The best indicator for Norfolk Southern (NSC)
We backtested 20 indicators across daily, weekly and hourly charts on real Norfolk Southern (NSC) history. Here's what actually worked — risk-adjusted, out-of-sample, with costs.
WaveTrend (8/6/4)
On the daily chart, this is the strongest risk-adjusted edge we found for Norfolk Southern (NSC) over ~44.0 years — trailing buy-and-hold by 4.4% CAGR.
The winner on each chart
Every indicator, ranked
Ranked by Sharpe (risk-adjusted return). Hypothetical, fees included.
| # | Indicator | TF | CAGR | Sharpe | Max DD | Win | Trades | vs B&H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WaveTrend (8/6/4) ✓ | Daily | 8.7% | 0.51 | -67.1% | 72.8% | 162 | -4.4% |
| 2 | Rate of Change ✓ | Weekly | 8.3% | 0.5 | -44.2% | 51.6% | 124 | -4.8% |
| 3 | EMA 20/50 Cross ✓ | Weekly | 8.4% | 0.48 | -54.1% | 66.7% | 18 | -4.7% |
| 4 | WaveTrend (8/6/4) ✓ | Weekly | 6.9% | 0.47 | -56.0% | 90.9% | 33 | -6.2% |
| 5 | Williams %R ✓ | Weekly | 6.7% | 0.46 | -53.6% | 73.2% | 56 | -6.4% |
| 6 | Williams %R ✓ | Daily | 6.6% | 0.43 | -48.7% | 72.3% | 292 | -6.5% |
| 7 | Money Flow Index ✓ | Daily | 5.9% | 0.43 | -62.3% | 83.3% | 36 | -7.2% |
| 8 | MACD ✓ | Weekly | 5.8% | 0.39 | -35.9% | 50.6% | 89 | -7.3% |
| 9 | EMA 20/50 Cross ✓ | Daily | 6.0% | 0.38 | -69.5% | 41.2% | 102 | -7.1% |
| 10 | CCI ✓ | Daily | 5.6% | 0.38 | -54.7% | 69.6% | 204 | -7.5% |
| 11 | RSI Trend (>50) ✓ | Weekly | 6.0% | 0.38 | -59.2% | 48.3% | 116 | -7.2% |
| 12 | Stochastic ✓ | Weekly | 5.1% | 0.38 | -53.6% | 85.0% | 40 | -8.0% |
| 13 | CCI ✓ | Weekly | 5.2% | 0.38 | -55.1% | 73.8% | 42 | -7.9% |
| 14 | Holy Grail Confluence ✓ | Daily | 4.9% | 0.37 | -61.1% | 79.4% | 63 | -8.2% |
✓ = held up out-of-sample. Hypothetical, costs included. See methodology.
For Norfolk Southern (NSC), WaveTrend (8/6/4) on the daily timeframe gave the best balance of return and risk in our test. It still trailed buy-and-hold on raw return — but remember: this is a hypothetical backtest of a standard rule, not a recommendation. Markets change. See the methodology and disclaimer.
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