How to Read Market Heatmaps
A fast, practical guide to reading market heatmaps with free TradingView widgets on finstrument.ai.
What is a heatmap?
A market heatmap shows performance as a grid of tiles. Each tile is a symbol; its color represents relative change over a selected period. By compressing an entire market into one visual, heatmaps help you spot broad themes (risk-on vs risk-off), sector leadership, and outliers in seconds.
Color & scale
Colors usually range from red (decline) to green (advance). The intensity shows magnitude: deeper hues reflect stronger moves. Make sure you know the timeframe—daily vs weekly heatmaps can tell very different stories. If everything looks uniformly green or red, it may be a broad macro move or a high-correlation day.
- Greens: advancing symbols or sectors; stronger green = larger % change.
- Reds: declining symbols or sectors; stronger red = larger % drop.
- Neutral tones: little to no change.
Tile size (weighting)
Tile size often reflects market capitalization or volume. Big tiles moving can have an outsized impact on indices and overall sentiment. Watch for days where small caps are bright while mega caps are flat—that divergence can signal rotation.
Datasets to choose
Pick the universe that answers your question. For broad equity trends, use major indices or country baskets. For currency views, use the forex heatmap. For digital assets, switch to crypto.
- Equities: Country/region (e.g., India, US), sector breakdowns, index members.
- Forex: Currency strength and weakness, usually vs. USD or across majors.
- Crypto: Top coins by market cap or volume; rotation between majors and altcoins.
Fast use-cases
- Morning scan: See sector leaders/laggards to plan themes for the session.
- Breadth check: Gauge how many symbols are advancing vs. declining.
- Outlier hunt: Click standout tiles to open deeper analysis.
- Rotation watch: Spot when leadership shifts (e.g., defensives ↔ cyclicals).
Using heatmaps on finstrument.ai
Visit the Heatmaps page to explore live stock, forex, and crypto heatmaps powered by TradingView. Click any tile to jump into detailed charts and insights on the instrument page.
From the heatmap, you can:
- Open the instrument view for deeper analysis (advanced chart, news, technicals).
- Switch to the Screeners page to filter potential trades.
- Check context on the Home overview or Markets page.
Common pitfalls
- Wrong timeframe: Daily heatmaps can mask intraday reversals; align to your trading horizon.
- Ignoring weight: Small-cap moves might be noisy; big tiles moving matter more for indices.
- No catalyst check: Always glance at the Economic Calendar or news if a sector is unusually hot or cold.
- One-dimensional read: Use heatmaps to prioritize, then confirm on a chart with levels/volume.