Advance/Decline Ratio

STOCKscreener. i n f o shows now the Advance/Decline Ratio next to the market performance.

The A/D Ratio shows the relation between stocks that have increased in price against the ones which have decreased over the given time period and set of selected financial instruments.

Sometimes an index can be driven by price movements of just a few (maybe heavily weighted) stocks. The A/D Ratio gives you an idea how many stocks are "carrying" a certain market.

E.g. as of 2008-01-10 the Swiss Performance Index (SPI) is down only -3.1 % for the year. Thought the A/D Ratio looks much worse with: 42 / 182 = 0.23

BTW, the A/D Ratio for Japan for 2008 as of 2008-01-10 is as low as 0.11.