In finance, a moving average (MA) is a stock indicator commonly used in technical analysis. The reason for calculating the moving average of a stock is to help smooth out the price data by creating a constantly updated average price.
By calculating the moving average, the impacts of random, short-term fluctuations on the price of a stock over a specified time frame are mitigated. Simple moving averages (SMAs) use a simple arithmetic average of prices over some timespan, while exponential moving averages (EMAs) place greater weight on more recent prices than older ones over the time period.
Common moving average lengths are 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200. These lengths can be applied to any chart time frame (one minute, daily, weekly, etc.), depending on the trader's time horizon. The time frame or length you choose for a moving average, also called the "look back period," can play a big role in how effective it is.
An MA with a short time frame will react much quicker to price changes than an MA with a long look-back period. In the figure below, the 20-day moving average more closely tracks the actual price than the 100-day moving average does.
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