Pairs Trading Scanner [BackQuant]Pairs Trading Scanner
What it is
This scanner analyzes the relationship between your chart symbol and a chosen pair symbol in real time. It builds a normalized “spread” between them, tracks how tightly they move together (correlation), converts the spread into a Z-Score (how far from typical it is), and then prints clear LONG / SHORT / EXIT prompts plus an at-a-glance dashboard with the numbers that matter.
Why pairs at all?
Markets co-move. When two assets are statistically related, their relationship (the spread) tends to oscillate around a mean.
Pairs trading doesn’t require calling overall market direction you trade the relative mispricing between two instruments.
This scanner gives you a robust, visual way to find those dislocations, size their significance, and structure the trade.
How it works (plain English)
Step 1 Pick a partner: Select the Pair Symbol to compare against your chart symbol. The tool fetches synchronized prices for both.
Step 2 Build a spread: Choose a Spread Method that defines “relative value” (e.g., Log Spread, Price Ratio, Return Difference, Price Difference). Each lens highlights a different flavor of divergence.
Step 3 Validate relationship: A rolling Correlation checks if the pair is moving together enough to be tradable. If correlation is weak, the scanner stands down.
Step 4 Standardize & score: The spread is normalized (mean & variability over a lookback) to form a Z-Score . Large absolute Z means “stretched,” small means “near fair.”
Step 5 Signals: When the Z-Score crosses user-defined thresholds with sufficient correlation , entries print:
LONG = long chart symbol / short pair symbol,
SHORT = short chart symbol / long pair symbol,
EXIT = mean reversion into the exit zone or correlation failure.
Core concepts (the three pillars)
Spread Method Your definition of “distance” between the two series.
Guidance:
Log Spread: Focuses on proportional differences; robust when prices live on different scales.
Price Ratio: Classic relative value; good when you care about “X per Y.”
Return Difference: Emphasizes recent performance gaps; nimble for momentum-to-mean plays.
Price Difference: Straight subtraction; intuitive for similar-scale assets (e.g., two ETFs).
Correlation A rolling score of co-movement. The scanner requires it to be above your Min Correlation before acting, so you’re not trading random divergence.
Z-Score “How abnormal is today’s spread?” Positive = chart richer than pair; negative = cheaper. Thresholds define entries/exits with transparent, statistical context.
What you’ll see on the chart
Correlation plot (blue line) with a dashed Min Correlation guide. Above the line = green zone for signals; below = hands off.
Z-Score plot (white line) with colored, dashed Entry bands and dotted Exit bands. Zero line for mean.
Normalized spread (yellow) for a quick “shape read” of recent divergence swings.
Signal markers :
LONG (green label) when Z < –Entry and corr OK,
SHORT (red label) when Z > +Entry and corr OK,
EXIT (gray label) when Z returns inside the Exit band or correlation drops below the floor.
Background tint for active state (faint green for long-spread stance, faint red for short-spread stance).
The two built-in dashboards
Statistics Table (top-right)
Pair Symbol Your chosen partner.
Correlation Live value vs. your minimum.
Z-Score How stretched the spread is now.
Current / Pair Prices Real-time anchors.
Signal State NEUTRAL / LONG / SHORT.
Price Ratio Context for ratio-style setups.
Analysis Table (bottom-right)
Avg Correlation Typical co-movement level over your window.
Max |Z| The recent extremes of dislocation.
Spread Volatility How “lively” the spread has been.
Trade Signal A human-readable prompt (e.g., “LONG A / SHORT B” or “NO TRADE” / “LOW CORRELATION”).
Risk Level LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH based on current stretch (absolute Z).
Signals logic (plain English)
Entry (LONG): The spread is unusually negative (chart cheaper vs pair) and correlation is healthy. Expect mean reversion upward in the spread: long chart, short pair.
Entry (SHORT): The spread is unusually positive (chart richer vs pair) and correlation is healthy. Expect mean reversion downward in the spread: short chart, long pair.
Exit: The spread relaxes back toward normal (inside your exit band), or correlation deteriorates (relationship no longer trusted).
A quick, repeatable workflow
1) Choose your pair in context (same sector/theme or known macro link). Think: “Do these two plausibly co-move?”
2) Pick a spread lens that matches your narrative (ratio for relative value, returns for short-term performance gaps, etc.).
3) Confirm correlation is above your floor no corr, no trade.
4) Wait for a stretch (Z beyond Entry band) and a printed LONG / SHORT .
5) Manage to the mean (EXIT band) or correlation failure; let the scanners’ state/labels keep you honest.
Settings that matter (and why)
Spread Method Defines the “mispricing” you care about.
Correlation Period Longer = steadier regime read, shorter = snappier to regime change.
Z-Score Period The window that defines “normal” for the spread; it sets the yardstick.
Use Percentage Returns Normalizes series when using return-based logic; keep on for mixed-scale assets.
Entry / Exit Thresholds Set your stretch and your target reversion zone. Wider entries = rarer but stronger signals.
Minimum Correlation The gatekeeper. Raising it favors quality over quantity.
Choosing pairs (practical cheat sheet)
Same family: two index ETFs, two oil-linked names, two gold miners, two L1 tokens.
Hedge & proxy: stock vs. sector ETF, BTC vs. BTC index, WTI vs. energy ETF.
Cross-venue or cross-listing: instruments that are functionally the same exposure but price differently intraday.
Reading the cues like a pro
Divergence shape: The yellow normalized spread helps you see rhythm fast spike and snap-back versus slow grind.
Corr-first discipline: Don’t fight the “Min Correlation” line. Good pairs trading starts with a relationship you can trust.
