Moving Average, What is it?

A moving average takes the average closing price over a chosen window (e.g. 50 or 200 sessions) and plots it as a line that tracks price. It strips out daily noise and clarifies the trend: a stock above its 200-day average is in a long-term uptrend. Two common types exist: the Simple (SMA), which weights all sessions equally, and the Exponential (EMA), which weights recent sessions more and reacts faster. A short average crossing above a long one is the "golden cross," widely read as bullish; the opposite is the "death cross." Moving averages also act as dynamic support and resistance.