Reading the footprint and the delta

The footprint is the candle opened up: at every price, the volume executed at the bid (aggressive sells) and at the ask (aggressive buys). The candle's delta is the difference between the two. The CVD accumulates those deltas over time. Three readings, one single question: is the aggression moving the price?

Reading the delta without getting it wrong

• The delta is relative. +400 on a lunch candle is huge, +400 at the open is noise. Always compare with the neighboring candles.
• A positive delta does not mean "it is going up." If price does not advance despite a strongly positive delta, the aggressive buyers are being absorbed. That is a bearish signal.
• The CVD is read by its peaks and troughs, like a price. A new high in price without a new high in the CVD is a divergence (setup 6).
• On DeepCharts, the delta is computed on the true aggressive side of each trade (MBO data): the divergences are reliable, where an estimated delta can get the side wrong.