Exit humility: When Z re-centers, let the EXIT do its job. The edge is the journey to the mean, not overstaying it.
Frequently asked (quick answers)
“Long/Short means what exactly?”
LONG = long the chart symbol and short the pair symbol.
SHORT = short the chart symbol and long the pair symbol.
“Do I need same price scales?” No. The spread methods normalize in different ways; choose the one that fits your use case (log/ratio are great for mixed scales).
“What if correlation falls mid-trade?” The scanner will neutralize the state and print EXIT . Relationship first; trade second.
Field notes & patterns
Snap-back days: After a one-sided session, return-difference spreads often flag cleaner intraday mean reversions.
Macro rotations: Ratio spreads shine during sector re-weights (e.g., value vs. growth ETFs); look for steady corr + elevated |Z|.
Event bleed-through: If one symbol reacts to news and its partner lags, Z often flags a high-quality, short-horizon re-centering.
Display controls at a glance
Show Statistics Table Live state & key numbers, top-right.
Show Analysis Table Context/risk read, bottom-right.
Show Correlation / Spread / Z-Score Toggle the sub-charts you want visible.
Show Entry/Exit Signals Turn markers on/off as needed.
Coloring Adjust Long/Short/Neutral and correlation line colors to match your theme.
Alerts (ready to route to your workflow)
Pairs Long Entry Z falls through the long threshold with correlation above minimum.
Pairs Short Entry Z rises through the short threshold with correlation above minimum.
Pairs Trade Exit Z returns to neutral or the relationship fails your correlation floor.
Correlation Breakdown Rolling correlation crosses your minimum; relationship caution.
Final notes
The scanner is designed to keep you systematic: require relationship (correlation), quantify dislocation (Z-Score), act when stretched, stand down when it normalizes or the relationship degrades. It’s a full, visual loop for relative-value trading that stays out of your way when it should and gets loud only when the numbers line up.
PAIR
Strength Comparison @joshuuuexample:
if you want to find the stronger/weaker pair between eurusd and gbpusd, what you can do is check the eurgbp charts. if eurgbp is bullish, that means, that longs longs on eurusd are better than on gbpusd.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing to compare for example usoil with ukoil, or us100 with us500.
That's where this indicator comes in handy. You can choose whatever two symbols you want, that are supported by tradingview and you will get a chart, which shows symbol1/symbol2.
Now you can use normal market structure, or the ema option, to find out the stronger symbol.
This can also help predicting the so called SMT Divergences, taught by ICT.
⚠️ Open Source ⚠️
Coders and TV users are authorized to copy this code base, but a paid distribution is prohibited. A mention to the original author is expected, and appreciated.
⚠️ Terms and Conditions ⚠️
This financial tool is for educational purposes only and not financial advice. Users assume responsibility for decisions made based on the tool's information. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. By using this tool, users agree to these terms.
Pair ViewerPair-Trading is a recognized and widely used trading method, this indicator is a tool that allows via several display interfaces (2 at the moment) to see relative performance ratios of two assets.
The inputs are pretty simple to understand but here is the list of them :
- Ticker #1 : The first Asset's ticker // numerator of the ratio
- Ticker #2 : The second Asset's ticker // denominator of the ratio
- View as : Display Method
- Up Color : Color of positive candle (when close > open)
- Down Color : Color of negative candle (when close < open)
Of course, this indicator only shows stuff at the chart, it does NOT provide any investment advice.
Cross Pair [NeoButane]Creates candlesticks of a cross pair of any symbol you want. Ideally both pairs would be denominated in the same currency.
The candlesticks are plotted, a close value is available to use for applying indicators on, and a label shows what is being used.
Options to configure are choosing the symbols, displaying the ticker without the exchange name, and removing wicks. If the exchange prefix is 'BATS', 'FRED', or 'TVC', it is automatically removed.
Symbols PairDraws the ratio between two input symbols.
You might find patterns in the ratio.
# Open Source
The code is open source @ github.com and uses the commonpine library github.com
Volume ExternalShows the volume of a specified exchange and pair. They should be entered in the format EXCHANGE:PAIR, e.g. BINANCE:ETHUSDT.
You can add multiple indicators of this to do volume analysis of multiple pairs on the same chart.
SpreadTrade - CorrelationCorrelation Based Pair Trading Strategy (Trading the spread)
There are three popular styles of Pair trading:
* Distance based pair trading
* Correlation based pair trading
* Cointegration based pair trading
The correlation based strategy is to short the outperforming instrument and go long on the underperforming one
whenever the temporary correlation weakens which means one instrument going up and another going down.
Here, instead of two different instruments two timeframes of the same instrument are used, lower and higher.
In order to calculate the trade size, we would need to calculate hedge_ratio,
which is simply the ratio of the closing price of the instrument in the current tf to the higher tf.
So whenever we want to go short on spread we’ll short 1 unit of current tf and go long on hedge ratio times units of higher tf.
In order to generate trading signals, we need to define our trading logic.
So, we’ll go long on the spread when the hedge ratio goes below its p rolling mean by mult times of its
rolling standard deviation and vice versa.
Note that both p and mult can be changed as per your selection of instruments.
See: analyticsprofile.com
NOTE:
There is a minor problem to it in Pinescript. After a while the signal line goes horizontal and the two bounds, upper and lower, converge unless you update the time frame.
Kepp me in the know if you find a solution to this problem)
Pair Strength: Updated Version of the one by GlazI updated this version used for Forex with Stock&Index related instruments. Enjoy.
StatArbPair trading is employed by professional traders to outperform the market. This script is a complete trading strategy where you can set your own parameters and the system will generate ready to trade signals. All you have to do is just execute profitable trades based on your own parameters.
