LogoLogo
Return to StockChartsCharts & ToolsArticlesChartSchoolYour Dashboard
  • 📋ChartSchool
  • Table of Contents
    • Overview
      • Why Analyze Securities?
      • Technical Analysis
      • Fundamental Analysis
      • Random Walk vs. Non-Random Walk
      • Asset Allocation and Diversification
      • John Murphy's 10 Laws of Technical Trading
      • John Murphy's "Charting Made Easy" eBook
      • Technical Analysis 101
        • TA 101 – Part 1
        • TA 101 – Part 2
        • TA 101 – Part 3
        • TA 101 – Part 4
        • TA 101 – Part 5
        • TA 101 – Part 6
        • TA 101 – Part 7
        • TA 101 – Part 8
        • TA 101 – Part 9
        • TA 101 – Part 10
        • TA 101 – Part 11
        • TA 101 – Part 12
        • TA 101 – Part 13
        • TA 101 – Part 14
        • TA 101 – Part 15
        • TA 101 – Part 16
        • TA 101 – Part 17
      • Irrational Exuberance
      • Cognitive Biases
      • Arthur Hill on Goals, Style and Strategy
      • Arthur Hill on Moving Average Crossovers
      • Multicollinearity
      • "The Trader's Journal" by Gatis Roze
        • Stage 1: Money Management
        • Stage 2: Business of Investing
        • Stage 3: The Investor Self
        • Stage 4: Market Analysis
        • Stage 5: Routines
        • Stage 6: Stalking Your Trade
        • Stage 7: Buying
        • Stage 8: Monitoring Your Investments
        • Stage 9: Selling
        • Stage 10: Re-Examine, Refine, Re-Enhance
        • Additional Reading
      • Bob Farrell's 10 Rules
      • Richard Rhodes' Trading Rules
      • Donchian Trading Guidelines
      • Why and How To Use Correlation
    • Chart Analysis
      • What Are Charts?
      • Support & Resistance
      • Trend Lines
      • Gaps and Gap Analysis
      • Introduction to Chart Patterns
      • Chart Patterns
        • Broadening Top or Megaphone Top
        • Double Top Reversal
        • Double Bottom Reversal
        • Head and Shoulders Top
        • Head and Shoulders Bottom
        • Falling Wedge
        • Rising Wedge
        • Rounding Bottom
        • Triple Top Reversal
        • Triple Bottom Reversal
        • Bump and Run Reversal
        • Flag, Pennant
        • Symmetrical Triangle
        • Ascending Triangle
        • Descending Triangle
        • Rectangle
        • Price Channel
        • Measured Move—Bullish
        • Measured Move—Bearish
        • Cup With Handle
      • Chart Types
        • Arms CandleVolume
        • CandleVolume
        • Elder Impulse System
        • EquiVolume
        • Heikin-Ashi Candlesticks
        • Kagi Charts
        • Renko Charts
        • Three Line Break Charts
        • MarketCarpets
        • Relative Rotation Graphs (RRG Charts)
        • Seasonality Charts
        • Yield Curve
      • Candlestick Charts
        • Introduction to Candlesticks
        • Candlesticks and Traditional Chart Analysis
        • Candlesticks and Support
        • Candlesticks and Resistance
        • Candlestick Bullish Reversal Patterns
        • Candlestick Bearish Reversal Patterns
        • Candlestick Pattern Dictionary
      • Point and Figure Charts
        • Point and Figure Basics
          • Introduction to Point & Figure Charts
          • Point & Figure Scaling and Timeframes
          • P&F Trend Lines
        • Classic Patterns
          • P&F Bullish Breakouts
          • P&F Bearish Breakdowns
          • P&F Signal Reversed
          • P&F Catapults
          • P&F Triangles
          • P&F Bull & Bear Traps
        • P&F Price Objectives
          • P&F Price Objectives: Breakout and Reversal Method
          • P&F Price Objectives: Horizontal Counts
          • P&F Price Objectives: Vertical Counts
        • Point & Figure Indicators
        • P&F Scans and Alerts
          • P&F Pattern Alerts
      • Chart Annotation Tools
        • Andrews' Pitchfork
        • Stock Market Cycles
        • Fibonacci Retracements
        • Fibonacci Arcs
        • Fibonacci Fans
        • Fibonacci Time Zones
        • Quadrant Lines
        • Raff Regression Channel
        • Speed Resistance Lines
    • Technical Indicators & Overlays
      • Introduction to Technical Indicators and Oscillators
      • Technical Indicators
        • Accumulation/Distribution Line
        • Alligator Indicator
        • Aroon
        • Aroon Oscillator
        • ATR Bands
        • ATR Trailing Stops
        • Average Directional Index (ADX)
        • Average True Range (ATR) and Average True Range Percent (ATRP)
        • Balance of Power (BOP)
        • Bollinger BandWidth
        • %B Indicator
        • Chaikin Money Flow (CMF)
        • Chaikin Oscillator
        • Chande Trend Meter (CTM)
        • CMB Composite Index
        • Commodity Channel Index (CCI)
        • ConnorsRSI
        • Coppock Curve
        • Correlation Coefficient
        • DecisionPoint Price Momentum Oscillator (PMO)
        • Detrended Price Oscillator (DPO)
        • Distance From Highs
        • Distance From Lows
        • Distance To Highs
        • Distance To Lows
        • Distance From Moving Average
        • Ease of Movement (EMV)
        • Force Index
        • Gopalakrishnan Range Index
        • High Low Bands
        • High Minus Low
        • Highest High Value
        • Linear Regression R2
        • Lowest Low Value
        • Mass Index
        • MACD (Moving Average Convergence/Divergence) Oscillator
        • MACD-Histogram
        • MACD-V
        • MACD-V Histogram
        • Median Price
        • Money Flow Index (MFI)
        • Negative Volume Index (NVI)
        • On Balance Volume (OBV)
        • Percentage Price Oscillator (PPO)
        • Percentage Volume Oscillator (PVO)
        • Performance Spread
