Moving Average Crossover Scanner

Stocks where a faster moving average just crossed a slower one. A fast average above a slow one means recent prices are higher than older ones, so the short-term trend is up.

All the averages here are simple moving averages (SMA). Trade Ideas does not scan EMA crosses, so this page does not claim them.

The 20 over 200 on an intraday chart is a big turn for the day. 20 SMA Crossed Above 200 SMA (5 Min) (YCAD5) and 20 SMA Crossed Above 200 SMA (15 Min) (YCAD15) fire it as it happens. Add 20 vs. 200 Period SMA (5 min) (5Sma20a200) to other scans when you only want stocks already above it.

For trend, not just a cross, Trade Ideas has thrust alerts. Upward Thrust (5 Minute) (SMAU5) fires when the 8 and 20 period SMAs have been rising together, and Downward Thrust (5 Minute) (SMAD5) when both are falling. 15 Minute Linear Regression Up Trend (PEU15) marks a turn up in a linear regression line on 15 minute bars.

These say "this stock is trending," which many traders find more useful than a single cross.

The classic 50/200-day golden cross has its own page: golden cross scanner. It covers the Formula Editor formula and the 200-day break alerts.

1. In TI Pro, open a Streaming Alerts window.
2. Turn on the crosses for your timeframe, like 8 over 20 on 5 minutes.
3. Add Relative Volume, Price and Dollar Volume.
4. Optional: add Change From 50 Day SMA (%) at a min of 0 to trade with the daily trend.
5. Save the window and turn on sound.

A short average, like 5 or 8 periods, follows price closely. A long average, like 20 or 200, moves slowly. When the short one crosses above the long one, recent prices have pulled above older ones.

The shorter both averages are, the more they cross and the earlier each cross comes. Longer pairs cross less and mark bigger turns.

5 over 8. Very fast. Suits scalps on 1 to 5 minute charts.

8 over 20. A common day-trade pair on 5 and 15 minute charts.

20 over 200. A big intraday turn.

Price over 20, 50 or 200-day. Daily trend changes, useful for swing traders.

There is no 60 minute crossover alert. Traders who want hourly crosses use 15 or 30 minute alerts with a daily-trend filter, or the 60 minute MACD crosses on the MACD scanner.

Some traders wait for two crosses in a row: 5 SMA Crossed Above 8 SMA (5 Min) (X5A8_5) fires first, then 8 SMA Crossed Above 20 SMA (5 Min) (ECAY5). Others take the fast cross only when 20 vs. 200 Period SMA (5 min) (5Sma20a200) says the 20 is already above the 200, so they trade with the bigger trend.

Change From 20 Day SMA (%) (MA20P), Change From 50 Day SMA (%) (MA50P) and Change From 200 Day SMA (%) (MA200P) show how far price is from each daily average. They help avoid buying a cross in a stock already far above its averages.

1. On the 5 minute chart, a stock has been drifting under its 20 period SMA.
2. The 8 period SMA turns up and crosses the 20. ECAY5 fires.
3. The 20 period is above the 200 on the same chart, so the bigger trend is up.
4. A trader using this setup might enter with a stop under the recent low.

The 5 over 8 cross runs on more bar lengths: 5 SMA Crossed Above 8 SMA (1 Min) (X5A8_1), 5 SMA Crossed Above 8 SMA (2 Min), 5 SMA Crossed Above 8 SMA (4 Min), 5 SMA Crossed Above 8 SMA (5 Min), 5 SMA Crossed Above 8 SMA (10 Min), 5 SMA Crossed Above 8 SMA (20 Min) and 5 SMA Crossed Above 8 SMA (30 Min) minutes, with matching down crosses such as 5 SMA Crossed Below 8 SMA (5 Min) (X5B8_5). Daily crosses use the price alerts Crossed Above 20 Day Moving Average (CA20), Crossed Above 50 Day Moving Average (CA50) and Crossed Above 200 Day Moving Average (CA200) and their down versions.

An intraday cross is about the next hour or two. The 8 over 20 on a 5 minute chart can flip three or four times in one session on an active stock. Day traders use it to time an entry inside a move they already like.

A daily cross is about the next weeks. When price crosses the 50 or 200 day average, it fires once and may not fire again for months. Swing traders treat it as a change in the backdrop, not as an entry by itself.

Mixing the two works well: pick stocks with a daily filter, such as price above the 200 day, and time them with an intraday cross.

Most crossover losses come from sideways stocks where the averages cross back and forth. Three filters cut most of them:

Whipsaw filter

Start with these, then loosen one at a time if the window goes too quiet.

The real capture from the 5 over 8 SMA (1 minute) help page, shown on this page, is Pure Storage (PSTG) on January 8, 2024. At 11:20 a.m. ET the 5 period average (37.26) moved above the 8 period average (37.25) on the 1 minute chart, with price at $37.28, and the alert fired.

Two bars later, red bars took price back under both averages. That is a normal 1 minute cross: it marks the turn the moment it happens, and it can undo just as fast. Relative volume on the chart read 0.85, below normal, which is the kind of reading the whipsaw filter above is built to screen out.

The golden cross is one specific crossover: the 50 day average moving above the 200 day. It changes slowly and says something about the long-term trend. The alerts on this page cover the faster crosses traders use during the day. For the 50/200 day setup, built as a custom formula, see the golden cross scanner.

Every crossover alert in Trade Ideas uses simple moving averages. There are no EMA crossover alerts, so this page does not promise them. Simple averages weight every bar the same, so they turn a little later than exponential ones. If you trade EMA crosses on your charts, the SMA alerts still find the same trend changes, just a bar or two later, and the Formula Editor lets you build your own custom filters on top.

Example numbers, not a real trade

1. A stock has been under its 20 period average on the 15 minute chart since yesterday afternoon.
2. At 10:45 a.m. ET, ECAY15 fires as the 8 crosses above the 20 at $27.80. Daily ADX reads 27.
3. A trader buys with a stop under the morning low at $27.20.
4. If ECBY15 fires later, the cross has reversed and the trade is closed.

Crosses whip back and forth in choppy markets. Short averages on 1 minute bars cross many times an hour.

Averages lag. The cross can come after a good part of the move.

Test your rules in a simulated account first.