A moving average (MA) is the average closing price over a set number of days, recalculated each day. It smooths out daily noise so the underlying trend is easier to see.
SMA vs EMA
- Simple Moving Average (SMA) weights every day equally.
- Exponential Moving Average (EMA) gives more weight to recent days, so it reacts faster.
The 50-day and 200-day
Two MAs are watched closely:
- The 50-DMA reflects the medium-term trend.
- The 200-DMA reflects the long-term trend. Many consider a stock trading above its 200-DMA to be in a long-term uptrend, and below it to be in a downtrend.
Golden cross and death cross
- A golden cross is when the 50-DMA crosses above the 200-DMA — often read as a shift toward a longer uptrend.
- A death cross is the opposite — the 50-DMA crossing below the 200-DMA.
These crossovers are lagging by nature (they confirm a move after it has begun), so they describe what has happened rather than what will.
Using MAs in screening
"Price above 200-DMA" is a popular filter to keep your list focused on stocks in an established uptrend. In the Screener you can filter on a stock’s position relative to its 50-DMA, and the chart overlays the 9/20/50/100/200 MAs so you can see them directly.