What is MACD?
An indicator that measures trend and momentum using the gap between EMA12 and EMA26 (the MACD line) and its signal line.
Learn “MACD” in an animated lesson
- Oscillators & MomentumDivergence
Price makes a new high but the indicator doesn't. Divergence is often an early warning that a trend is tiring, but it needs price to confirm.
- Indicators in Practice & BacktestingIndicator Confluence
Any single indicator is often wrong. When trend, momentum and volume all point the same way, the signal tends to be more reliable, but rarer.
- Trend IndicatorsExponential Moving Average (EMA)
An EMA gives more weight to recent prices, so it turns faster than an SMA.
- Trend IndicatorsMACD
The MACD line (DIF), the signal line (DEA) and the histogram: using the gap between two EMAs to measure the direction and strength of a trend.
Related terms
See how “MACD” works for yourself with an animation you can drag and play.
Go to “Divergence”