Educational reference. Measured from 276 recorded 5m bars of ES (E-mini S&P 500) on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 7 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 10 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 6.5% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 86.2%, and below 30 for 7.2%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 6.5% | 18 | 7 | 10 min | 40 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 86.2% | 238 | 10 | 40 min | 715 min | |
| Below 30 | 7.2% | 20 | 3 | 5 min | 90 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 7 times, with a median stay of 10 minutes and a longest of 40. 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.