The simplest oscillator ever published — today's close minus the close n bars ago. The raw, unprocessed ancestor of RSI and ROC.
The Momentum Indicator is the oldest and structurally simplest oscillator on the chart. Its formula is a single line — subtract the close n bars ago from today's close. Nothing more.
Unlike RSI or Stochastic, the result is not pinned to a 0–100 scale. It is free to swing in either direction. Above zero means today closed higher than it did n bars ago; below zero, lower. That bareness is exactly why Momentum became the seed from which ROC, RSI, and even MACD eventually grew.
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