📊 TECHNICAL
Know Sure Thing (KST)
Martin Pring's composite momentum oscillator that smooths and weights four rate-of-change curves into a single line for identifying major trend turns.
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Live Demo — Know Sure Thing (KST) applied to NIFTY 50 (illustrative)
PriceEMA(9)EMA(21)SMA(20)
What is Know Sure Thing (KST)?
KST was developed by market analyst Martin Pring to summarize momentum across multiple time horizons into a single, smoothed curve. It combines four separately smoothed Rate of Change (ROC) calculations, each weighted by its cycle length, into one composite line, plotted with a signal line similar to MACD.
Formula
ROC1=ROC(Close,10) RCMA1=SMA(ROC1,10)
ROC2=ROC(Close,15) RCMA2=SMA(ROC2,10)
ROC3=ROC(Close,20) RCMA3=SMA(ROC3,10)
ROC4=ROC(Close,30) RCMA4=SMA(ROC4,15)
KST = (RCMA1*1)+(RCMA2*2)+(RCMA3*3)+(RCMA4*4)
Signal Line = SMA(KST, 9)Parameters
| Parameter | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ROC Periods | 10,15,20,30 | Four rate-of-change lookback lengths |
| Smoothing | 10,10,10,15 | SMA smoothing applied to each ROC |
| Weights | 1,2,3,4 | Multipliers applied to each smoothed ROC |
| Signal Length | 9 | SMA period for the KST signal line |
Signal Interpretation
- KST crossing above/below its signal line signals a momentum shift.
- KST crossing zero marks a broader intermediate-to-long-term momentum change.
- Divergence between price and KST at extremes flags major trend exhaustion.
- Because it blends four cycle lengths, KST is smoother and slower than single-period oscillators.
- High-amplitude swings indicate strong, broad-based momentum across multiple timeframes.
Tips & Best Practices
- Best applied on daily/weekly charts for position trading, not intraday scalping.
- Confirm signal-line crosses with price structure since the composite adds lag.
- Pring also designed variant KST versions for different purposes; these settings follow his standard price KST.