Last updated: 8 October 2026. Every screenshot below was recorded on 8 October 2026 on an IQ Option Practice account registered in Brazil, on EUR/USD 5-minute candles; the Chart analysis picture in Step 1 was recorded on 5 October 2026. We placed no real-money trade. The settings come from the platform’s dialog and the calculation from the published source code of the platform’s built-in indicators (Quadcode’s script library). The tested box shows what the overbought and oversold reading did with the platform’s period of 20 and with 14, the period of the usual formula, on EUR/USD candles recorded between 29 September and 5 October 2026; it says nothing about what will happen next.
The Intraday Momentum Index (IMI) looks at the body of each candle, from the open to the close, instead of at the change from one close to the next. It adds up the bodies of the rising candles and the bodies of the falling candles over the last 20 candles and plots the rising share as a percentage from 0 to 100. On IQ Option it opens in its own panel under the price chart with lines at 70 and 30: above 70 is the overbought area and below 30 the oversold area. On 5-minute EUR/USD candles the line was at or above 70 on 7% of the candles and at or below 30 on 13%.
Quick answer
- What it plots: one line from 0 to 100 in a panel under the price chart, with level lines at 70 and 30.
- Formula: IMI = 100 × gains ÷ (gains + losses), over the last n candles, where a gain is close − open of a candle that closes at or above its open and a loss is open − close of a candle that closes below it.
- Settings on the platform: Period 20, Overbought 70 and Oversold 30.
- Reading: above 70 is overbought and below 30 oversold; divergences and breaks of a trendline drawn on the line are also read.
- Where: the Momentum list of the Chart analysis panel; search for Intraday.
- Tested: with the platform’s period of 20 the levels rule gave 50 signals on 5-minute candles and the trades won 56.2% (5 minutes) and 58.0% (15 minutes) of the decided trades; with the 14 of the usual formula, 48.8% and 38.5%. Break-even is 54.1% at an 85% payout, and a few days of one pair prove nothing.
How do you add the Intraday Momentum Index on IQ Option?
Set the chart
Choose the asset, the chart type and the candle size first: the indicator is calculated from the candles on the chart. The examples in this guide use 5-minute candles on EUR/USD. These steps use the web traderoom on a Practice balance, and the numbers in each screenshot match the numbers in the text. If you do not have an account yet, see how to register.
Step 1: Open Chart analysis
Click the indicators button (1), the wave icon in the chart toolbar at the bottom left of the chart. The Chart analysis panel opens with the tabs Indicators, Templates, Widgets and Scripts. Stay on Indicators.
Step 2: Find Intraday Momentum Index
Type “Intraday” in the Search for indicators box (1), or open the Momentum list, and click Intraday Momentum Index (2).
Step 3: Check the settings
The dialog has the tabs Basic settings (1), Colors and display and Script. The Period (2) opens at 20, the number of candles in the two sums. The Overbought (3) opens at 70, the upper level line. The Oversold (4) opens at 30, the lower level line.
Step 4: Check the colours and click Apply
Open the Colors and display tab (1). The tab has two named rows: Main line, yellow by default, and Support Lines, which holds the colours of the 70 and 30 lines (green and red by default); each has colour boxes and a line-style box. Under them is a third row without a name, with a grey colour box and a line-style box; this guide does not change it. All the rows are in box 2. Click Apply (3).
Step 5: Read the panel
The panel under the price chart is titled Intraday Momentum Index (20) (1). The yellow line (2) moves between a green line at 70 and a red line at 30, and the scale at the right edge is marked 100, 70, 50 and 30.
How is the Intraday Momentum Index calculated?
On every candle the Quadcode source looks at the body of the candle only. If the close is at or above the open, the candle adds close − open to the gains; if the close is below the open, it adds open − close to the losses. Over the Period (20 on the platform) the IMI is 100 × sum of gains ÷ (sum of gains + sum of losses). A line near 100 means that almost all the movement inside the last 20 candles was upward, and a line near 0 that almost all of it was downward. The indicator is credited to Tushar Chande; it joins candlestick analysis with the Relative Strength Index.
| Part | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Period | 20 | Number of candles in the two sums |
| Overbought | 70 | The upper level line |
| Oversold | 30 | The lower level line |
The formula note says that n is typically 14 and uses the word days; the platform’s dialog opens at 20 and counts candles, whatever their size. Because the IMI uses the open and the close of each candle, gaps between candles do not count: only the movement inside the candles does.
