Above −20 overbought · below −80 oversold.
The short answer
- What is the Williams %R indicator (Williams %R)?
- Williams %R: how far the close sits from the window high, 0 to −100.
- When does Williams %R get it wrong?
- Nearly a mirror of the Stochastic Oscillator · do not use both. 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 | −15.81 | −10.70 | In the upper zone (above −20) |
| QQQ | −61.77 | −6.46 | Between −80 and −20 |
| IWM | −78.46 | −56.34 | Between −80 and −20 |
| DIA | −36.34 | −44.76 | Between −80 and −20 |
A description of where the number sits against its thresholds. It is not an entry or exit signal.
Indicator limit
Nearly a mirror of the Stochastic Oscillator · do not use both.
Read it with
Simple Moving Average: a mirror of the Stochastic Oscillator, so they do not go together, and it is read in the direction of the slope of DMA-50.
Answers: Has the move stretched?
What it actually does
Williams %R measures where the close sits within the period's range, like the Stochastic Oscillator, but its scale is inverted from zero to -100. Near zero means the close is at the top of the range, and near -100 means it is at the bottom.
How it is read in practice
The two thresholds are -20 and -80. In practice it is the twin of the fast Stochastic Oscillator without smoothing: faster to respond and sharper. That is why short-timeframe traders use it to catch bounces inside a range, and why people who trade over days avoid it.
A more mature reading: failure to return
Its most valuable use is not reaching the extreme zone but failing to leave it. Staying stuck near -20 for consecutive sessions in an uptrend is strength, not exhaustion. Beginners fade this pattern and miss the best waves.
Hypothetical example
A stock breaks resistance on heavy volume and its indicator sticks near -20 for six sessions. Every “Overbought” signal here is wrong: the sticking itself is evidence of buyer control. Breaking away from the zone is the first sign of fading strength.
Where it errs and why
Its sharpness means many false signals in gappy markets, and a distortion after a single wide-range session that redefines the high and low at once.
Read it with
Read it with trend strength to classify the environment first; with True Range, since its range is an input to the calculation; and with levels, because a bounce from a structural level with an extreme reading is stronger than either alone.
Where to see it on the platform
The technical chart shows it in the oscillator family, and its reading can be compared with the Stochastic Oscillator on the same axis.
Its window and tuning
The default window is 14 sessions. Shortening it raises sensitivity and noise together, while lengthening it approaches the smoothed Stochastic Oscillator. The rule is to choose the window from the trade horizon, not from a wish for more signals: someone holding for days gains nothing from an indicator that swings by the hour, and an intraday trader cannot use one that responds after three days. Changing the window changes the meaning of its thresholds too, so recalibrate them on the same asset before relying on them.
