Educational reference. Measured from 276 recorded 5m bars of MES (Micro E-mini S&P 500) on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 6 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 10 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 5.8% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 86.6%, and below 30 for 7.6%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 5.8% | 16 | 6 | 10 min | 40 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 86.6% | 239 | 9 | 50 min | 715 min | |
| Below 30 | 7.6% | 21 | 3 | 5 min | 95 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 6 times, with a median stay of 10 minutes and a longest of 40. 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.