Strategy library · Moving averages
Triple EMA stack (4/9/18) backtest on NQ and ES futures
Triple EMA stack 4 / 9 / 18
Also called: 4 9 18 EMA strategy, buy when the 4 EMA moves above the 9 EMA, which is above the 18 EMA, for the first time, short when the 4 EMA moves below the 9 EMA, which is below the 18 EMA, for the first time
What happens if you buy NQ every time the 4 EMA moves above the 9 EMA, which is above the 18 EMA, for the first time?
What it is
Three exponential moving averages (EMAs) of 4, 9 and 18 periods are stacked in order when they run in one direction. This strategy goes long on the first bar with EMA 4 above EMA 9 above EMA 18, short on the first bar with the reverse order, and exits when the stack breaks.
What it did
On NQ futures from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy took 909 trades on the 15-minute chart, won 38.9% of them and finished -457.00 points (-$9,140 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage. From 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 on NQ, the 456 long trades on the 15-minute chart won 41.7% and made 1,482.25 points ($29,645 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage. On ES futures from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy took 958 trades on the 15-minute chart, won 38.6% of them and finished -357.75 points (-$17,887 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage. The 5-minute, 1-hour and daily results for both markets are in the table on this page.
How it was tested
CE Market Solutions tested the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy on NQ (2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07) and ES (2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27) futures, before commission and slippage, with each signal filled at the next bar's open, intraday positions flat at 15:59 ET and textbook default indicator settings; the NQ trades are listed on this page and the ES trades under the ES tab.
See it tested with one change · $19
Tested by CE Market Solutions on 2026-10-26. The trades are listed below, one market at a time. Gross, no commission or slippage. Last 2 years.
Results
Rule as tested: Long on the first bar with EMA 4 > 9 > 18; short on the first bar with 4 < 9 < 18. Exit: When the stack breaks.
| Timeframe | NQ · 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 | ES · 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trades | Win % | Avg pts | Profit factor | Net pts | Net $ (1 NQ) | Max DD pts | Trades | Win % | Avg pts | Profit factor | Net pts | Net $ (1 ES) | Max DD pts | |
| 5 minute | 2915 | 34.4% | 0.23 | 1.010 | 678.00 | $13,560 | 3,709.00 | 2832 | 35.0% | 0.28 | 1.058 | 790.50 | $39,525 | 620.25 |
| 5 minute · longs only | 1512 | 37.2% | — | — | 1,931.50 | $38,630 | 2,220.25 | 1450 | 36.3% | — | — | 608.50 | $30,425 | 321.75 |
| 5 minute · shorts only | 1403 | 31.3% | — | — | −1,253.50 | −$25,070 | 3,275.75 | 1382 | 33.6% | — | — | 182.00 | $9,100 | 459.25 |
| 15 minute | 909 | 38.9% | −0.50 | 0.987 | −457.00 | −$9,140 | 4,603.25 | 958 | 38.6% | −0.37 | 0.955 | −357.75 | −$17,887 | 790.50 |
| 15 minute · longs only | 456 | 41.7% | — | — | 1,482.25 | $29,645 | 1,553.25 | 477 | 38.8% | — | — | −226.50 | −$11,325 | 562.25 |
| 15 minute · shorts only | 453 | 36.2% | — | — | −1,939.25 | −$38,785 | 3,786.00 | 481 | 38.5% | — | — | −131.25 | −$6,562 | 718.00 |
| 1 hour | 320 | 45.0% | 3.72 | 1.077 | 1,190.75 | $23,815 | 3,370.50 | 342 | 48.3% | −0.10 | 0.991 | −33.25 | −$1,662 | 536.25 |
| 1 hour · longs only | 163 | 45.4% | — | — | 567.00 | $11,340 | 2,417.00 | 161 | 47.8% | — | — | −112.00 | −$5,600 | 314.50 |
| 1 hour · shorts only | 157 | 44.6% | — | — | 623.75 | $12,475 | 1,699.75 | 181 | 48.6% | — | — | 78.75 | $3,938 | 353.25 |
| Daily | 41 | 24.4% | −121.55 | 0.665 | −4,983.50 | −$99,670 | 7,340.75 | 40 | 25.0% | −23.44 | 0.692 | −937.75 | −$46,887 | 1,198.25 |
| Daily · longs only | 22 | 31.8% | — | — | 1,750.25 | $35,005 | 3,047.25 | 23 | 30.4% | — | — | 469.25 | $23,463 | 357.50 |
| Daily · shorts only | 19 | 15.8% | — | — | −6,733.75 | −$134,675 | 7,112.75 | 17 | 17.7% | — | — | −1,407.00 | −$70,350 | 1,407.00 |
Free to use with credit to CE Market Solutions (CC BY 4.0).
