{"id":12167,"date":"2026-05-22T13:38:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/adx-average-directional-index\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T13:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:38:20","slug":"adx-average-directional-index","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/adx-average-directional-index\/","title":{"rendered":"ADX (Average Directional Index)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Average Directional <a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/index\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">Index<\/a>, or ADX, measures the strength of a trend regardless of its direction. Developed by J. Welles Wilder, ADX is a non-directional indicator that ranges from 0 to 100. A low ADX tells you the market is choppy; a rising ADX confirms a strengthening trend. Indian traders use ADX to filter out range-bound noise and pick the right time to deploy trend-following strategies.<\/p>\n<div><strong>Key takeaways:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>ADX measures trend strength on a scale of 0 to 100. It does not say if the trend is up or down.<\/li>\n<li>Typical thresholds: ADX below 20 = weak trend; 20&#x2013;25 = developing; above 25 = strong trend.<\/li>\n<li>ADX comes with +DI and &#x2212;DI lines that indicate trend direction.<\/li>\n<li>Best paired with trend-following strategies &#x2014; buy dips in uptrends with high ADX.<\/li>\n<li>Default period is 14, but Indian intraday traders often shorten it to 10.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"anatomy-of-adx\">Anatomy of ADX<\/h2>\n<p>The ADX system has three lines: +DI (positive directional indicator), &#x2212;DI (negative directional indicator) and ADX itself. +DI captures upward price pressure; &#x2212;DI captures downward pressure. ADX is a smoothed measure of the spread between +DI and &#x2212;DI, expressed as a single number.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"reading-adx-values\">Reading ADX values<\/h2>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<th>ADX value<\/th>\n<th>Implication<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Below 20<\/td>\n<td>Choppy or sideways market; avoid trend strategies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>20&#x2013;25<\/td>\n<td>Trend forming; watch for continuation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>25&#x2013;50<\/td>\n<td>Strong trend; trend-following ideal<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Above 50<\/td>\n<td>Very strong; potential for extreme moves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h2 id=\"+di-and-&#x2212;di-crossovers\">+DI and &#x2212;DI crossovers<\/h2>\n<p>The classic Wilder signal: when +DI crosses above &#x2212;DI, the trend is turning <a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/bullish\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">bullish<\/a>; when &#x2212;DI crosses above +DI, <a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/bearish\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">bearish<\/a>. Combine with ADX &gt; 20 to filter out false signals in sideways markets. Many traders only act on crossovers when ADX is rising &mdash; confirming that the trend is gaining strength.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"worked-example-on-nifty\">Worked example on <a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/nifty\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">Nifty<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>Suppose Nifty is consolidating between 21,800 and 22,200 with ADX at 15. The signal is clear &#x2014; wait. When the index breaks above 22,200 and ADX rises through 25 with +DI above &#x2212;DI, the breakout is more likely to sustain. Conversely, an ADX above 35 that starts to flatten can indicate trend exhaustion.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"limitations-to-remember\">Limitations to remember<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>ADX is lagging &#x2014; it confirms trends after they begin.<\/li>\n<li>High ADX does not predict reversal; it only indicates current strength.<\/li>\n<li>In choppy markets, +DI\/&#x2212;DI cross frequently, producing whipsaws if ADX is ignored.<\/li>\n<li>Default 14-period can be slow for intraday; shorten thoughtfully.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"how-to-combine-adx-with-other-tools\">How to combine ADX with other tools<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/moving-averages\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">Moving averages<\/a>:<\/strong> Use ADX to validate breakouts above key MAs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Price action:<\/strong> Trade only the strong trends &mdash; ADX &gt; 25 with clean structure.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a class=\"glossaryLink\"  href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/rsi\/\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'  tabindex='0' role='link'>RSI<\/a>:<\/strong> ADX trends + RSI pullbacks form classic continuation trades.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/volume\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">Volume<\/a>:<\/strong> Rising volume + rising ADX = confirmation of trend strength.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"frequently-asked-questions\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<div>\n<h3 id=\"does-adx-tell-me-the-direction-of-the-trend\">Does ADX tell me the direction of the trend?<\/h3>\n<p>No. Direction comes from +DI vs &#x2212;DI; ADX only measures strength.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"can-adx-be-used-on-bank-nifty\">Can ADX be used on Bank Nifty?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, with the same defaults. Bank Nifty often has cleaner ADX trends than smaller <a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/stocks\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">stocks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"why-does-my-adx-read-low-even-though-prices-look-trending\">Why does my ADX read low even though prices look trending?<\/h3>\n<p>ADX considers the recent range; small but persistent moves may not register as strong trends. Try a shorter period to be more responsive.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"is-adx-useful-for-delivery-investing\">Is ADX useful for delivery investing?<\/h3>\n<p>Indirectly. ADX on weekly or monthly charts can hint at major regime changes in indices and <a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/sector\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">sector<\/a>s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Average Directional Index, or ADX, measures the strength of a trend regardless of its direction. Developed by J. Welles Wilder, ADX is a non-directional indicator that ranges from 0 to 100. A low ADX tells you the market is choppy; a rising ADX confirms a strengthening trend. Indian traders use ADX to filter out [&#x2026;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12167","glossary","type-glossary","status-publish","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"web-stories-poster-portrait":false,"web-stories-publisher-logo":false,"web-stories-thumbnail":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Team Lemonn","author_link":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/author\/ashu\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The Average Directional Index, or ADX, measures the strength of a trend regardless of its direction. Developed by J. Welles Wilder, ADX is a non-directional indicator that ranges from 0 to 100. A low ADX tells you the market is choppy; a rising ADX confirms a strengthening trend. Indian traders use ADX to filter out&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/12167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossary"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/12167\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}