The “percent above” breadth indicators measure the percentage of stocks in a given group that are above a specific moving average. These indicators are calculated for several major indices and three different moving averages are used. For example, the Nasdaq 100 %Above 50-day SMA ($NDXA50R) shows the percentage of stocks in the Nasdaq 100 that are trading above their 50-day moving average.

StockCharts uses a three-step process to calculate breadth indicators. First, StockCharts maintains component lists for these indices. Second, our scan-engine uses these component lists to run scans based on the price data for the individual stocks. Third, the data is then updated and published to our website.

This “in-house” data may differ from other sources due to differences in the index components and price data. Index components change and require updates on a regular basis. Also note that StockCharts uses dividend-adjusted data for its calculations, while other sources may use non-adjusted data.

The chart below shows the S&P 500 % Above 50-day SMA ($SPXA50R) in the main window and the S&P 500 in the lower window. At its most basic, this indicator favors the bulls when above 50% and the bears when below 50%. Chartists can also look for overbought/oversold readings or divergences to generate signals.

Click here for a current list and to see the starting dates for these symbols. The example above shows a sample list of symbols. Note that the starting dates are shown in the symbol catalog under the “first data point” column.

All index symbols use INDX for the exchange column (Exch) in the catalog results. Users can preface their search with INDX and then add other terms to further quantify the search. The “percent above” indicators can be found by searching for “INDX and percent and stocks” in the symbol catalog (without quotations). The “and” ensures that each term is required.

ChartSchool: Users can find articles in our ChartSchool for the Percent Above Moving Average indicators.