Joint ADX and MACD readout for trend strength and direction

Two questions, not one line

Editorial framing: TradersWeek splits this workflow into two questions. Is a trend present, and which way is price leaning. The archive pairing answers those questions with different tools rather than with a single line.

The average directional index rises as price organizes into a recognizable trend and falls when price moves sideways or loses trending power. It does not state whether the trend is up or down. Values from 20 to 30 mark mild-to-moderate trending conditions, while values above 30 usually mark a strong trend.

Moving average convergence/divergence can mark direction when it rises through its trigger line or falls through its zero line. Plotting the oscillator with the average directional index makes strength and direction jointly visible.

Confirming, diverging, and consolidating geometry

When both indicators rise together they form a confirming pattern aligned with advancing price. A later drop in the average directional index means the detector no longer finds a trend, not that a downtrend has started. Both lines falling can also coincide with a sideways range.

A diverging pattern is a rising average directional index paired with the oscillator falling below its trigger line and often below the zero line. The two lines then form a near-mirror image during a downtrend. After a divergence, a turn from the lines moving apart to the lines moving toward each other is presented as a cue that a price shift may be approaching.

A consolidating pattern is a falling average directional index while the oscillator stays near or above the zero line, often after a confirming uptrend. That geometry can coincide with a trading-range pause before both lines rise again if the advance resumes.

A short moving average as a tracking check

A 13-unit simple moving average of price tends to correspond with the oscillator crossing its trigger line when the oscillator is tracking price. A later trigger-line cross higher can appear from fading downside momentum without a rising price or an upward-sloping average.

Editorial note: TradersWeek treats that short moving average only as a check on whether the momentum line is still tracking price, not as a third directional vote. Trigger-line crosses remain directional cues only when the oscillator is tracking price.