Patterns › MACD bullish cross vs MACD bearish cross
Look-alikes
MACD bullish cross vs MACD bearish cross
They look alike, so beginners mix them up. Here is what each one means, and how often each one worked on real charts.
MACD bullish cross
Below zero, the MACD line crossed above its signal line.
MACD stands for Moving Average Convergence Divergence. The MACD line is the gap between a fast 12-period and a slow 26-period exponential moving average of the closing price, and the signal line is a 9-period average of the MACD line. When the MACD line is below zero, recent prices are running below the longer average. A bullish cross is when the MACD line crosses above its signal line while still below zero, a hint that the fall is slowing.
Treating every MACD cross as a signal, even in choppy markets where the lines cross back and forth.
MACD bearish cross
Above zero, the MACD line crossed below its signal line.
The MACD line is the gap between a fast 12-period and a slow 26-period exponential moving average of the closing price, and the signal line is a 9-period average of the MACD line. When the MACD line is above zero, recent prices are running above the longer average. A bearish cross is when the MACD line crosses below its signal line while still above zero. It hints that the rise is slowing, not that it has ended.
Treating a slowing rise as a finished rise, when price can speed up again.
Real odds side by side
| Pattern | Found | Target first | Stop first | Went nowhere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MACD bullish cross | 58,275 | 36% | 55% | 9% |
| MACD bearish cross | 58,705 | 36% | 56% | 8% |
Counted by the Trading Class research engine on real past candles: entry at the signal candle's close, target 1.5 × ATR(14), stop 1 × ATR(14), 12 candles to decide, a candle that touches both counts as the stop. How we count. Past data, not a forecast and not advice.