The Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator, known as "MACD," is chart feature that traders use to analyze price movement. It is based on the moving average, which is simply an average of market prices over a set duration of time. The MACD subtracts one moving average from another, then creates a moving average of this result, called a "signal line." The MACD appears as a sub-graph on a chart, rising and falling based on changes in price momentum.
Open your charting software and view any chart you wish.
Click the button or menu within the program for selecting technical indicators. The exact location of this operation varies between software vendors, but will almost always be titled "indicators," "studies," "oscillators" or "analysis." It may be a button on the chart, an option available by right-clicking on a chart or a menu above the chart.
Select the MACD indicator from the list of indicators available to add to the chart.
Configure the three parameters for the MACD on this screen that appear after you click to add the indicator. Most programs will present you with clear options to change the duration for the "fast," "slow" and "signal line" moving averages. These are the three main parameters of the MACD.
Click "Add" or "OK" on this window as appropriate for your particular program to set these MACD parameters.
