Educational reference. Measured from 276 recorded 5m bars of ES (E-mini S&P 500) on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 3 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 65 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 13.4% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 85.1%, and below 30 for 1.4%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 13.4% | 37 | 3 | 65 min | 65 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 85.1% | 235 | 4 | 182 min | 770 min | |
| Below 30 | 1.4% | 4 | 1 | 20 min | 20 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 3 times, with a median stay of 65 minutes and a longest of 65. 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.