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Choppiness Index

Modern volatility trend-strength classic range

Determines if the market is trending (low values) or ranging/choppy (high values).

Usage

Use to determine whether a market is trending or choppy before selecting a trading strategy. Values above 61.8 indicate chop; values below 38.2 indicate a strong trend.

Background

The Choppiness Index, developed by E.W. Dreiss, measures how much of the total ATR-based range is consumed by the actual net price move over N bars. A value near 100 means price wandered back and forth using all available range without net progress (maximum chop); near 0 means a straight directional move with minimal retracement. — StockCharts ChartSchool

Parameters

  • period (default: 14): Lookback period

Formula

\[ CHOP = 100 \times \frac{\log_{10}(\sum_{i=1}^n ATR(1)_i / (\max(H, n) - \min(L, n)))}{\log_{10}(n)} \]

Source