Volume indicators
Chaikin Accumulation/Distribution Line
Cumulative volume flow weighted by the close within each bar's range.
- Engine
- TA-Lib
- Function
AD- Input series
- high, low, close, volume
- Outputs
- 1
How it works
AD multiplies volume by a money-flow multiplier derived from the close's position within the high-low range and cumulatively adds the result; a zero-range bar contributes zero.
Use case
Use the Chaikin A/D Line as a volume-pressure feature for confirming price trends or identifying divergence between price and cumulative money flow.
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Bounds or options | Description |
|---|
Outputs
| Output | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Chaikin A/D Line | number | Cumulative Chaikin Accumulation/Distribution value for the bar. |
Reading the result
The Chaikin Accumulation/Distribution Line cumulatively weights volume by where the close falls within each bar’s high-low range. Local direction and change are usually more useful than the absolute level.
Because it is cumulative, the result depends on the beginning of usable history and can change along the later tail when an earlier source bar is repaired.
Common mistakes
- Comparing absolute levels from datasets with different start dates.
- Treating the measure as literal capital inflow or outflow.
- Ignoring provider differences in volume and bar range.
- Forgetting the special case of a zero high-low range.
DataCat workflow notes
Use changes, slopes, or a separately configured oscillator when stationary features are needed. Preserve provider provenance because the same visible symbol can have different volume semantics across sources.