PPO

PPO states momentum as the percentage gap between a fast and a slow moving average — fast minus slow, divided by slow, times 100 — so +2 always reads the same way — fast average riding 2% over the slow — whatever the symbol's price level. The definitive clean build of the PPO keeps the familiar display of signal line, histogram, and zero line, and adds a histogram shading that separates a spread still widening from one already converging back toward the signal.

How to Trade the PPO?

• Signal-line crossovers: the PPO crossing its signal line is the early, noisier trigger in either direction.
• Zero-line crosses: the slower confirmation that the underlying averages themselves have crossed — above zero the fast average leads, below it lags.
• Histogram turns: the histogram ticking back toward zero shows the spread starting to converge, which by construction happens before any signal-line cross; bright columns mark a widening spread, faded columns a narrowing one.

Because readings are percentages, the same comparisons work across an entire watchlist and across long histories where raw-unit oscillators drift with the price level. All six events fire alerts.

PPO Settings

• Source (default close): series fed into both averages.
• Fast Length (default 12) and Slow Length (default 26): the two averages whose percentage spread is the oscillator.
• Average Type (default EMA): exponential averages are the standard recipe; SMA supports simple-average relatives of the same family.
• Signal Smoothing (default 9, EMA): length and type of the signal line that smooths the PPO.
• Show Histogram (default enabled) and Gradient Fill (default enabled): the columns and the zero-line gradient; remaining Style inputs set colors.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does PPO beat MACD?

Whenever comparison matters. MACD is quoted in price units, so its readings inflate with the price level and defeat comparison across symbols or deep history; the PPO's percentage scale does not. On a single chart over a short span the two tell essentially the same story.

What does a histogram turn tell me before a crossover?

The histogram is the PPO minus its signal line, so the moment it stops expanding and ticks back toward zero, the gap between oscillator and signal is closing — a necessary precursor to any crossover. The column shading encodes the same fact at a glance.

What is the PPO's main limitation?

It inherits the weaknesses of its two-average core: in a sideways market, crossovers whipsaw, and the percentage scaling changes comparability, not lag. Pairing its signals with trend or structure context is the standard remedy.