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 daily: the equity line
Long and short
| Side | Trades | Net pts |
|---|---|---|
| Long | 23 | 469.25 |
| Short | 17 | −1,407.00 |
By month
| Month | Trades | Net pts |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-09 | 2 | −18.50 |
| 2024-10 | 1 | −43.00 |
| 2024-11 | 3 | −180.25 |
| 2024-12 | 2 | −146.00 |
| 2025-01 | 1 | −25.00 |
| 2025-02 | 3 | 125.75 |
| 2025-03 | 1 | 186.25 |
| 2025-04 | 2 | 182.25 |
| 2025-06 | 1 | 179.00 |
| 2025-08 | 2 | −63.75 |
| 2025-09 | 1 | 59.75 |
| 2025-10 | 2 | −12.75 |
| 2025-11 | 2 | −195.75 |
| 2025-12 | 3 | −188.50 |
| 2026-01 | 3 | −213.00 |
| 2026-02 | 3 | −384.50 |
| 2026-03 | 1 | 222.00 |
| 2026-04 | 1 | 510.00 |
| 2026-06 | 3 | −571.00 |
| 2026-07 | 2 | −257.75 |
| 2026-08 | 1 | −103.00 |
Every trade, ES daily40 trades
Daily results show the table and the equity line; there is no chart viewer for them yet.
All trades (40), newest first
Times are New York time; points are gross.
| Session date | Side | Entry (ET) | Entry price | Exit (ET) | Exit price | Exit reason | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-05 | long | 2026-08-04 18:00 | 7772.00 | 2026-08-20 18:00 | 7669.00 | stack broken | −103.00 |
| 2026-07-24 | short | 2026-07-23 18:00 | 7450.50 | 2026-08-03 18:00 | 7631.00 | stack broken | −180.50 |
| 2026-07-06 | long | 2026-07-05 18:00 | 7562.25 | 2026-07-19 18:00 | 7485.00 | stack broken | −77.25 |
| 2026-06-24 | short | 2026-06-23 18:00 | 7449.25 | 2026-06-30 18:00 | 7543.25 | stack broken | −94.00 |
| 2026-06-16 | long | 2026-06-15 18:00 | 7626.50 | 2026-06-23 18:00 | 7449.25 | stack broken and reversed | −177.25 |
| 2026-06-11 | short | 2026-06-10 18:00 | 7259.25 | 2026-06-15 16:59 | 7559.00 | stack broken and reversed | −299.75 |
| 2026-04-10 | long | 2026-04-09 18:00 | 6858.00 | 2026-06-07 18:00 | 7368.00 | stack broken | 510.00 |
| 2026-03-02 | short | 2026-03-01 18:00 | 6820.00 | 2026-04-06 18:00 | 6650.50 | stack broken | 222.00 |
| 2026-02-13 | short | 2026-02-12 18:00 | 6865.50 | 2026-02-25 18:00 | 6965.00 | stack broken | −99.50 |
| 2026-02-12 | long | 2026-02-11 18:00 | 6964.50 | 2026-02-12 18:00 | 6865.50 | stack broken and reversed | −99.00 |
| 2026-02-06 | short | 2026-02-05 18:00 | 6785.50 | 2026-02-10 18:00 | 6971.50 | stack broken | −186.00 |
| 2026-01-27 | long | 2026-01-26 18:00 | 6977.00 | 2026-02-03 18:00 | 6934.00 | stack broken | −43.00 |
| 2026-01-21 | short | 2026-01-20 18:00 | 6839.00 | 2026-01-26 18:00 | 6977.00 | stack broken and reversed | −138.00 |
| 2026-01-06 | long | 2026-01-05 18:00 | 6945.50 | 2026-01-19 18:00 | 6913.50 | stack broken | −32.00 |
| 2025-12-23 | long | 2025-12-22 18:00 | 6930.75 | 2026-01-04 18:00 | 6911.50 | stack broken | −19.25 |
