Qstick

Qstick — Tushar Chande's running average of the candle body (close − open), a direct read of net buying vs. selling pressure.

Quick reference

Field	Value
Family	Trend & Directional
Input type	Candle (uses open and close)
Output type	f64
Output range	unbounded, in price units; > 0 net buying, < 0 net selling
Default parameters	period is required (no default in either binding)
Warmup period (warmup_period())	period
Interpretation	Sign and slope of short-term sentiment; zero crossings flag shifts.

Formula

Qstick = SMA(close - open, period)

Each bar contributes its body: a white body (close > open) is a positive contribution, a black body (close < open) a negative one. Averaging the body over period bars smooths the per-bar noise into a sentiment gauge — a positive Qstick means buyers closed most recent bars above their open, a negative Qstick the opposite. A run of doji-like bars (close ≈ open) pins Qstick near zero.

Source: crates/wickra-core/src/indicators/qstick.rs.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Valid range	Source	Description
period	usize	none	>= 1	qstick.rs:48	Averaging window for the body. 0 errors with Error::PeriodZero.

(Python class wickra.Qstick(period); Node new ta.Qstick(period).)

Inputs / Outputs

From crates/wickra-core/src/indicators/qstick.rs:

use wickra::{Candle, Indicator, Qstick};
// Qstick: Input = Candle, Output = f64
const _: fn(&mut Qstick, Candle) -> Option<f64> = <Qstick as Indicator>::update;

Qstick reads only the open and close (the candle body), so the batch bindings take those two columns. Node: update(open, close) / batch(open[], close[]). Python: update(candle) (a full candle object) / batch(open, close) → 1-D ndarray (NaN for warmup). Node returns number | null / Array<number> with NaN.

Warmup

warmup_period() returns period: the inner SMA needs period bodies before the first reading (bar period, index period − 1). Pinned by accessors_and_metadata (warmup_period() == 5) and warmup_emits_first_value_at_period.

Edge cases

• Constant bodies. constant_bodies_yield_the_body feeds bars that close 1.5 above their open; Qstick converges to exactly 1.5.
• Selling pressure. selling_pressure_is_negative feeds bars closing below their open and asserts a negative reading.
• Reset. reset_clears_state clears the inner SMA.
• Streaming/batch: batch_equals_streaming.

Examples

Rust

use wickra::{BatchExt, Candle, Indicator, Qstick};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let mut q = Qstick::new(3)?;
    let bars = [
        Candle::new(10.0, 11.5, 9.5, 11.0, 1.0, 0)?,
        Candle::new(10.0, 11.5, 9.5, 11.0, 1.0, 1)?,
        Candle::new(10.0, 11.5, 9.5, 11.0, 1.0, 2)?,
    ];
    for v in q.batch(&bars).into_iter().flatten() {
        println!("{v}");
    }
    Ok(())
}

Output:

1

Each body is close − open = 11 − 10 = 1; the SMA(3) of [1, 1, 1] is 1.

Python

import numpy as np
import wickra as ta

q = ta.Qstick(3)
op = np.array([10.0, 10.0, 10.0])
cl = np.array([11.0, 11.0, 11.0])
print(q.batch(op, cl))   # NaN, NaN, 1.0

Output:

[nan nan  1.]

Node

const ta = require('wickra');
const q = new ta.Qstick(3);
const open = [10, 10, 10];
const close = [11, 11, 11];
console.log(q.batch(open, close)); // [ NaN, NaN, 1 ]

Output:

[ NaN, NaN, 1 ]

Streaming

use wickra::{Candle, Indicator, Qstick};

let mut q = Qstick::new(10)?;
let mut last = None;
for i in 0..40 {
    let base = 100.0 + f64::from(i);
    last = q.update(Candle::new(base, base + 2.0, base - 1.0, base + 1.0, 1.0, i64::from(i))?);
}
println!("{last:?}");
# Ok::<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>>(())

Interpretation

Qstick is a sentiment oscillator built from candle bodies rather than price levels:

1. Sign = bias. Positive Qstick = buyers in control over the window; negative = sellers. The further from zero, the stronger the body bias.
2. Zero crossings. A cross up through zero flags a shift from net selling to net buying (and vice versa) — a common entry trigger.
3. Divergence. Price making new highs while Qstick rolls over warns that the bodies are shrinking even as the close advances.

Common pitfalls

• Price-unit scale. Qstick is measured in the instrument's price units, so thresholds do not transfer across symbols; normalise (e.g. by ATR) before comparing instruments.
• Gaps are invisible. Qstick reads only the body and ignores the gap between bars, so overnight moves do not register.

References

Tushar Chande, The New Technical Trader, 1994 — the Qstick indicator.

See also

• Indicator-Sma — the averaging core Qstick runs on the body.
• Indicator-IntradayMomentumIndex — another body-based sentiment gauge, bounded [0, 100].
• Indicators-Overview — the full taxonomy.