How many stocks are rising versus falling: it shows whether an index rise is real or carried by a few names. Sometimes mislabeled as market breadth in other wording; the platform's term is Market Breadth.
What it measures
Market Breadth (Market Breadth) measures how many stocks take part in an index move, not how big the move is: the ratio of advancers to decliners, how many stocks sit above their moving average, and net new highs and lows. The index tells you where it closed. Breadth tells you who carried it there.
Why it checks the health of a trend
Indexes are weighted by market cap, so a handful of giants can lift them while most stocks bleed. A broad rally has a solid structure. A narrow one led by the top ten is fragile however good the final number looks. Chronically narrow participation has historically come before many tired tops.
Divergence is the warning
The most reliable breadth signal is divergence from the index. A new price high with weaker breadth than the last one says the army is shrinking behind the flag. The reverse also holds: a new price low with better breadth than the last one hints that the selling is wearing itself out.
Hypothetical example
The index rises 0.8% while decliners among its components outnumber advancers three to one: a day for giants, not a day for the market. When this pattern repeats for weeks in a row, it has historically described the end of trends more often than their start.
Common mistake
Treat Market Breadth signals as a precise timer? Divergences come weeks or even months before turns. They read the quality of the structure. They are not an entry or exit bell.
What the index shows and doesn't show
The index is cap-weighted, so a handful of giants drives it, and breadth says how many stocks are really taking part. An index rising on narrow breadth is a rise on a fragile base: the generals advance while the army lags. That pattern has come before many corrections.
Where to see it on the platform
The indicator bar shows the advancing share live, the scanner page shows breadth for the institutional watchlist and the eleven sectors, and the flow map ties it to sector moves.
The market breadth dashboard shows the participation ratio and its history with a clear verdict.
