The momentum score: seven technical indicators in one number

The labels

The seven indicators

Moving averages: two thirds of the score

For each of six periods (5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 days), the price is compared with both its simple and its exponential moving average: above counts as a buy vote, below as a sell vote. That makes twelve votes, and the share of buy votes becomes a 0–100 sub-score. With a short history, the longer averages are left out.

Six oscillators: one eighteenth of the score each

• RSI (14 days). Relative strength index, with Wilder's smoothing. Above 50 means recent gains outweigh recent losses.
• MACD (12, 26, 9). Positive when the 12-day exponential average is above the 26-day one. Scored 80 when positive and above its signal line, 65 when positive but below it, 38 when negative but above it, and 20 when negative and below it.
• Stochastic (9, 6). Where the close sits within the range of the last 9 days, smoothed over 6.
• CCI (14). How far the typical price is from its 14-day average, scaled so that 0 maps to 50 and ±200 to 100 or 0.
• Highs/Lows (14). Where the close sits between the 14-day high (100) and low (0).
• Ultimate Oscillator (7, 14, 28). Buying pressure across three timeframes, which filters out some false signals.

Shown, not counted

Volume (5-day against 20-day average, signed by the price move) and volatility (annualised, from the last 30 daily returns) appear next to the score for context but don't affect it.

The trend in key facts

An asset's key facts compare today's score with the score about four weeks earlier. A move of less than 5 points counts as steady.

What the score cannot tell you

• It reads the past. A strong buy can turn the next week; trends end without warning.
• It knows nothing about valuation, earnings, fees or diversification.
• It reacts to all price moves alike: a fund's distribution, which lowers its price, can look like a sell signal.

Frequently asked questions