MACD VS RSI
RSI is not a momentum indicator. It is an oscillator with a high and low range set at 30 and 70 usually. it was written in the 1970’s.
Stochastic and RSI are similar in that both are oscillators. It was written in the 1950’s.
However, There is a variation of RSI that incorporates more analysis along with the comparative price over X periods ago that makes it a good indicator for analysis of current price against X price so many days ago.
MACD was originally written in the 1960’s for a very different market condition. It is 2 moving averages of different lengths, one short and one longer. Traders often try to adjust these settings to make MACD signal early. Unfortunately MACD will always lag as price must move before the cross over signal can form.
Which is better for intraday trading?
The older the indicator the weaker it becomes for the modern automated market we have today. Also, intraday trading is riskier as the large lot professional trading activity and the Dark Pool activity is not on the public exchanges but is hidden in the professional side ATS venues which are NOT lit to the public exchanges. Thus retail traders to intraday trade are trading with a mere 20% of the trading activity going on. 80% is on the Dark Pools.
There are new Leading Hybrid Indicators that are far superior to the older versions of indicators. These are indicators that can track the large lot activity and reveal what is going on.
Both RSI and MACD are PRICE and TIME indicators which are fine but lack the critical data of large lot versus small lot and quiet accumulation, volume relational analysis etc.
Other Considerations
Because two indicators measure different factors, they sometimes give contrary indications. For example, the RSI may show a reading above 70 for a sustained period of time, indicating a market is overextended to the buy side in relation to recent prices, while the MACD indicates the market is still increasing in buying momentum. Either indicator may signal an upcoming trend change by showing divergence from price (price continues higher while the indicator turns lower, or vice versa).
While both are considered momentum indicators, the MACD measures the relationship between two EMAs, while the RSI measures price change in relation to recent price highs and lows. These two indicators are often used together to provide analysts a more complete technical picture of a market.