A simple reference for the center of the range.
The short answer
- What is the Midpoint (MIDPOINT)?
- Midpoint: the average of the highest and lowest close in the window.
- When does MIDPOINT get it wrong?
- Ignores what lies between the two extremes. See its current reading on the platform's symbols, at the latest daily close, in the "Current reading" table on this page. See current reading →
Reading now
| Ticker | Value | Five sessions ago | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPY | 770.86 | 770.39 | Price is 0.9% above the line |
| QQQ | 748.10 | 738.29 | Price is 0.6% below the line |
| IWM | 280.04 | 282.55 | Price is 1.2% below the line |
| DIA | 513.23 | 514.17 | Price is 0.6% above the line |
A description of where the number sits against its thresholds. It is not an entry or exit signal.
Indicator limit
Ignores what lies between the two extremes.
Read it with
Average Directional Index: useful as a reference for the center of the range when ADX below 20 confirms a sideways market.
Answers: is it moving in a cycle?
What it actually does
Midpoint takes the average of the highest and lowest closes in the window: (highest close + lowest close) ÷ 2. No weight for days or repetition. Just the halfway point between the best and worst close in the period.
What sets it apart from moving averages
A moving average is affected by every day in the window, while this is affected by only two points: the high and the low. So it changes more slowly (it moves only when one of the extremes changes), holds steadier in ranges, and jumps all at once when an old high or low leaves the window.
How to read them in practice
It serves as a balance line for the range: price above it means trading in the upper half of the period's range, and the reverse. It underlies the Donchian channel philosophy and historical breakout systems: trading around the middle of a range chases noise, and a breakout from either end is the event.
Hypothetical example
A stock boxed in for a month between 80 and 90: its midpoint is a steady 85 that doesn't wobble. Price oscillating around it without moving away confirms the range, and the first close that stretches either end moves it · an early sign the boundaries of the game are changing.
Where it goes wrong and why
Because it ignores everything between the two extremes, it is blind to how prices are distributed inside the range. And its jumps, when an old extreme drops out of the window, are artificial moves with no matching event in the market.
Read it with
It is not read alone. First classify the environment with the trend strength indicator. Then confirm with volume, which separates a backed move from an empty one. Then place it on the structural levels from the gamma map, since a signal at a dense wall carries more weight than one in open space.
Where to see it on the platform
The technical chart in the members area shows it on any ticker and timeframe, within its full family in the indicator list.
Its window and effect
The common window is 14 sessions. A longer window makes the midpoint a heavier, slower reference (the middle of a two-month range does not budge easily), while a shorter one makes it chase small ranges. Since its value comes from two points only, a longer window raises the chance that one of them is an old, expired event.
