A zero cross is a trend signal, and a divergence is an early warning.
The short answer
- What is the TRIX indicator (TRIX)?
- TRIX: rate of change of a triple-smoothed exponential average.
- When does TRIX get it wrong?
- Triple smoothing = triple lag. See its current reading on the platform's symbols, at the latest daily close, in the “Reading now” table on this page. See it now →
Reading now
| Ticker | Value | Five sessions ago | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPY | 0.04 | 0.02 | Above 0 |
| QQQ | 0.18 | 0.15 | Above 0 |
| IWM | −0.19 | −0.19 | Below 0 |
| DIA | −0.11 | −0.13 | Below 0 |
A description of where the number sits against its thresholds. It is not an entry or exit signal.
Indicator limit
Triple smoothing = triple lag.
Read it with
On-Balance Volume: its zero cross comes late, and On-Balance Volume may spot a shift in participation first.
Answers: is momentum changing?
What it actually does
TRIX measures the rate of change of an exponential average smoothed three times. Triple smoothing removes most short cycles, so only the deep slope remains. The result is a clean line that oscillates around zero with less noise than almost any other momentum indicator.
How it is read in practice
The zero cross is its main signal: above zero is deep upward momentum, below it is downward. Add a signal line for earlier crosses. Its slope matters more than its position: a line above zero but falling means an uptrend losing depth.
The price of a clean line
Every smoothing buys cleanliness with lag, and triple smoothing buys a lot at a high price. Its signals are among the cleanest in the family and the slowest. It suits people who trade over weeks, not hours, and who want to read the deep slope rather than catch bottoms.
Hypothetical example
A stock swings hard for a full month. Ordinary momentum indicators give nine conflicting signals in that time, while TRIX crosses zero once. That one signal came four sessions late, but it was the only correct one.
Where it errs and why
Its slowness makes it useless for short-term speculation, and it misses fast moves entirely. On an asset that moves in gaps rather than creeping, it always lags, because the triple smoothing swallows the jump.
Read it with
Read it with moving average convergence, which comes from the same family but is faster, so use them together: the fast one for timing, the slow one for confirmation. Also read it with trend strength and with volume at the zero cross.
Where to see it on the platform
The technical chart shows it in the slow momentum family. It also works as a broad trend filter in scanners.
Its window and calibration
Common windows are 14 or 18 sessions. Each increase doubles the effect of the triple smoothing, so the line gets cleaner and later at the same time. Start with one question: what is the shortest move you care about catching? If it is a wave that lasts weeks, longer windows serve it. If it is a matter of days, this indicator is the wrong tool. Calibrate it on the asset's own history, not on borrowed conventions.
