Death cross
The opposite of a golden cross: a short-term moving average falls below a long-term one. Often treated as a sell signal.
In plain English
When the 50-day moving average drops below the 200-day one, the recent trend is weaker than the long-term trend. The dramatic name does a lot of the work.
Uncle Gary explains
Kevin's three-month gym average has now fallen below his yearly one. Death cross. The protein shaker has been promoted to pen holder.
Why it matters for your money
In our test, betting on a fall after a death cross lost money, because the market mostly went up. Sounding scary is not the same as being right.
Where we tested it
Related terms
All glossary terms. Educational content, not financial advice.