ES 15 minute: the equity line
Long and short
| Side | Trades | Net pts |
|---|---|---|
| Long | 477 | −226.50 |
| Short | 481 | −131.25 |
By month
| Month | Trades | Net pts |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-08 | 4 | 14.50 |
| 2024-09 | 44 | −89.75 |
| 2024-10 | 42 | −48.25 |
| 2024-11 | 31 | 29.50 |
| 2024-12 | 35 | 217.50 |
| 2025-01 | 36 | −79.00 |
| 2025-02 | 45 | 59.75 |
| 2025-03 | 35 | −77.25 |
| 2025-04 | 37 | 318.75 |
| 2025-05 | 49 | −318.75 |
| 2025-06 | 39 | −71.75 |
| 2025-07 | 39 | −59.00 |
| 2025-08 | 44 | −37.00 |
| 2025-09 | 43 | −32.25 |
| 2025-10 | 37 | 195.50 |
| 2025-11 | 35 | 44.25 |
| 2025-12 | 51 | −104.25 |
| 2026-01 | 36 | −93.50 |
| 2026-02 | 33 | −21.00 |
| 2026-03 | 42 | 56.25 |
| 2026-04 | 41 | −74.00 |
| 2026-05 | 44 | −153.25 |
| 2026-06 | 39 | 16.75 |
| 2026-07 | 38 | −33.25 |
| 2026-08 | 39 | −18.25 |
Every trade, ES 15 minute958 trades
Pick any of the 958 charted trades with Previous, Next or a date, or click a row in the trades table below, to see it drawn on the real 1-minute bars. Drag the chart sideways to move through the sessions around it.
Chart unavailable. The trades are in the table below.
All trades (958), newest first
Times are New York time; points are gross. Click a row to draw that trade in the chart above.
| Session date | Side | Entry (ET) | Entry price | Exit (ET) | Exit price | Exit reason | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-19 | long | 12:15 | 6707.00 | 15:59 | 6721.75 | end of day 15:59 | 14.75 |
| 2025-09-19 | short | 11:30 | 6691.00 | 12:15 | 6707.00 | stack broken and reversed | −16.00 |
| 2025-09-18 | short | 14:00 | 6696.25 | 15:59 | 6692.25 | end of day 15:59 | 4.00 |
| 2025-09-18 | long | 12:45 | 6708.50 | 13:45 | 6697.25 | stack broken | −11.25 |
| 2025-09-18 | short | 12:00 | 6694.00 | 12:30 | 6703.00 | stack broken | −9.00 |
| 2025-09-18 | short | 11:15 | 6697.00 | 11:30 | 6701.50 | stack broken | −4.50 |
| 2025-09-17 | short | 14:45 | 6635.75 | 15:30 | 6671.00 | stack broken | −35.25 |
| 2025-09-17 | short | 14:15 | 6647.00 | 14:30 | 6672.75 | stack broken | −25.75 |
| 2025-09-17 | short | 10:30 | 6660.25 | 14:00 | 6665.50 | stack broken | −5.25 |
| 2025-09-16 | short | 15:45 | 6670.00 | 15:59 | 6668.25 | end of day 15:59 | 1.75 |
| 2025-09-15 | short | 14:45 | 6608.00 | 15:59 | 6621.75 | end of day 15:59 | −13.75 |
| 2025-09-15 | long | 14:00 | 6618.75 | 14:15 | 6614.50 | stack broken | −4.25 |
| 2025-09-12 | long | 12:30 | 6594.25 | 15:45 | 6591.75 | stack broken | −2.50 |
| 2025-09-10 | short | 12:45 | 6539.00 | 15:59 | 6539.25 | end of day 15:59 | −0.25 |
| 2025-09-09 | long | 13:30 | 6513.00 | 15:59 | 6521.00 | end of day 15:59 | 8.00 |
| 2025-09-08 | short | 13:00 | 6503.50 | 15:59 | 6507.00 | end of day 15:59 | −3.50 |
| 2025-09-08 | long | 10:30 | 6505.50 | 12:30 | 6504.25 | stack broken | −1.25 |
