MBF bricks.

Both combined (Max Null Bricks=0) and uncombined (Max Null Bricks>0) null MBF bricks are displayed as a vertical dotted line left-aligned to the next non-null MBF Brick (a brick with actual traded volume). The color of null MBF brick is the same as the color of the next non-null MBF brick:

The tooltip for null bricks provides null high and low and time of brick rather than the outputs for non-null bricks.

Fisher bars

Fisher bars show volume corresponding to the time at which the price was within the tick range (versus wicks that show when the price was outside the tick range). The bars are right-aligned, so that they line up with the price bar.

Fisher bars inherit their color from the corresponding brick. Total volume is displayed in one color, either up or down. Bid/ask volumes are drawn in two colors, both up (ask) and down (bid). For bid/ask volume, see also the Display Volume, Stacked parameter.

Fisher bars, like bricks, can have optional wicks. The display of wicks is determined by the Display Volume, Volume parameter.

These volume bars are optional (Display Volume, Volume parameter). You can choose the volume displayed: either exchange or tick and either total or bid/ask (Display Volume, Type and Volume parameters).

Outputs

Outputs are not displayed in the cursor value box, on trading applications, on monitors, or on quote windows.

Hover the mouse over the study curves to see:

•      MBF High

•      MBF Low

•      Wick High

•      Wick Low

•      Start

•      End

•      Duration

For null bricks:

•      Null High

•      Null Low

Hover the mouse over the Fisher bars to see:

•      Volume

•      Start

•      End

•      Duration

The volume value depends on the volume display setting:

•      Total = total volume

•      Total, Wick = total volume and volume @wick

•      Bid/Ask = total volume, bid volume, and ask volume

•      Bid/Ask, Wick = total volume, bid volume, ask volume, bid volume @wick, and ask volume @wick

MBF parameters

Parameters for brick curve (MBF) and volume curve (MBF: Vol)