Displaying More Than One Stock On a Chart
Displaying more than one stock on a single SharpChart is a powerful feature that allows you to compare two or more stocks visually.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we'll create a chart of the Dow with the S&P Large Caps, Mid Caps, and Small Caps below it.
Create the SharpChart
Step 1: Enter Symbol for Main Chart.
The Dow ($INDU) will be the main symbol on our SharpChart. There are several ways to create a new SharpChart, but the easiest is to enter the symbol in the Create-a-Chart box at the top of the page and then click Go.
Step 2: Clear Overlays and Indicators
To simplify the chart, let's remove any Indicators and Overlays from the default chart. The quickest way to do that is to click the Clear All link in the Overlays section and repeat the process with the Clear All link in the Indicators section. Once that's done, click one of the Update buttons to update the chart.
Note: You may want to make other changes to the chart, such as changing the size or the color scheme. We're using the “Spruce” color scheme in this example.
Add Other Ticker Symbols to the Chart
You can use the Price indicator to add ticker symbols to your chart. In this example, we'll add $SPX, $MID, and $SML to the chart.
Step 3: Add Ticker Symbols for the Secondary Charts
Select Price from one of the blank indicator dropdowns, and then enter the ticker symbol you want to chart in the Parameters box. In this case, we will use $SPX for the S&P 500. Ensure the Position dropdown is set to Below, so the $SPX chart will appear below the main chart. Finally, click the Update button to update the chart.
Once these changes have been made, your chart should look similar to the chart below.
Step 4: Adding More Charts
To add the other two indexes, repeat the previous step two more times. Remember to change the values in the Parameters boxes to $MID and $SML. When you're done, click the Update button to update the chart.
Your chart should look similar to the one below.
Changing the Style of the Price Indicators
By default, the Price Indicator displays a relatively compact line chart, but you can adjust the settings to something more suitable for your analysis needs. StockCharts members can access these settings in the Advanced Options area.
Step 5: Using Advanced Options
When logged in to your StockCharts account, you should see the green Advanced Options triangle located to the right in the Indicators area (note that this differs from the one in the Overlays area).
If the Advanced Options area for your Price Indicators isn't visible on the SharpCharts Workbench, click the green triangle to make it appear.
Step 6: Select Advanced Options Parameters
First, let's display the three Price Indicators as candlestick charts instead of line charts. To do this, select Candlesticks from the Style dropdown menu next to each of the three Price Indicators. This changes the style from - Auto - to Candlesticks. Then click the Update button.
Step 7: Set the Height of Each Secondary Chart
All four price plots are candlestick charts, but the three Price Indicator charts are short. Let's change the three Price Indicator charts to be 80% as tall as the Dow chart.
You can change the Height of each Price Indicator to 0.8 individually, but a quicker way to achieve this is to change the Reset All Heights value at the bottom of the Indicators section to 0.8, then click the Set button. This will automatically adjust the height of all the indicator panels. Once the heights have been changed, click the Update button to see the results on your chart.
After making the style changes to the Price Indicators, your chart should look similar to the one below.
Time Scales
You may have noticed that while there are date/time labels along the bottom of the main price panel and below the last indicator panel, there aren't any for the other two indicator panels. Fortunately, they are easy to add to our chart.
Step 8: Adding Time Scales to All Charts
In the Indicators area, select Date/Time Axis in the empty indicator dropdown. Since you need to add time scales for two charts, repeat the process in the following blank indicator dropdown that appears. You have two Date/Time Axis indicators listed in the Indicators area.
Step 9: Reordering Date/Time Axis
Since the indicators appear on the chart in the order they are listed, you'll need to move the two Date/Time Axis indicators—one directly below the $SPX Price Indicator and the other directly below the $MID Price Indicator. Click the upward-pointing Reorder arrows (outlined in green and yellow in the screenshot below) until those two “Date/Time Axis” indicators are directly below the $SPX and $MID indicators.
Once they have been moved in place, your Indicators area should look like this:
Click the Update button to update your chart with the latest settings.
The Final Product
The finished chart will look similar to the one below.
Bonus Y-Axis Settings
In addition to the settings covered above, you can customize the y-axis on a Price Indicator panel in two ways. They are as follows:
Inverting the Chart. This setting can be helpful for $VIX and other volatility-focused symbols. To invert the y-axis of the chart so that the high values are at the bottom and the low values at the top, simply add a comma and a second parameter, “inverted,” in the “Parameters” box for your Price Indicator.
Using Log Scale. By default, the Price Indicator is plotted using an arithmetic scale, but if your main chart uses a log scale, you may want to use the same on your Price Indicator. To change the Price Indicator to use a log scale, simply add a comma and a second parameter, log, in the Parameters box for your Price Indicator.
Cool Tip: These two y-axis settings can be used together in a single Price Indicator panel. For example, to plot an inverted log scale price indicator for $VIX, you would enter in the Parameters box: $VIX,inverted,log
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