What is market breadth?

How to read the share of stocks above their moving averages, advancers share and new highs, and why look beyond the index.

Updated：2026-11-14

Why look at breadth

An index can be driven by a few heavyweights. Breadth looks at how many stocks rise together, showing whether gains are broad or concentrated.

Indicators on this site

• Share above the 20- and 60-day averages: on each trading day, the share of stocks whose close is above the 20-day (monthly) or 60-day (quarterly) moving average.
• Advancers share: advancers divided by advancers plus decliners.
• 60-day new highs: the number of stocks closing at a 60-trading-day high.
• Margin balance and cumulative foreign net buying: changes in leverage and foreign money.

How to read it

A high share means broad strength and a low share broad weakness; an index at a high with a very low share means gains are concentrated in a few stocks. These only describe the current state of the market; they do not predict anything and are not advice to buy or sell.

This article only explains terms and calculations; it is not investment advice.