Educational reference. Measured from 1380 recorded 1m bars of ES (E mini S&P 500) on Thursday, October 8, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 16 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 2 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 2.1% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 91.6%, and below 30 for 6.3%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 2.1% | 29 | 16 | 2 min | 4 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 91.6% | 1264 | 34 | 31 min | 198 min | |
| Below 30 | 6.3% | 87 | 18 | 3 min | 24 min |
RSI compares the size of recent gains with recent losses, so a reading above 70 says buying has dominated the last 14 bars — not that price is high. A long stay above 70 is a market trending up, which is the opposite of the reversal the word 'overbought' suggests.
Here the reading entered overbought territory 16 times, with a median stay of 2 minutes and a longest of 4. A brief excursion above 70 that resolves in minutes is noise on this timeframe. A sustained one is the signature of a trend that is still running, and selling into it is how traders get run over.