Concept
% Stocks Above 20/50/200-day MA
% Stocks Above 20/50/200-day MA, also known as diffusion indices, is a Breadth, Sentiment & External Data concept. The Library holds 3 implementations, each one a working definition you can pull into Quant.
Top % Stocks Above 20/50/200-day MA indicators
3 total
What is % Stocks Above 20/50/200-day MA?
The percentage of stocks above a moving average is a diffusion index: score each constituent of an index or exchange 1 if it trades above its own N-day simple moving average and 0 if not, then express the sum as a percentage of all members. The result is bounded between 0 and 100. The 20-day version swings quickly and behaves like a short-term overbought/oversold gauge, the 50-day sits in between, and the 200-day version moves slowly and describes the long-term participation regime.
Because every stock counts equally, the reading exposes what a capitalization-weighted index hides: a benchmark can print new highs while the share of members above their 200-day average quietly erodes. Commonly cited zones treat very high readings as crowded participation and very low readings as washout conditions, but useful thresholds differ by market, era, and lookback, and strong trends can hold elevated readings far longer than reversion traders expect.
How traders use it
- As a regime gauge: the 200-day version holding above or below its midpoint frames bull versus bear participation, and erosion in it while the index makes highs is a form of participation divergence.
- As a washout timer: readings near single digits on the 20-day version flag capitulation conditions that mean-reversion traders watch, with the caveat that bear markets can produce several such extremes in sequence.
- As a recovery thrust input: fast expansion from a deep low toward a high reading resembles the logic of breadth thrusts and is read as evidence of broad re-engagement.
Related concepts · Breadth
Concept family
Breadth, Sentiment & External Data
63 concepts mapped · 61 in the Library
% Stocks Above 20/50/200-day MA FAQ
What is a good threshold for the percentage of stocks above the 200-day moving average?
There is no universal line. Many practitioners read sustained values in the upper half as healthy participation and values down in the low tens as washout territory, but the levels shift across markets and decades. Treat the reading as zones calibrated to recent history, and weight the direction of change at least as much as the level itself.
Why does the 20-day version whipsaw so much?
Each stock only needs a small move to flip across its own 20-day average, so the aggregate percentage swings hard with every short-term rotation. That responsiveness is the point: it makes the 20-day version useful for swing extremes and unsuitable for regime work. Pair it with the 200-day version so the fast reading gets slow context.
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