How do you read the Intraday Momentum Index?
There are three ideas. Levels: an IMI below 30 means the asset is oversold and above 70 overbought, but the price can stay a long time in an overbought or oversold area. Divergences: when the IMI and the price move in opposite directions, a bullish divergence is the IMI rising while the price falls, and a bearish divergence is the IMI falling while the price rises. Breakouts: a break of a trendline drawn on the IMI line points to a change of direction. Its limits are that the indicator is less effective for long-term trading, can give false signals in a volatile market and is best used with other indicators.
What did it look like on 5-minute candles?
We replayed the library script on EUR/USD 5-minute candles recorded from the Practice traderoom: 1,093 candles from 29 September 2026 (01:55 UTC) to 2 October (20:55 UTC) and 241 from 4 October (21:00 UTC) to 5 October (17:00 UTC). With the default period of 20 the line has a value from the 20th candle of each stretch, 1,296 values in all.
- Range: from 1.8 to 92.9.
- Levels: at or above 70 on 94 candles (7%) and at or below 30 on 166 (13%); with a period of 14, 133 (10%) and 262 (20%).
- Middle: the line crossed 50 131 times, about every 10 candles.
Two stills of the platform, window A (the Step 5 picture) and window B (not pictured), agree with the replay (read off the panel at 133 points, the line differed from the replay by 0.6 points at the median in window A and 0.2 in window B). In window A, 29 September from 06:43 to 12:38 on the platform clock, the line is above 70 from 08:30 to 09:15, with its high of 79.7 at 09:05, falls back and touches 30 at 10:45 (27.0). In window B, from 12:03 to 17:52, it stays between about 22 and 42 until 15:00, climbs through 50 and 70 to a high of 76.3 at 15:40, stays above 70 until 16:40 and falls back. The replay of the library script gives the same highs and lows (79.7 at 09:05, 27.0 at 10:45, 22.3 at 14:40, 76.3 at 15:40). (The platform draws the value of a candle at the time the candle closes: the candle that opened at 08:00 sits at the 08:05 mark.)
The overbought and oversold rule, tested
We wrote the first idea as an exact rule on closed candles: Higher on the candle where the IMI rises back above 30 after being at or below it, and Lower on the candle where it falls back below 70 after being at or above it, with the option opened at the close of that candle. No expiry is given, so the box shows five minutes and fifteen minutes, and five minutes on 1-minute candles. We ran it with the platform’s period of 20 and with 14, the period of the usual formula. Divergences and trendline breaks are judged by eye and are not tested.
Tested on IQ Option: the Intraday Momentum Index levels at periods 20 and 14, EUR/USD candles of 29 September to 5 October 2026
| Asset and candles | EUR/USD binary (regular, not OTC): 1,334 five-minute candles (2026-09-29 01:55 to 2026-10-02 20:55 UTC and 2026-10-04 21:00 to 2026-10-05 17:00 UTC); 1,505 one-minute candles (2026-10-02 18:23 to 2026-10-02 20:59 UTC and 2026-10-04 21:01 to 2026-10-05 19:28 UTC). The candles were recorded from IQ Option’s Practice traderoom. The replay places no orders; it only scores the rule on those closed candles, at an 85% payout. |
|---|---|
| Rule tested | The levels on closed candles: Higher on the candle where the IMI rises back above 30 after being at or below it, Lower on the candle where it falls back below 70 after being at or above it; the option opens at the close of that candle. Period 20 (the platform’s default) and 14 (the usual formula); no expiry is given, so the box shows 5 and 15 minutes on 5-minute candles and 5 minutes on 1-minute candles. |
| Signals | Levels 70/30, period 20 (platform default), 5-minute, 1 candle: 50 signals (35 Higher, 15 Lower) Levels 70/30, period 20, 5-minute, 3 candles: 50 signals (35 Higher, 15 Lower) Levels 70/30, period 14 (the usual formula), 5-minute, 1 candle: 80 signals (53 Higher, 27 Lower) Levels 70/30, period 14, 5-minute, 3 candles: 78 signals (51 Higher, 27 Lower) Levels 70/30, period 20, 1-minute, 5 candles: 56 signals (28 Higher, 28 Lower) |
