{"id":12175,"date":"2026-05-22T13:38:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/average-directional-movement\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T13:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:38:20","slug":"average-directional-movement","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/average-directional-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"Average Directional Movement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/average-directional-movement\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">Average Directional Movement<\/a> refers to the two directional indicator lines &#x2014; +DI (positive) and &#x2212;DI (negative) &#x2014; that accompany the ADX. While ADX measures the strength of a trend, +DI and &#x2212;DI tell you which side is winning. Together they form Wilder&#x2019;s Directional Movement System, a complete framework for <a class=\"glossaryLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/glossary\/trading\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]' tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">trading<\/a> trends in Indian markets.<\/p>\n<div><strong>Key takeaways:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>+DI measures upward directional pressure; &#x2212;DI measures downward pressure.<\/li>\n<li>Crossovers between +DI and &#x2212;DI are classic trend-change signals.<\/li>\n<li>Best used with ADX &gt; 25 to ensure the trend is strong enough to trade.<\/li>\n<li>Default period is 14; intraday traders may shorten to 9&#x2013;10.<\/li>\n<li>Useful for both swing entries and trend-following continuation trades.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"the-wilder-directional-system\">The Wilder directional system<\/h2>\n<p>J. Welles Wilder&#x2019;s 1978 book introduced three companion indicators: +DI, &#x2212;DI and ADX. They are typically plotted together. +DI tracks how often the day&#x2019;s high exceeds the prior day&#x2019;s high; &#x2212;DI tracks how often the day&#x2019;s low falls below the prior day&#x2019;s low. ADX is derived from the spread between the two.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"reading-+di-and-&#x2212;di\">Reading +DI and &#x2212;DI<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>+DI above &#x2212;DI = <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> bias; the higher the spread, the stronger the trend.<\/li>\n<li>&#x2212;DI 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> bias.<\/li>\n<li>The classic &#x201C;DI crossover&#x201D; is a buy when +DI crosses above &#x2212;DI (with rising ADX), sell when reversed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"worked-example\">Worked example<\/h2>\n<p>Bank <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> has been consolidating with both lines hugging the 20 level. Suddenly +DI rises sharply above 30 while &#x2212;DI falls below 15, and ADX moves up through 25. The setup signals a fresh bullish phase. Long positions taken around this signal often ride the bulk of the resulting trend.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"filtering-false-signals\">Filtering false signals<\/h2>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<th>Filter<\/th>\n<th>Rule<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>ADX threshold<\/td>\n<td>Trade only when ADX &gt; 25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Confirmation candle<\/td>\n<td>Wait for daily close after crossover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Trend filter<\/td>\n<td>Verify against a 50- or 200-day SMA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h2 id=\"using-+di-&#x2212;di-with-other-indicators\">Using +DI\/&#x2212;DI with other indicators<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><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> mid-line + DI confirms momentum direction.<\/li>\n<li>Moving average crossover + DI gives stronger trend signals.<\/li>\n<li><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> confirmation reduces whipsaws during quiet markets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"limitations\">Limitations<\/h2>\n<p>Directional Movement is lagging &#x2014; by the time the cross signals trade entry, part of the move has occurred. It also performs poorly in choppy markets where +DI and &#x2212;DI cross repeatedly. Always read the signal in context with ADX strength.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"frequently-asked-questions\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<div>\n<h3 id=\"is-average-directional-movement-the-same-as-adx\">Is Average Directional Movement the same as ADX?<\/h3>\n<p>No. ADX measures trend strength; +DI\/&#x2212;DI measure direction. They are part of the same system.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"default-period-14-should-i-change-it\">Default period 14 &#x2014; should I change it?<\/h3>\n<p>Stick with 14 for daily charts; shorten for intraday or lengthen for weekly.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"can-i-trade-only-+di-&#x2212;di-crosses\">Can I trade only +DI\/&#x2212;DI crosses?<\/h3>\n<p>You can, but combining with ADX dramatically improves win rate.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"does-lemonn-display-these-indicators\">Does Lemonn display these indicators?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes &#x2014; +DI, &#x2212;DI and ADX appear together as the &#x201C;DMI&#x201D; or &#x201C;ADX system&#x201D; indicator.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Average Directional Movement refers to the two directional indicator lines &#x2014; +DI (positive) and &#x2212;DI (negative) &#x2014; that accompany the ADX. While ADX measures the strength of a trend, +DI and &#x2212;DI tell you which side is winning. Together they form Wilder&#x2019;s Directional Movement System, a complete framework for trading trends in Indian markets. Key [&#x2026;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12175","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":"Average Directional Movement refers to the two directional indicator lines &#x2014; +DI (positive) and &#x2212;DI (negative) &#x2014; that accompany the ADX. While ADX measures the strength of a trend, +DI and &#x2212;DI tell you which side is winning. Together they form Wilder&#x2019;s Directional Movement System, a complete framework for trading trends in Indian markets. Key&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/12175","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\/12175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}