        • Price Relative/Relative Strength
        • Pring's Know Sure Thing (KST)
        • Pring's Special K
        • Rate of Change (ROC)
        • Relative Strength Index (RSI)
        • Relative Volume (RVOL)
        • RRG Relative Strength
        • StockCharts Technical Rank
        • Slope
        • Standard Deviation (Volatility)
        • Stochastic Oscillator (Fast, Slow, and Full)
        • StochRSI
        • Traffic Light
        • TRIX
        • True Range
        • True Strength Index
        • TTM Squeeze
        • Typical Price
        • Ulcer Index
        • Ultimate Oscillator
        • Vortex Indicator
        • Weighted Close
        • Williams %R
      • Technical Overlays
        • Anchored VWAP
        • Bollinger Bands
        • Chandelier Exit
        • Double Exponential Moving Average (DEMA)
        • Hull Moving Average (HMA)
        • Ichimoku Cloud
        • Kaufman's Adaptive Moving Average (KAMA)
        • Keltner Channels
        • Linear Regression Forecast
        • Linear Regression Intercept
        • Moving Averages—Simple and Exponential
        • Moving Average Ribbon
        • Moving Average Envelopes
        • Parabolic SAR
        • Pivot Points
        • Price Channels
        • Triple Exponential Moving Average (TEMA)
        • Volume-by-Price
        • Volume-Weighted Average Price (VWAP)
        • ZigZag
    • Market Indicators
      • Introduction to Market Indicators
        • Market Indicator Dictionary
      • Advance-Decline Line
      • Advance-Decline Percent
      • Advance-Decline Volume Line
      • Advance-Decline Volume Percent
      • Arms Index (TRIN)
      • Bullish Percent Index (BPI)
      • DecisionPoint Intermediate-Term Breadth Momentum Oscillator (ITBM)
      • DecisionPoint Intermediate-Term Volume Momentum Oscillator (ITVM)
      • DecisionPoint Swenlin Trading Oscillator (STO)
      • High-Low Index
      • High-Low Percent
      • McClellan Oscillator
      • McClellan Summation Index
      • Net New 52-Week Highs
      • Percent Above Moving Average
      • Pring's Bottom Fisher
      • Pring's Diffusion Indicators
      • Pring's Inflation and Deflation Indexes
      • Pring's Net New High Indicators
      • Put/Call Ratio
      • Record High Percent
      • Volatility Indices
    • Market Analysis
      • Dow Theory
      • Sector Rotation Analysis
      • Intermarket Analysis
      • The DecisionPoint Chart Gallery
      • DecisionPoint Rydex Asset Analysis
      • Wyckoff Analysis Articles
        • Wyckoff Market Analysis
        • Wyckoff Stock Analysis
        • The Wyckoff Method: A Tutorial
      • Elliott Wave Analysis Articles
        • Introduction to Elliott Wave Theory
        • Identifying Elliott Wave Patterns
        • Guidelines for Applying Elliott Wave Theory
    • Trading Strategies & Models
      • DecisionPoint Trend Model
      • Trading Strategies
        • Bollinger Band Squeeze
        • CCI Correction
        • CVR3 VIX Market Timing
        • Faber's Sector Rotation Trading Strategy
        • Gap Trading Strategies
        • Harmonic Patterns
        • Hindenburg Omen
        • Ichimoku Cloud Trading Strategies
        • The 'Last' Stochastic Technique
        • MACD Zero-Line Crosses With Swing Points
        • Moving Average Trading Strategies
          • Finding Support and Resistance in Moving Averages
          • Guppy Multiple Moving Average: An MA Ribbon Designed to Tip the Market’s Hand
          • How To Trade Price-to-Moving Average Crossovers
          • Trading the Bounce: Finding Support and Resistance in Moving Averages
          • Trading the Death Cross
          • Trading Using the Golden Cross
          • Using the 5-8-13 EMA Crossover for Short-Term Trades
        • Moving Momentum
        • Narrow Range Day NR7
        • Percent Above 50-day SMA
        • Percent B Money Flow
        • The Pre-Holiday Effect
        • RSI(2)
        • Six-Month Cycle MACD
        • Slope Performance Trend
        • Stochastic Pop and Drop
        • Swing Charting
        • Trend Quantification and Asset Allocation
    • Index & Market Indicator Catalog
      • Advance-Decline Indicators
      • Cboe Indices and Indicators
      • CME Futures and Spot Prices
      • DecisionPoint Sentiment Indicators
      • Dow Jones Breadth Indicators
      • Dow Jones Global Indices
      • Dow Jones Select Indices
      • Dow Jones Titans Indices
      • Dow Jones US Indices
      • Economic Indicators
      • ICE Futures and Spot Prices
      • Intellidex Indices
      • MSCI Indices
      • New 52-week Highs and Lows for Exchanges
      • NYSE Arca Equity Indices
      • NYSE Equity Indices
      • Philadelphia Indices
      • S&P 500 Sector and Industry Groups
      • S&P GSCI Indices
      • StockCharts AD Percent
      • StockCharts AD Volume Percent
      • StockCharts Bullish Percent Index
      • StockCharts High-Low Index
      • StockCharts High-Low Percent
      • StockCharts Percent Above Moving Average
      • StockCharts Pseudo Symbols
      • StockCharts Record High Percent
      • StockCharts Theoretical Indices
      • US Treasury Yields
    • 📖Glossary
      • 📖Glossary - A
      • 📖Glossary - B
      • 📖Glossary - C
      • 📖Glossary - D
      • 📖Glossary - E
      • 📖Glossary - F
      • 📖Glossary - G
      • 📖Glossary - H
      • 📖Glossary - I
      • 📖Glossary - J
      • 📖Glossary - K
      • 📖Glossary - L
      • 📖Glossary - M
      • 📖Glossary - N
      • 📖Glossary - O
      • 📖Glossary - P
      • 📖Glossary - Q
      • 📖Glossary - R
      • 📖Glossary - S
      • 📖Glossary - T
      • 📖Glossary - U
      • 📖Glossary - V
      • 📖Glossary - W
      • 📖Glossary - X, Y, Z
    • Options Glossary
    • Educational Resources
Powered by GitBook
LogoLogo

