Candle Pulse: Fixed vs. Rolling Candles

What Candle Pulse measures

The seven candles cover 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 minutes. Each describes the app's estimated Net movement for the selected stock basket, expressed in estimated S&P points when available. It is an analytical view of selected constituents, not an official S&P 500, SPX or futures candle.

Stocks in the basket share the same weighting and observation context as the app's Net calculation. The timeframe changes the interval being summarized; it does not change which market-data feed your account receives.

Why use candlesticks instead of one number?

One Net value tells you where the basket is now. A candle adds where the interval started, how far its observed value traveled, and where it most recently stood. Color shows direction. Body shows movement. Wicks show range. Height shows relative magnitude.

The 1-minute candle need not be shorter or smaller than a 30-minute candle. Actual observed movement, rather than interval length, determines its displayed body and wick.

Fixed and Rolling side by side

Fixed is the default. It groups observations into scheduled time buckets, so the current bucket starts at a defined boundary and builds until that interval ends. Rolling looks backward from the latest observation on the data clock for the chosen duration. Its start moves forward as new observations arrive.

For a hypothetical 5-minute view at 10:07, Fixed may describe the bucket that began at 10:05. Rolling describes the trailing five minutes ending at the latest available observation, which may be earlier than 10:07 on a delayed feed. This example explains the timing rule; it is not a live market reading.

How to read the body and wick

The body connects Open and Close. The wick reaches the highest and lowest observed Net values in that candle's window. A rising body indicates Close above Open; a falling body indicates Close below Open. High and Low are observed basket values, not highs and lows of each stock combined afterward.

All seven candles use a proportional shared display scale so a larger move occupies more space than a smaller one. When estimated points are available, the view has at least a ±5-point range and expands with headroom for larger observed moves. Each candle is drawn relative to its own Open; the underlying Net values are preserved.

Why the seven timeframes can disagree

The same basket can rise over one minute and fall over thirty minutes. Fixed and Rolling both show all seven durations together, but the duration selects how much observation history enters each candle. A longer window may contain an earlier high or low that a shorter window no longer includes.

Compare directions and ranges with the displayed values and last observation time. Do not infer momentum strength solely from the age of a timeframe.

Where history comes from

Fixed candles can use the provider's one-minute history together with live observations. When Rolling is shown, the app seeds its recent history from the same provider minute bars once for the current context, then adds timestamped live basket observations. Historical minute bars do not reconstruct every intervening second or every tick.

A new launch, selected basket, feed, session, unit or scale context may require the relevant history to be rebuilt. Rolling history is not carried into a different context. If only part of a requested interval is available, the app can label that shorter coverage, such as 30m · 20m, rather than implying a full 30-minute candle.

Why a forming candle can change

As eligible data arrives, the current candle's Close, High and Low can change. In Rolling, an older extreme can leave the trailing window, so the wick may shrink and the Open can move even if the newest value changes little. If no new valid data arrives, the window does not advance merely because the computer clock ticks.

The data clock follows available observations. A delayed feed remains delayed in both modes, including when backfilled history is used. Update cadence depends on the provider, session and basket; the app does not promise one-second delivery or tick-perfect reconstruction.

How sessions and feed timing affect the view

Market session, feed entitlement and selected basket determine which observations are eligible. A current computer clock cannot turn delayed provider data into current market data. The most recent eligible observation anchors a Rolling window, even if the feed's data time trails the wall clock.

Outside active trading or after a connection interruption, the panel may show a last-observed state rather than fresh movement. Read that timestamp and the app's feed status before comparing candles from different sessions.

Choose a mode in the desktop preview

Use the Fixed | Rolling selector beside the Candle Pulse heading. Fixed is selected by default. The same preference also appears in Settings → Market Intelligence → Candle Pulse Mode. The seven timeframe values are configured in Market Intelligence settings.

The mode affects Candle Pulse only. Trend Matrix 360 calculates its own timeframe and EMA directions independently; switching Candle Pulse does not switch or reset those panels.

What to check when a candle looks incomplete

Check the selected basket and the app's feed and session status first. A partial-history label means fewer observations were available than the requested duration. At startup or after a context change, history may still be filling. A closed or disconnected feed can leave the last candle dimmed or marked with its last observation time.

Do not treat a short, delayed or stale candle as a current full-window reading. A candle summarizes observed estimated basket movement; it does not predict the next move or instruct a trade.

Common questions

Does Rolling start empty after launch? Not necessarily. Available provider minute bars can seed recent windows when Rolling is shown, but a full 60-minute history is not guaranteed in every session or feed state.

Why did the wick shrink? An earlier extreme may have left the trailing window. Does Rolling need a second Alpaca connection? No. Does switching modes change Trend Matrix 360? No; its EMA panels remain independent.

Related reading

For candle vocabulary, read Reading Candles Across Multiple Timeframes. For the estimated basket basis, read How the Weighted Index Chart Works. For feed timing, read What Does Real-Time Market Data Mean? Trend Matrix 360 Explained covers a separate EMA-based view.