Educational reference. Measured from 1020 recorded 1m bars of MES (Micro E-mini S&P 500) on Friday, September 18, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 20 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 3 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 8.4% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 86.8%, and below 30 for 4.8%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 8.4% | 86 | 20 | 3 min | 12 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 86.8% | 885 | 36 | 7 min | 135 min | |
| Below 30 | 4.8% | 49 | 15 | 2 min | 10 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 20 times, with a median stay of 3 minutes and a longest of 12. 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.