Momentum Function for Price-Change Analysis in Excel with MarketXLS

The Momentum function calculates a security’s rate of change over a specified number of days. By applying this function in Excel via MarketXLS, you can efficiently measure how a stock’s price has shifted over time—helping you identify emerging trends or reversals in the market. This function is ideal for short to medium-term analysis of U.S. stocks and other assets.

Why Use This Function?

• Quickly gauge short-term or medium-term price changes.
• Identify securities that are gaining or losing momentum.
• Set up automated trading signals or alerts in Excel.
• Combine with other technical indicators (e.g., RSI, EMA) for deeper analysis.
• Track historical data starting from a particular date to reveal trends.

How to Use in Excel

=MOMENTUM(Symbol, [Days], [StartDate])

• Symbol is the ticker symbol of the instrument.
• Days is the number of periods used in the calculation (default is 10).
• StartDate is an optional date parameter that enables you to start calculations from a specific date (by default, today’s date if empty).

Simply enter this formula in any cell where you need the value. MarketXLS will retrieve the necessary data and return the momentum calculation for the specified period.

Parameters Explained

• If the Symbol is invalid or unavailable, the function returns "NA".
• If your MarketXLS license is not active, the function may also return an error message or "NA".

Example Usage

Basic Examples

1. Momentum calculation for Apple (AAPL) using the default of 10 days:
   =MOMENTUM("AAPL")
   This retrieves the 10-day momentum based on today’s date.

2. Momentum calculation for Google (GOOG) over 20 days:
   =MOMENTUM("GOOG", 20)
   The function returns the 20-day momentum value, helping you spot short-term shifts.

3. Momentum starting from January 1, 2023, using the default 10 days:
   =MOMENTUM("AAPL", , "01/01/2023")
   This measures the momentum only from the start of the year to track performance since January 1.

Advanced Scenarios

• Comparing momentum values for multiple symbols and periods:
=MOMENTUM("MSFT", 10) in one cell and =MOMENTUM("MSFT", 50) in another cell to compare short vs. medium-term momentum.

• Integrating with other functions (e.g., RSI, moving averages) to develop trading signals:
You might pair =MOMENTUM("TSLA", 15) with =EMA("TSLA", 15) or =RSI("TSLA", 14) in adjacent cells to create a multi-indicator strategy.

• Historical tracking for custom periods or older historical dates:
Providing a past date will fetch momentum data that specifically starts from that date onward, letting you analyze performance over the chosen duration.

Common Questions and Troubleshooting

1. “I get ‘NA’ as a result.”

   • Check if the symbol is valid and recognized by MarketXLS.
   • Ensure your MarketXLS license is active.
   • Confirm that Days is not set to 1 (insufficient period).

2. “Why no results when I set a future date?”

   • The function may return “NA” since future data isn’t available. Use a valid historical date.

3. “How to handle refreshing data?”

   • Occasionally, MarketXLS may show “Refreshing” if data updates are underway. Wait briefly and try again.

4. “Can I retrieve a series of Momentum values?”

   • By default, the function returns a single momentum number. For advanced or series-based outputs, there are internal parameters behind the scenes, but the standard usage remains as shown above.

Remember:

• Leverage multiple examples to test both short-term and long-term momentum.
• Combine Momentum with other technical indicators to fine-tune your trading strategies.
• Keep in mind that it is designed primarily for the U.S. markets but could also work for other markets supported by MarketXLS.
• Maintain a valid license and stable internet connection for uninterrupted data retrieval.