Learning notes: Ichimoku Cloud — Trading Wiki
Ichimoku Cloud displays several historical-price calculations with differing lookbacks and plotting offsets. Its Kumo cloud and other lines are chart conventions, not observations of future prices.
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What Ichimoku Cloud means
Ichimoku Cloud displays several historical-price calculations with differing lookbacks and plotting offsets. Its Kumo cloud and other lines are chart conventions, not observations of future prices.
In depth
The Ichimoku Cloud combines five historical-price calculations with different lookbacks and plotting offsets. The linked TradingView documentation describes its components and introduces its late-1960s publication history. A line plotted ahead of the latest candle still uses historical inputs; it does not observe future support or resistance. The five components are: Tenkan-sen (Conversion Line) — the midpoint of the highest high and lowest low over the past 9 periods, serving as a fast signal line. Kijun-sen (Base Line) — the midpoint over 26 periods, serving as a medium-term trend indicator and potential support/resistance.
Senkou Span A (Leading Span A) — the average of Tenkan and Kijun lines, plotted 26 periods into the future. Senkou Span B (Leading Span B) — the midpoint of the highest high and lowest low over 52 periods, plotted 26 periods ahead. The shaded area between Senkou Span A and B forms the Cloud (Kumo) — the system's signature feature. Chikou Span (Lagging Span) — the current closing price plotted 26 periods in the past, used for confirmation. Trading signals in Ichimoku follow a hierarchy. One convention labels a bullish alignment when price is above the Cloud, Tenkan-sen is above Kijun-sen, Chikou Span is above the earlier price and Senkou Span A is above B.
The alignment describes selected historical calculations; it is not a proven strongest signal.
Key points
- Five components that show trend, momentum, and support/resistance
- The cloud plots calculated historical values with a chosen displacement
- Component alignment describes related calculations without proving predictive strength
Why it matters when you are learning
Identify each lookback and plotting offset. A line displayed ahead of the current candle is calculated from historical prices, rather than knowledge of future support or resistance.
Worked exercise and its limits
On an external chart, record the lookback and plot displacement for each Ichimoku component. Moving a historical calculation forward on a chart does not make it future information. The cloud overlay is not supported by TradeHQ.
Educational simulation only — not financial advice. Virtual money; no brokerage transactions. Quotes may be delayed, cached, unavailable or fixed simulator values; generated charts are labelled separately. Practice results do not predict investment outcomes.