Educational reference. Measured from 1380 recorded 1m bars of MES (Micro E-mini S&P 500) on Thursday, September 3, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 21 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 2 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 6.3% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 90.8%, and below 30 for 2.9%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 6.3% | 87 | 21 | 2 min | 34 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 90.8% | 1253 | 31 | 6 min | 368 min | |
| Below 30 | 2.9% | 40 | 9 | 1 min | 28 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 21 times, with a median stay of 2 minutes and a longest of 34. 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.