What it does
A market-breadth measure that divides the number of advancing stocks by the number of declining stocks for each bar. Values above 1 mean more stocks rose than fell, values below 1 mean decliners dominated. It is often smoothed with a moving average to gauge whether buying or selling pressure is broad across the market.
How to add it
Click Indicators (ƒx) in the header.
Search “Advance/Decline Ratio” and click the result.
Hover its legend row and click the gear to open settings.
How traders use it
- Readings above 1 indicate positive breadth; sustained readings well above 1 confirm a broad advance.
- Extreme spikes (for example ratios above roughly 2 to 3, or below about 0.5) mark lopsided days that often occur near short-term exhaustion points.
- Smooth the ratio with a 5- to 10-period average and watch for it crossing 1 as a shift in breadth regime.
- Combine with the index itself: an index rally on a weak ratio suggests narrow leadership and a fragile move.
Inputs
This indicator has no configurable inputs — it works out of the box.
Plots & styling
| Plot | Style | Default color |
|---|---|---|
| A/D Ratio(14) | line | #ff9800 |
Every plot's color, line width and visibility can be changed on the Style tab. Precision, price-scale labels and status-line values are configurable at the bottom of the Style tab.
Reference levels
| Level | Value |
|---|---|
| 1.0 | 1 |
Level values, colors and line styles are editable in settings.
Tips
- Resize the pane by dragging its divider; collapse it from the legend row when you need the space back.
- Use Add to favorites in the legend menu; starred studies surface at the top of the picker.
- Reference levels (where the study has them) are editable — tune them to the instrument you're trading.
Watch out for
- The ratio is very noisy bar to bar and can swing wildly on quiet days when the number of decliners is small.
- It counts stocks equally regardless of size, so a few large caps can move the index in the opposite direction of breadth.