Comparative analysis of indicator performance in financial markets

In financial markets, one of the methods used to make investment decisions and predict price movements is technical analysis. Many different indicators can be used in the technical analysis process. Today, professional investors create strategies with the help of indicators and use the buy and sell signals given by these indicators. Investors prefer to use the indicator that provides them with the greatest return in this process. Non-professional investors generally do not use indicators in the decision-making process and can suffer serious losses due to their weak technical knowledge. In this context, it can be extremely important for investors to determine when and how to use which indicator. The purpose of this study is to comparatively analyze the performances of indicators in different markets. In this context, the performances of the Relative Strength Index-RSI, Stochastic Indicator, Moving Averages, Moving Average Convergence Divergence Indicator (MACD) and Bollinger Bands indicators were examined. The case study method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the analysis. The application was carried out on four different markets, namely Borsa Istanbul (BIST), Foreign Exchange Market, Commodity Market and Crypto Market, between 01.01.2017-31.12.2024. The study included Turkish Airlines Inc., Türkiye İş Bankası Inc. and Tüpraş-Türkiye Petrol Rafinerileri Inc. stocks from Borsa Istanbul, Euro/Dollar, British Pound/Dollar and Chinese Yuan/Dollar parities from the foreign exchange market, Gold, Silver and Copper from the commodity market and Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple from the crypto market. The findings of the study show that each indicator produces different results in different markets. Therefore, it is recommended that investors use the indicators together in the decision-making process.