What are a golden cross and a death cross?
A golden cross is when a stock's 50-day average crosses above its 200-day average: the short average has overtaken the long one because the price has been rising for a while. A death cross is the opposite — the 50-day average crosses below the 200-day average.
Where the short average crosses above the long one — that is the cross.
Why 50 and 200 days?
200 trading days is roughly a market year, 50 roughly a quarter. They are not magic numbers, but because so many people use them, the cross has become one of the most talked-about signals in technical analysis — in the news, too.
How to read it
- Golden cross: recent prices are above the long average. Many see it as a sign of strength.
- Death cross: recent prices are below the long average. Many see it as a sign of weakness.
- After the cross: watch whether the price stays above (or below) both averages. A cross that quickly reverses says little.
What the cross cannot do
Averages always lag the price. By the time the cross finally happens, the price has often already moved a good way: a golden cross typically comes after a rise, not before. And in a stock moving sideways, the averages can cross several times without anything happening.
The typical beginner's mistake
Believing a death cross means the stock is about to fall a lot further. It means it has already fallen quite a bit. Whether the fall continues, the cross does not know.
How you see it in Kiggo
Open a stock and tap “Go deeper into technical analysis”. If a cross has happened recently, Kiggo says so under “In short”, e.g. “Recently the short average crossed above the long one — a ‘golden cross’, which many see as a sign of strength.” On the chart you can see the blue 50-day line and the orange 200-day line for yourself.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Is a golden cross a buy signal?
Many read it that way, but the cross only describes what the price has done over recent months. It says nothing about the company's finances, and it often comes late.
How often does a golden cross happen?
It depends on the stock. In a stock with a clear direction, years can pass between crosses. In a stock moving sideways, it can happen several times a year.
Does Kiggo use simple or exponential averages?
The cross in Kiggo's text is based on the simple 50- and 200-day averages — the same ones drawn on the chart.
Kiggo explains — Kiggo does not advise. We never tell you what to buy or sell, and key figures can only be compared between companies in the same industry. The decision is yours. Last updated .
Written by Claus Frisch, founder of Kiggo. Not an adviser, not a bank — Kiggo explains, you decide.