| 2025-09-08 | short | 10:15 | 6500.00 | 10:30 | 6505.50 | stack broken and reversed | −5.50 |
| 2025-09-05 | short | 10:30 | 6484.25 | 15:00 | 6482.00 | stack broken | 2.25 |
| 2025-09-04 | long | 10:30 | 6470.00 | 15:59 | 6511.25 | end of day 15:59 | 41.25 |
| 2025-09-04 | short | 10:15 | 6460.25 | 10:30 | 6470.00 | stack broken and reversed | −9.75 |
| 2025-09-04 | long | 09:45 | 6471.50 | 10:15 | 6460.25 | stack broken and reversed | −11.25 |
| 2025-09-03 | short | 12:00 | 6445.50 | 15:45 | 6444.25 | stack broken | 1.25 |
| 2025-09-03 | long | 11:00 | 6461.75 | 11:45 | 6449.00 | stack broken | −12.75 |
| 2025-09-03 | short | 10:00 | 6441.75 | 10:45 | 6458.75 | stack broken | −17.00 |
| 2025-09-02 | long | 15:00 | 6403.75 | 15:59 | 6426.00 | end of day 15:59 | 22.25 |
| 2025-09-02 | short | 10:45 | 6404.00 | 13:30 | 6399.25 | stack broken | 4.75 |
| 2025-09-01 | long | 10:15 | 6478.25 | 12:59 | 6483.00 | early close | 4.75 |
| 2025-08-29 | short | 14:30 | 6467.00 | 15:15 | 6470.25 | stack broken | −3.25 |
| 2025-08-29 | short | 09:45 | 6494.50 | 14:15 | 6469.50 | stack broken | 25.00 |
| 2025-08-28 | long | 12:15 | 6505.50 | 15:59 | 6517.00 | end of day 15:59 | 11.50 |
| 2025-08-28 | short | 11:30 | 6490.00 | 11:45 | 6496.25 | stack broken | −6.25 |
| 2025-08-28 | short | 10:00 | 6486.75 | 11:15 | 6499.50 | stack broken | −12.75 |
| 2025-08-27 | long | 15:45 | 6500.25 | 15:59 | 6494.25 | end of day 15:59 | −6.00 |
| 2025-08-27 | long | 13:00 | 6491.50 | 15:15 | 6490.00 | stack broken | −1.50 |
| 2025-08-27 | long | 10:30 | 6489.50 | 12:45 | 6486.00 | stack broken | −3.50 |
| 2025-08-26 | long | 14:15 | 6462.00 | 15:59 | 6481.00 | end of day 15:59 | 19.00 |
| 2025-08-25 | short | 14:45 | 6470.00 | 15:59 | 6454.50 | end of day 15:59 | 15.50 |
| 2025-08-25 | long | 10:00 | 6473.00 | 13:45 | 6473.25 | stack broken | 0.25 |
| 2025-08-21 | short | 12:00 | 6388.00 | 14:15 | 6391.25 | stack broken | −3.25 |
| 2025-08-21 | long | 11:45 | 6406.00 | 12:00 | 6388.00 | stack broken and reversed | −18.00 |
| 2025-08-21 | short | 11:15 | 6387.50 | 11:30 | 6399.50 | stack broken | −12.00 |
| 2025-08-21 | long | 11:00 | 6404.00 | 11:15 | 6387.50 | stack broken and reversed | −16.50 |
| 2025-08-20 | long | 15:15 | 6415.25 | 15:59 | 6413.75 | end of day 15:59 | −1.50 |
| 2025-08-20 | short | 14:30 | 6391.75 | 15:00 | 6400.50 | stack broken | −8.75 |
| 2025-08-20 | long | 14:00 | 6406.00 | 14:15 | 6393.75 | stack broken | −12.25 |
| 2025-08-20 | short | 10:00 | 6387.25 | 12:15 | 6397.25 | stack broken | −10.00 |
| 2025-08-19 | short | 10:45 | 6457.75 | 15:59 | 6432.75 | end of day 15:59 | 25.00 |
| 2025-08-19 | long | 10:15 | 6472.50 | 10:45 | 6457.75 | stack broken and reversed | −14.75 |
| 2025-08-18 | long | 14:45 | 6467.25 | 15:59 | 6468.75 | end of day 15:59 | 1.50 |
Questions and answers
What happens if you buy NQ every time the 4 EMA moves above the 9 EMA, which is above the 18 EMA, for the first time?
