Market Breadth Indicators are powerful technical analysis tools that gauge the direction of the market and help traders determine if it's bullish, bearish or neutral. They do so by analyzing the degree of participation in an advance or a decline to see whether or not an uptrend or downtrend is broad-based and therefore likely to continue. Breadth indicators offer a different perspective on the markets that can't be seen through other indicators.
In a way they are indicators of market sentiment that allow traders to see how the market performs as a whole. Breadth indicators are often used in combination with other indicators to confirm trends. The most basic market breadth indicator is the
Advance/Decline Line but there are several other popular breadth indicators such as
On Balance Volume (OBV), the
McClellan Summation Index and the
Arms Index (TRIN).
