Trends/Trend strength and direction

Moving average slope

How fast a moving average is rising or falling, as a percent per bar.

Trend strength and directionBest on 6M, 1Y, 3YAlso called MA slope

Illustration of the moving average slope shape. It is a sketch, not real price data.

What it shows

The slope of a moving average tells the direction and speed of the trend it follows. We take the 50-bar average, and compute its percent change over the last 10 bars.

A positive slope means the average is rising. A flat average shows a sideways market.

How we find it

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

Compute the 50-bar SMA.
Slope = (SMA today ÷ SMA 10 bars ago − 1) × 100.
Plot the slope under the price.
Mark zero.

Starting values: Average 50 bars; Window 10 bars. These are proposed and will be tuned on real price data before launch.

How to read it

The gray line is the 50-bar average.
The panel shows its slope.
Zero means flat.

Status labels you may see

Label	What it means
Rising	Slope above +0.5%.
Flat	Between −0.5% and +0.5%.
Falling	Slope below −0.5%.

What cancels it

Nothing cancels it.

What traders check next

Price relative to the average.
Length of time the slope has been positive.
Other averages.

Limits

Lags the price.
Thresholds are choices.
Depends on the average length.

Try it in forecastviz

Open any ticker and choose Trend strength and direction → Moving average slope in the left menu.
Switch between 6M, 1Y, 3Y to see how the picture changes.
Compare with Simple moving average and Linear regression slope on the same chart.

Open on a ticker

Questions

Why 10 bars?

A short window for the change.

Why check slope?

Price above a falling average is a different state than above a rising one.