HMA (Hull Moving Average)

The Hull Moving Average (HMA), developed by Alan Hull, is designed to virtually eliminate lag while maintaining curve smoothness. It achieves this by combining Weighted Moving Averages (WMA) of different periods with a square root transformation, producing one of the most responsive moving averages available.

HMA(N) = WMA(2 × WMA(N/2) - WMA(N), sqrt(N))

Step by step:

1. Calculate WMA with period N/2.
2. Calculate WMA with period N.
3. Compute: 2 × WMA(N/2) - WMA(N).
4. Apply WMA with period sqrt(N) to the result.

• Near-zero lag — reacts almost instantly to price changes.
• Smooth curve — the sqrt(N) final WMA pass maintains smoothness despite the speed.
• Direction changes are meaningful — when HMA changes slope, it is a strong signal.
• Built from WMA — inherits the linear weighting properties.

Trend direction

• HMA rising — uptrend.
• HMA falling — downtrend.

Slope change

• HMA changes from falling to rising — bullish reversal signal.
• HMA changes from rising to falling — bearish reversal signal.

Price vs. HMA

• Price above rising HMA — strong bullish confirmation.

| Parameter | Default | Description | |-----------|---------|-------------| | Period | 9 | Lookback period for the HMA calculation |

| Condition | Meaning | |-----------|---------| | close > HMA(9) | Price above Hull MA — bullish | | close cross_over HMA(20) | Price reclaims HMA — potential trend start | | HMA(9) cross_over HMA(21) | Fast HMA crosses slow — momentum shift |

• HMA(9) is the most popular setting for intraday trading.
• Due to extremely low lag, HMA can produce signals 1-3 bars earlier than EMA.
• Use HMA slope color change (rising = green, falling = red) as a visual trend filter.
• For swing trading, try HMA(20) or HMA(50) for a balance of speed and reliability.
• Be cautious in choppy markets — HMA's speed can lead to whipsaws without a filter.