| 2025-12-18 | short | 2025-12-17 18:00 | 6792.00 | 2025-12-22 18:00 | 6930.75 | stack broken and reversed | −138.75 |
| 2025-12-01 | long | 2025-11-30 18:00 | 6854.75 | 2025-12-15 16:59 | 6824.25 | stack broken | −30.50 |
| 2025-11-18 | short | 2025-11-17 18:00 | 6696.50 | 2025-11-25 18:00 | 6781.00 | stack broken | −84.50 |
| 2025-11-12 | long | 2025-11-11 18:00 | 6874.00 | 2025-11-13 18:00 | 6762.75 | stack broken | −111.25 |
| 2025-10-21 | long | 2025-10-20 18:00 | 6779.50 | 2025-11-05 18:00 | 6828.50 | stack broken | 49.00 |
| 2025-10-17 | short | 2025-10-16 18:00 | 6659.25 | 2025-10-19 18:00 | 6721.00 | stack broken | −61.75 |
| 2025-09-05 | long | 2025-09-04 18:00 | 6515.75 | 2025-10-12 18:00 | 6632.00 | stack broken | 59.75 |
| 2025-08-25 | long | 2025-08-24 18:00 | 6493.00 | 2025-09-03 18:00 | 6460.00 | stack broken | −33.00 |
| 2025-08-11 | long | 2025-08-10 18:00 | 6422.75 | 2025-08-21 18:00 | 6392.00 | stack broken | −30.75 |
| 2025-06-24 | long | 2025-06-23 18:00 | 6078.00 | 2025-08-03 18:00 | 6257.00 | stack broken | 179.00 |
| 2025-04-30 | long | 2025-04-29 18:00 | 5579.50 | 2025-06-18 18:00 | 6038.25 | stack broken | 403.25 |
| 2025-04-17 | short | 2025-04-16 18:00 | 5308.00 | 2025-04-24 18:00 | 5529.00 | stack broken | −221.00 |
| 2025-03-31 | short | 2025-03-30 18:00 | 5590.00 | 2025-04-15 18:00 | 5403.75 | stack broken | 186.25 |
| 2025-02-25 | short | 2025-02-24 18:00 | 6006.50 | 2025-03-24 18:00 | 5813.00 | stack broken | 244.75 |
| 2025-02-11 | long | 2025-02-10 18:00 | 6085.50 | 2025-02-23 18:00 | 6040.75 | stack broken | −44.75 |
| 2025-02-06 | long | 2025-02-05 18:00 | 6090.25 | 2025-02-09 18:00 | 6016.00 | stack broken | −74.25 |
| 2025-01-22 | long | 2025-01-21 18:00 | 6094.00 | 2025-02-03 18:00 | 6069.00 | stack broken | −25.00 |
| 2024-12-30 | short | 2024-12-29 18:00 | 6028.75 | 2025-01-19 18:00 | 6032.25 | stack broken | −3.50 |
| 2024-12-19 | short | 2024-12-18 18:00 | 5949.50 | 2024-12-26 18:00 | 6092.00 | stack broken | −142.50 |
| 2024-11-22 | long | 2024-11-21 18:00 | 5967.00 | 2024-12-17 18:00 | 6126.75 | stack broken | 86.00 |
| 2024-11-07 | long | 2024-11-06 18:00 | 5963.50 | 2024-11-18 18:00 | 5919.00 | stack broken | −44.50 |
| 2024-11-04 | short | 2024-11-03 18:00 | 5741.75 | 2024-11-06 18:00 | 5963.50 | stack broken and reversed | −221.75 |
| 2024-10-30 | long | 2024-10-29 18:00 | 5883.00 | 2024-10-30 18:00 | 5840.00 | stack broken | −43.00 |
| 2024-09-16 | long | 2024-09-15 18:00 | 5622.75 | 2024-10-24 18:00 | 5853.25 | stack broken | 170.00 |
| 2024-09-09 | short | 2024-09-08 18:00 | 5410.00 | 2024-09-12 18:00 | 5598.50 | stack broken | −188.50 |
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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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