What it does
Measures how far price has stretched from a chosen moving average, expressed in percent (or points), and plots it as an oscillator around zero — essentially a disparity index. Since price and its average are mean-reverting companions, unusually large gaps flag overextension in either direction. The indicator gives the familiar 'too far from the mean' intuition a precise, comparable number.
Typeoscillatorseparate pane
How to add it
Click Indicators (ƒx) in the header.
Search “Dext Distance from Moving Average” and click the result.
Hover its legend row and click the gear to open settings.
How traders use it
- Identify the symbol's typical extension range from history and treat readings beyond it as stretched — for example many liquid stocks rarely sustain more than a few percent beyond their 20-day average.
- In a trend, use shallow negative readings (pullbacks toward the average) as entry zones rather than fading the trend at positive extremes.
- Zero-line behavior matters: an oscillator that keeps finding support above zero confirms a persistent uptrend.
- Divergence — price making new highs while the distance reading makes lower highs — warns the trend is losing thrust.
Inputs
| Input | Type | Default | Range / Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| MA Length | number | 20 | 1–500 |
| As % | boolean | On | — |
Plots & styling
| Plot | Style | Default color |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | histogram | #05B878 |
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.
Tips
- Reference levels (where the study has them) are editable — tune them to the instrument you're trading.
- Hide the study from the legend eye instead of removing it when you only want it out of the way temporarily.
- Merge multiple oscillators into one pane from the legend ⋯ menu to compare them on a shared axis.
Watch out for
- There is no universal overbought threshold; extension norms differ by symbol, timeframe and volatility regime and must be calibrated per instrument.
- In powerful trends or short squeezes price can stay abnormally extended far longer than counter-trend positions can survive.