Educational reference. Measured from 228 recorded 5m bars of MES (Micro E-mini S&P 500) on Monday, September 7, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 2 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 5 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 0.9% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 96.5%, and below 30 for 2.6%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 0.9% | 2 | 2 | 5 min | 5 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 96.5% | 220 | 7 | 115 min | 420 min | |
| Below 30 | 2.6% | 6 | 4 | 5 min | 15 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 2 times, with a median stay of 5 minutes and a longest of 5. 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.