MINUS_DI: Minus Directional Indicator

TL;DR

Measures downward directional movement strength as a percentage (0-100).

Introduction

The Minus Directional Indicator (-DI) measures the strength of downward price movement relative to the true range. It is one of the components of the Directional Movement System developed by J. Welles Wilder Jr.

When -DI is rising, downward price pressure is increasing. When -DI crosses above +DI, it signals a potential bearish trend. The -DI line is commonly plotted alongside +DI to visualize directional balance.

Calculation

-DI = Smoothed(-DM) / Smoothed(TR) × 100

Where:

-DM (Minus Directional Movement) = max(PrevLow - Low, 0) when PrevLow - Low > High - PrevHigh, else 0
TR (True Range) = max(High - Low, |High - PrevClose|, |Low - PrevClose|)
Smoothing uses Wilder's method: Smooth = Smooth - Smooth/N + Input

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Range	Description
Period	14	2-∞	Wilder smoothing period

Interpretation

Rising -DI: Strengthening downward movement
-DI > +DI: Bears dominate; potential downtrend
-DI crossover above +DI: Bearish signal
High -DI (>40): Strong downward momentum

References

Wilder, J. Welles Jr. "New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems" (1978)

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