Pulling & Stacking Indicator
The Pulling & Stacking Indicator decomposes order flow (resting orders stacked or pulled, aggressive executions) into one normalized signal, computed from the order book and the trades the platform delivers. It runs on MotiveWave, Bookmap and Sierra Chart. This version of the documentation is for MotiveWave 7.1 or later.
One identity underlies everything:
Total Flow = Passive Flow + Aggressive Flow, exactly, on every event.
- Total Flow, passive book changes plus aggressive executions. The headline.
- Passive Flow, resting liquidity stacked (+) or pulled (−) across the book.
- Aggressive Flow, executed volume delta (buys − sells).
- Placement Flow (hidden by default), Passive Flow with the executions taken out: orders placed and cancelled.
Each line is the flow summed over its window, with no further smoothing. When the indicator does not have a reading it can stand behind (warming up, stale feed), it says so instead of plotting a value; see indicator states.
Start here
The signals
| Signal | One line |
|---|---|
| Flow decomposition | Total = Passive + Aggressive, the model behind every line. |
| σ readout | Flow measured against its own trailing band, in standard deviations. |
| Window ladder | 2/3/5/10-minute cells: burst vs. campaign at a glance. |
| Support & Resistance | The ±3σ band of the line you trade from, drawn as lines. |
| Placement Flow & the core line | The fourth Flow line, and how to choose which line the band belongs to. |
| Line modes | Flow or Buy / Sell: two ways to plot the same decomposition. |
| Buy & sell lines | Each side of the passive flow as its own independent line. |
| Deep-book warning | Top of book fighting the deep book: a caution flag, not an entry arrow. |
| Absorption & initiative | Book-vs-tape state, labelled as context only. |
Console, states, and reference
- The Pulling & Stacking Console, every instrument's readout, ladder, log and alerts in one window
- Indicator states, warm-up and stale handling
- Notifications, per-band and global alerts
- MotiveWave settings
- Local data API: available on Bookmap only, not on MotiveWave
- Limitations
Trust
The Pulling & Stacking Indicator is an analytical tool, not investment advice. Trading leveraged products involves substantial risk of loss.