Trends/Volume and money flow

Accumulation/distribution line

A running total of volume weighted by where each close sits in that day's range.

Volume and money flowBest on 6M, 1YAlso called A/D line

Illustration of the accumulation/distribution line shape. It is a sketch, not real price data.

What it shows

Marc Chaikin's A/D line gives each bar a multiplier from −1 to +1: +1 if the close is at the high of the bar, −1 if at the low, 0 in the middle. Multiply by volume and add to the total.

It differs from OBV because it considers where the close was in the range, not just up or down from yesterday.

How we find it

The same code that draws it on your chart follows these steps, with the same result every time.

Multiplier = ((close − low) − (high − close)) ÷ (high − low).
Money flow volume = multiplier × volume.
A/D = previous A/D + money flow volume.
Plot under the price.

Starting values: Start 0. These are proposed and will be tuned on real price data before launch.

How to read it

The panel shows the running total.
It rises when closes are in the upper part of bars.
It falls when closes are in the lower part.

Status labels you may see

Label	What it means
Rising	A/D is higher than 20 bars ago.
Falling	A/D is lower than 20 bars ago.
Flat	Little change.

What cancels it

Nothing cancels it.

What traders check next

Agreement with price highs.
Slope.
The size of daily ranges.

Limits

Ignores gaps.
Start date matters.
Not meaningful in absolute size.

Try it in forecastviz

Open any ticker and choose Volume and money flow → Accumulation/distribution line in the left menu.
Switch between 6M, 1Y to see how the picture changes.
Compare with On-balance volume and Chaikin money flow on the same chart.

Open on a ticker

Questions

How is it different from OBV?

It weights by the close's place in the range.

What if high equals low?

The bar is skipped.