GlossaryBy Sverre MoeUpdated 2026-07-21
What is the Zweig Breadth Thrust?
What is the Zweig Breadth Thrust?
The Zweig Breadth Thrust is a 10-session exponential moving average of the day's advancing issues divided by advancing plus declining issues, expressed as a percentage. Martin Zweig designed it in the early 1970s to catch one specific, rare event: a move from below 40% to above 61.5% inside a short window, which historically has marked the start of some of the strongest rallies in market history.
It is built to be rare on purpose. Most sessions sit in the 40-60% range and mean nothing on their own; the signal only means something when the crossing itself happens, and genuine thrusts have occurred only a handful of times per decade historically. A single high or low reading, without the crossing, is just noise the same way an isolated 90% up day is.
How tickerstance tracks it
The signal is published on /data as its own live tile, reporting the current 10-session EMA reading plus whether the 40%-to-61.5% crossing has actually fired, and if so, the date it triggered. It sits alongside McClellan and the 90% up day count as one of three broad-thrust breadth measures the dashboard tracks.
As of the July 20, 2026 close, the reading sat at 45% (Neutral band), comfortably inside the 40-61.5% range, with no thrust condition active that session. That is the ordinary state for this signal; a session at either extreme, let alone an actual crossing, is the exception rather than the rule.
Related
- McClellan Oscillator
A smoother, more frequent breadth-momentum companion signal.
- 90% Up Day
Lowry's own broad-thrust confirmation signal.
- Advance/Decline Line
Where the Zweig Breadth Thrust sits among the site's other breadth-thrust measures.