# Stochastic

> Where the close sits inside its recent high-low range, as %K and a smoothed %D on a fixed 0 to 100 scale, in its own pane.

The Stochastic shows **where the close sits inside its recent range**, on a fixed 0 to 100 scale. Near 100, the close is near the top of the last N bars' high-low range. Near 0, it's near the bottom. %K is that reading and %D is a smoothed %K, so the two crossing is the classic momentum turn.

On an NQ 5-minute chart, %K dropping below 20 on a pullback in an uptrend shows price is closing near the low of its recent range. In a strong trend it can sit near one end for a long time, so read it with the trend, not against it.

![Stochastic 14 1 3 pane under NQ 5m: the %K and %D lines spiking to the 80 line on the 10:45 bounce, then mostly pinned near the bottom of the 20 to 80 band](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/indicators/stochastic.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 16, 2026 · Atlas*

## Adding the indicator

Open the chart settings panel and use the **Add** button in the Indicators section. Stochastic sits in the **Subpane** group. You can add up to four, each in its own pane.

## Settings

| Setting | Options | What it controls |
| --- | --- | --- |
| %K length | **14** (default) | How many bars the high-low range covers. |
| %K smoothing | **1** (default), up to 100 | Smoothing applied to %K. 1 means none, the fast stochastic. |
| %D smoothing | **3** (default), up to 100 | The length of the average that turns %K into %D. |
| %K and %D | Colour, width, style, opacity each | %K takes the palette colour, %D a contrasting one. Both solid by default. |
| Bands | **On** (default), Off | Draws the upper, middle and lower lines. |
| Upper / Lower | **80** / **20** (default) | The stretched-reading levels. |
| Middle | **On** (default), level **50** | The middle line. |
| Levels | **Dashed** (default), Solid, Dotted, plus a colour | How the level lines look. |
| Background | **On** (default), Off, plus a colour | Shades the range between the lower and upper bands. Follows the %K colour unless you pick one. |

## Reading notes

- **The forming bar's value can change** until that bar closes.
- **Pinned isn't the same as finished.** A stochastic stuck above 80 in a rally means price keeps closing near its highs, which is what a trend looks like.
- **%K smoothing of 3 gives you the slow stochastic** many traders use. The default of 1 is the fast version.