QuanTAlib/lib/momentum/_index.md

Momentum Indicators

"Momentum tells you how fast price is moving. Whether that movement has meaning: entirely different question."

Momentum indicators measure the velocity and acceleration of price changes. Unlike trend indicators (which answer "where is price going?"), momentum indicators answer "how fast?" and "is it slowing down?". This distinction matters: a strong trend can have weakening momentum (divergence), and a ranging market can show momentum spikes (false breakouts).

Core momentum concepts:

• Rate of Change: Simple difference or ratio between current and historical prices
• Smoothed Momentum: Filtered velocity to reduce noise while preserving turning points
• Bounded Oscillators: Normalized to fixed range (0-100 or -100 to +100) for threshold-based signals
• Unbounded Oscillators: Raw magnitude, requiring context-dependent interpretation

Implementation Status

Indicator	Full Name	Status	Description
ADX	Average Directional Index	=Ë	Quantifies trend intensity by smoothing the expansion of daily ranges, independent of direction
ADXR	ADX Rating	=Ë	Averages current and historical ADX to measure momentum change
AMAT	Archer Moving Averages Trends	=Ë	Identifies trend direction and strength using dual EMAs with slope confirmation
AO	Awesome Oscillator	=Ë	Measures immediate velocity vs broader trend using fast/slow median-price SMAs
APO	Absolute Price Oscillator	=Ë	Absolute difference between two EMAs
AROON	Aroon	=Ë	Gauges trend freshness by measuring time elapsed since last high and low
AROONOSC	Aroon Oscillator	=Ë	Difference between Aroon Up and Aroon Down
BOP	Balance of Power		Measures buyer/seller strength by comparing close to open relative to range
CCI	Commodity Channel Index	=Ë	Measures price deviation from statistical mean, identifies cyclical turns
CFB	Composite Fractal Behavior		Measures trend duration and quality via fractal efficiency across 96 time scales
CHOP	Choppiness Index	=Ë	Quantifies market choppiness vs trending behavior
CMO	Chande Momentum Oscillator	=Ë	Momentum using both up and down changes, bounded but not clamped like RSI
DMX	Directional Movement Index	=Ë	Low-lag, bipolar replacement for DMI/ADX combining direction and strength
DPO	Detrended Price Oscillator	=Ë	Removes trend to isolate cycles
DX	Directional Index	=Ë	Base component for ADX calculation
FISHER	Fisher Transform	=Ë	Gaussian normalization for clearer turning points
IMI	Intraday Momentum Index	=Ë	Candlestick-based momentum for intraday analysis
INERTIA	Inertia	=Ë	Measures resistance to price change
KDJ	KDJ Indicator	=Ë	Extended stochastic with J line for divergence
MACD	Moving Average Convergence Divergence		Relationship between two EMAs, identifies momentum and trend direction
MOM	Momentum	=Ë	Raw price change over specified period
PGO	Pretty Good Oscillator	=Ë	Normalized momentum relative to ATR
PMO	Price Momentum Oscillator	=Ë	Double-smoothed ROC oscillator
PPO	Percentage Price Oscillator	=Ë	MACD expressed as percentage for cross-instrument comparison
PRS	Price Relative Strength	=Ë	Performance ratio between two assets
QSTICK	Qstick	=Ë	Quantifies candlestick patterns
ROC	Rate of Change		Absolute price change over N periods
ROCP	Rate of Change Percentage	=Ë	Percentage price change over N periods
ROCR	Rate of Change Ratio	=Ë	Price ratio over N periods
RSI	Relative Strength Index		Speed and change of price movements, bounded 0-100
RSX	Relative Strength Quality Index		Noise-free RSI using cascaded IIR filters, zero lag at turning points
SMI	Stochastic Momentum Index	=Ë	Stochastic variant measuring distance from midpoint of range
STOCH	Stochastic Oscillator	=Ë	Position within recent range, classic overbought/oversold indicator
STOCHF	Stochastic Fast	=Ë	Unsmoothed stochastic for faster signals
STOCHRSI	Stochastic RSI	=Ë	Stochastic applied to RSI for faster extremes
TRIX	Triple Exponential Average	=Ë	Triple-smoothed rate of change
TSI	True Strength Index	=Ë	Double-smoothed momentum oscillator
ULTOSC	Ultimate Oscillator	=Ë	Combines three timeframes with weighted averages
VEL	Jurik Velocity		Market acceleration via PWMA vs WMA differential
VORTEX	Vortex Indicator	=Ë	Trend direction and strength from true range
WILLR	Williams %R	=Ë	Inverse stochastic, measures overbought/oversold

Legend:  Implemented | =Ë Planned

Indicator Selection Guide

Use Case	Recommended	Rationale
Overbought/Oversold	RSI, RSX	Bounded, well-understood thresholds
Trend Momentum	MACD, CFB	Combines direction with strength
Zero-Lag Signals	RSX, VEL	Jurik filters minimize lag at turning points
Divergence Analysis	RSX, MACD	Clear peaks without noise chatter
Cross-Instrument	PPO, CMO	Percentage-based for comparability
Noise Tolerance	RSX, VEL	Cascaded filtering rejects high-frequency noise