Educational reference. Measured from 103 recorded 10m bars of MES (Micro E-mini S&P 500) on Friday, September 4, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 1 separate time during the session, and the typical visit lasted 10 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 1.0% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 90.3%, and below 30 for 8.7%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 1.0% | 1 | 1 | 10 min | 10 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 90.3% | 93 | 5 | 90 min | 430 min | |
| Below 30 | 8.7% | 9 | 3 | 20 min | 60 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 1 time, with a median stay of 10 minutes and a longest of 10. 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.