| Outcomes | Levels 70/30, period 20 (platform default), 5-minute, 1 candle: 27 won, 21 lost, 2 tied; 56.2% of the 48 decided trades won; net +$0.04 per $1 staked at 85% (+$0.07 at 91%) Levels 70/30, period 20, 5-minute, 3 candles: 29 won, 21 lost, 0 tied; 58.0% of the 50 decided trades won; net +$0.07 per $1 staked at 85% (+$0.11 at 91%) Levels 70/30, period 14 (the usual formula), 5-minute, 1 candle: 39 won, 41 lost, 0 tied; 48.8% of the 80 decided trades won; net −$0.10 per $1 staked at 85% (−$0.07 at 91%) Levels 70/30, period 14, 5-minute, 3 candles: 30 won, 48 lost, 0 tied; 38.5% of the 78 decided trades won; net −$0.29 per $1 staked at 85% (−$0.27 at 91%) Levels 70/30, period 20, 1-minute, 5 candles: 32 won, 23 lost, 1 tied; 58.2% of the 55 decided trades won; net +$0.07 per $1 staked at 85% (+$0.11 at 91%) |
| Break-even | At an 85% payout a trade needs to win more than 54.1% of its decided trades to break even (1 ÷ 1.85); at 91%, more than 52.4% (1 ÷ 1.91). |
A replay is only a look back at candles recorded on the dates above: it placed no real orders, covers about four and a half days of one pair, and counts overlapping trades as if they were independent. A short test proves nothing about the future, and no profit and no win rate is promised here. IQ Option’s own blog on backtesting says that most strategies need dozens, and often hundreds, of trades before a result means anything.
With the platform’s period of 20 the rule gave 50 signals on 5-minute candles, 35 Higher and 15 Lower. With a 5-minute trade 27 won and 21 lost (56.2%, with a 95% interval of 42% to 69%); with a 15-minute trade 29 won and 21 lost (58.0%, interval 44% to 71%). On 1-minute candles with a 5-minute trade it gave 56 signals and 32 won against 23 (58.2%, interval 45% to 70%). With the 14 of the usual formula the rule gave 80 signals and won 48.8% with a 5-minute trade and 38.5% with a 15-minute trade. The three readings with the platform’s period are above the break-even rate of 54.1% at an 85% payout, but each has an interval that includes it, and the readings with a period of 14 are below it, so the result depends on the period chosen. It is a reason to test on a Practice balance, not an edge.
Pros and Cons of the Intraday Momentum Index
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Uses only the body of each candle, so a gap between candles does not move it. | It is less effective for long-term trading and can give false signals when the market is volatile. |
| Bounded between 0 and 100 with two level lines, like the RSI. | The price can stay in the overbought or oversold area for a long time. |
| Simple to read: above 70 or below 30. | The period changes the result a lot: in our test 20 and 14 gave opposite pictures. |
Common mistakes
- Treating 70 or 30 as a reversal. The price can stay there for a long time.
- Taking the period from the formula note. The platform opens at 20; the note says 14.
- Comparing it with the RSI line by line. The RSI uses changes between closes and the IMI uses the body of each candle.
- Judging a rule from one period. Period 20 gave 50 signals and period 14 gave 80, with different results.
Related guides
- RSI on IQ Option and DeMarker
- Classic and hidden divergences and overbought and oversold markets
- Trading candles and Japanese candlesticks
- All indicator guides and all strategy guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the Intraday Momentum Index?
A: An oscillator from 0 to 100 that compares the sum of the bodies of rising candles with the sum of the bodies of all candles over the last n candles. It is credited to Tushar Chande.
Q: What settings does the Intraday Momentum Index have on IQ Option?
A: Period 20, Overbought 70 and Oversold 30. The Colors and display tab has a colour and a line style for the line and for the two level lines.
Q: What do 70 and 30 mean?
A: Above 70 the asset is called overbought and below 30 oversold. The price can stay beyond a level for a long time.
Q: How is it different from the RSI?
A: The RSI uses the changes from one close to the next. The IMI uses the body of each candle, from the open to the close, so it ignores gaps between candles.
Q: Does the rule work?
A: The results of the return-inside rule at two periods and two expiries are in the tested box; they are mixed and rest on 50 to 80 signals.
Q: Can I use the IMI on binary options?
A: The platform draws it on any chart. Whether a rule works is something to test on the Practice balance with the expiry you plan to use.
