Raw material, not a signal: -DI and then ADX are built from it. When it rises, selling pressure is widening.
The short answer
- What is Minus Directional Movement (Minus Directional Movement)?
- Minus Directional Movement: how far the low falls below the previous candle's low, when it exceeds the rise in the high.
- When does Minus Directional Movement get it wrong?
- Never use it alone · an absolute figure without normalizing by the true range can't be compared between one asset and another. 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 | 1.10 | 0.00 | Higher than five sessions ago |
| QQQ | 6.01 | 0.00 | Higher than five sessions ago |
| IWM | 2.19 | 0.00 | Higher than five sessions ago |
| DIA | 0.00 | 0.00 | Higher than five sessions ago |
A description of where the number sits against its thresholds. It is not an entry or exit signal.
Indicator limit
Never use it alone · an absolute figure without normalizing by the true range can't be compared between one asset and another.
Read it with
Average True Range: a raw number divided by the true range yields −DI, and from that is built ADX.
Answers: does the market have a trend?
What it actually does
Minus Directional Movement is the raw building block of decline: how far today's low breaks yesterday's low in dollars, provided it beats the high's upward extension · otherwise zero. It is the twin of the positive block with the logic reversed, and the second input of Wilder's system.
The same rule, reversed
In an outside session that extends both ends, only the larger one counts: the low's extension if it wins, otherwise zero. In an inside session (a lower high and a higher low) both are zero · by definition there is no directional movement in a day contained within yesterday's range.
Why the building blocks stay visible
Platforms show it even though most users read the finished pyramid, because quantitative researchers need the raw inputs to build their own formulas: someone who wants to weight downward breaks by volume, say, starts here and not from the finished indicator.
Hypothetical example
A session opens lower with a gap and closes above yesterday's high: the low extended 2 dollars and the high extended 3. The negative block is zero and the positive is 3 · despite its red open, the session is an upward directional session by Wilder's measure.
Where it goes wrong and why
Like its sister: a raw dollar figure that can't be read directly or compared across assets. Its value is to those who build, not those who read.
Read it with
It is not read alone. The environment is classified with the trend strength indicator, confirmed with volume, and placed 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 in its full family on any symbol and timeframe you choose.