From 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 on the NQ 15-minute chart, the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy took 456 long trades, won 41.7% of them and made 1,482.25 points ($29,645 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage. From 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 on NQ, its long trades also made 1,931.50 points on 1,512 trades on the 5-minute chart, 567.00 points on 163 trades on the 1-hour chart and 1,750.25 points on 22 trades on the daily chart, before commission and slippage.
What happens if you short ES every time the 4 EMA moves below the 9 EMA, which is below the 18 EMA, for the first time?
From 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27 on the ES 15-minute chart, the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy took 481 short trades, won 38.5% of them and made -131.25 points (-$6,562 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage. From 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27 on ES, its short trades also made 182.00 points on 1,382 trades on the 5-minute chart, 78.75 points on 181 trades on the 1-hour chart and -1,407.00 points on 17 trades on the daily chart, before commission and slippage.
Does the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy work on Nasdaq futures?
On NQ futures from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy on the 15-minute chart took 909 trades, won 38.9% of them and finished -457.00 points (-$9,140 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage.
What is the win rate of Triple EMA stack 4 / 9 / 18 on ES futures?
The triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy won 38.6% of its 958 trades on the ES 15-minute chart from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, before commission and slippage. On ES from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27 it also won 35.0% of 2,832 trades on the 5-minute chart, 48.3% of 342 trades on the 1-hour chart and 25.0% of 40 trades on the daily chart, before commission and slippage.
Is the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy better on the 5-minute, 15-minute, 1-hour or daily chart for NQ?
On NQ from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy made 678.00 points on 2,915 trades on the 5-minute chart, -457.00 points on 909 trades on the 15-minute chart, 1,190.75 points on 320 trades on the 1-hour chart and -4,983.50 points on 41 trades on the daily chart, before commission and slippage.
Is it better to only buy or only sell triple EMA stack (4/9/18) signals on NQ?
On the NQ 15-minute chart from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the long trades made 1,482.25 points on 456 trades (41.7% won) and the short trades made -1,939.25 points on 453 trades (36.2% won), before commission and slippage.
How many trades does the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy take on NQ in two years?
The triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy took 909 trades on the NQ 15-minute chart from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, before commission and slippage. On NQ from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 it also took 2,915 on the 5-minute chart, 320 on the 1-hour chart and 41 on the daily chart, before commission and slippage.
What is the max drawdown of the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy on NQ?
The triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy had a max drawdown of 4,603.25 points ($92,065 on one NQ contract) on the NQ 15-minute chart from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, before commission and slippage. On NQ from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 its max drawdown was also 3,709.00 points on the 5-minute chart, 3,370.50 points on the 1-hour chart and 7,340.75 points on the daily chart, before commission and slippage.
How does the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy do on ES compared with NQ?
On the ES 15-minute chart from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy took 958 trades, won 38.6% of them and made -357.75 points (-$17,887 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage. On the NQ 15-minute chart from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the triple EMA stack (4/9/18) strategy took 909 trades, won 38.9% of them and made -457.00 points (-$9,140 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage.
How these were run
- Gross: no commission and no slippage.
- The last 2 years of each market, from the first to the last session of its window.
- A signal on a closed bar fills at the next bar’s open.
- A stop and a target touched in the same minute count as the stop.
- Intraday positions are flat at 15:59 ET.
- Textbook TradingView default settings for every indicator; nothing is tuned.
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