ADX (14) — Average Directional Index
What it measures¶
The Average Directional Index measures how strong a trend is, not which way it runs. It compares each session's upward and downward extensions of the range, smooths them over 14 sessions, and scales the result from 0 to 100 — in practice it rarely exceeds 60. J. Welles Wilder published it in 1978.
Why it is on the page¶
A price above its moving averages means more when a clear trend is under way than when the price drifts sideways. On the Price & timing strip, ADX adds a caption to the Trend tile — no clear trend, developing or strong — and never votes. On the Technical page it sits in the momentum panel.
Thresholds, their source and the population they were fitted on¶
| Zone | ADX | Wilder's reading |
|---|---|---|
| no clear trend | below 20 | the price is ranging |
| developing | 20 to 25 | a trend may be forming |
| strong | above 25 | a strong trend, in either direction |
The bar runs from 0 to 60 and carries no red or green: strength is not good or bad on its own.
- Source: J. Welles Wilder, New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems (1978).
- Fitted on: no statistical sample — Wilder's convention; one peer-reviewed test on currency markets gave mixed results.
- Evidence grade: practitioner convention.
A worked example¶
On daily bars to 23 October 2026: Honeywell International 13.1 — no clear trend; Apple 20.0 — at the line; Linde 29.2 — a strong trend by Wilder's 25 line.
What “No verdict” means here¶
ADX carries no verdict and no vote. When it cannot be computed — fewer than about 28 daily bars, or no stored reading — the Trend tile simply drops its caption, and the Technical page says not ingested rather than substituting another measure.
What the verdict is and is not¶
The figure describes how strongly the price has been trending, in whichever direction. It is not a forecast and not an instruction to trade the shares.