relative strength
Also found in: Acronyms.
Relative strength
Movement of a stock price over the past year as compared to a market index (like the S&P 500). A value below 1.0 means the stock shows relative weakness in price movement (underperformed the market); a value above 1.0 means the stock shows relative strength over the one-year period. Equation for Relative Strength: [current stock price/year-ago stock price] divided by [current S&P 500/year-ago S&P 500]. Note: this can be a misleading indicator of performance because it does not take risk into account.
Copyright © 2012, Campbell R. Harvey. All Rights Reserved.
Price Momentum
The performance of a stock relative to its industry or the performance of an industry relative to the market as a whole. A stock (or industry) that outperforms its industry (or market) for a given period of time is seen as a bullish sign for that stock (or industry). The concept is also called relative strength.
Farlex Financial Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All Rights Reserved
relative strength
The price strength of an individual stock compared with the strength of an industry index or a general market index. In general, a stock that acts stronger than its industry or the market as a whole shows a bullish sign for that stock. Likewise, an industry index that acts stronger than a market index is bullish for stock in that industry. Relative strength is typically used when calculating an index of a stock's price to its industry or market index over a period of time. Also called strength.
Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms for Today's Investor by David L. Scott. Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. All rights reserved.