Fifty Day Moving Average

Returns the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of closing prices for a stock. This is a widely used technical indicator for identifying short to medium-term trends.

Supported Symbol Formats

Type Format Example
US Stocks SYMBOL AAPL, MSFT
ETFs SYMBOL SPY, QQQ

Technical Analysis Use

  • Price above 50 MA: Short-term uptrend
  • Price below 50 MA: Short-term downtrend
  • 50 MA crossing 200 MA: Golden Cross (bullish) or Death Cross (bearish)

Examples

=FiftyDayMovingAverage("AAPL")
Apple's 50-day MA
=FiftyDayMovingAverage("SPY")
S&P 500 ETF 50-day MA
=Last("AAPL")-FiftyDayMovingAverage("AAPL")
Distance from 50-day MA
=IF(Last("AAPL")>FiftyDayMovingAverage("AAPL"),"Above","Below")
Trend check

When to Use

  • Identifying short-term trend direction
  • Finding dynamic support/resistance levels
  • Golden/Death cross analysis
  • Trend-following strategies

When NOT to Use

Scenario Use Instead
Need 200-day MA TwoHundredDayMovingAverage()
Need custom period SimpleMovingAverage()
Need percent from MA PercentChangeFrom50_dayMovingAverage()

Common Issues & FAQ

Q: Is this an EMA or SMA? A: This is a Simple Moving Average (SMA).

Q: How is it calculated? A: It's the average of the last 50 closing prices.

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MarketXLS Excel Add-in Tutorial - How to Use Fifty Day Moving Average and Other Financial Formulas
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