When it comes to security price momentum, many people will look at the general trend of a security without fully understanding the technical basis of the term. What Momentum really tells us, however, is whether the trend will continue or reverse. Without technical analysis and events like Momentum, many investors would buy high and sell low.

What Is Momentum Similar to the Moving Average Convergence-Divergence (MACD) oscillator, Momentum measures how much a security’s price has changed over a given time. With a understanding of technical analysis and this particular event, investors will understand whether a slight pull back in price is part of the normal fluctuations of stock prices or if it is indeed a bearish signal for the price.

In other words, Momentum allows investors to see the true strength of particular price trend. When relying on multiple technical analysis tools in conjunction with Momentum, investors are better able to understand the true, underlying price trend. Armed with this information, investors can make appropriate changes to their security holdings. Making such important decisions can become difficult at best without the assistance of technical analysis tools.

Calculating Momentum One of the downfalls with technical analysis is that there is a heavy mathematical component to many of the events. While this not entirely true for Momentum, investors will need to understand the basic formula required to obtain a Momentum reading. Simply, Momentum is calculated by dividing the Closing Price by the Closing price ten periods ago, and multiplying it by 100. [Close/(Close 10 time-periods ago) * 100].

Using Momentum To Make Trade Decisions For help deciding on a Momentum-based trade, the investor must simply determine whether the Momentum value is greater than or less than zero. For amounts higher than zero, the a bullish signal is triggered and for amounts less than zero, a bearish signal is triggered. As a caveat, investors also need to understand that progressively higher low values might suggest a continuation of an existing trend and not a reversal. In most instances, investors should only execute a trade if the price itself turns around (e.g. on a sell, don’t sell based on Momentum, but sell when the price begins to fall).

In fact, with most signals derived through technical analysis, investors are advised to use other signals or patterns to confirm or refute a trade opportunity. Momentum is often used to confirm other events or price trends.

Since Momentum and many other events triggered by technical analysis rely heavily on mathematical calculations, trading software is recommended for the individual investor. Such software can monitor many different technical trends and some of the more advanced system will make buy and sell recommendations.

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