ON STOCKCHARTS

  • Charts & Tools
  • Articles
  • StockCharts TV
  • ChartSchool

MEMBERS

  • Your Dashboard
  • Your ChartLists
  • Advanced Scans
  • Technical Alerts

HELP

  • Support Center
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Pricing

COMPANY

  • About Us
  • What's New
  • Careers
  • StockCharts Store

© StockCharts.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

On this page
  • What Is the Anchored VWAP?
  • How Do You Calculate the Anchored VWAP?
  • How Do You Interpret the Anchored VWAP?
  • The Bottom Line
  • Charting with Anchored VWAP
  • FAQs: Anchored VWAP

Was this helpful?

Export as PDF
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Technical Indicators & Overlays
  3. Technical Overlays

Anchored VWAP

A version of the VWAP overlay where the chartist defines the starting point for overlay calculations.

PreviousTechnical OverlaysNextBollinger Bands

Last updated 11 months ago

Was this helpful?

What Is the Anchored VWAP?

The Anchored Volume Weighted Average Price (Anchored VWAP) is a trading indicator that provides the average price of a security from a specific starting point (the “anchor”), factoring in price and volume. It's used to confirm trends and identify areas of support and resistance on the chart

Unlike the traditional Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP), which resets daily and provides the average price of a security within a single trading day, the Anchored VWAP provides a more flexible view by allowing traders to set an anchor point from which the calculation begins. This can be a significant high or low, an earnings announcement, a gap, or any point of interest.

The Anchored VWAP indicator ties VWAP calculations to a specific price bar the trader chooses. Like the traditional VWAP, it incorporates price and volume in a weighted average and can be used to identify areas of support and resistance on the chart.

However, traditional VWAP calculations always start with the first bar of the day and end with the final bar of the day. In some situations, a chartist would prefer to analyze the VWAP line based on a less arbitrary starting point and be able to extend that VWAP line beyond the end of the trading day.

Anchored VWAP allows you to specify the price bar where calculations begin, making it easy to see whether the bulls or bears have been in charge since a very specific time. The starting price bar that is chosen generally marks a shift in market psychology, such as a significant high or low, earnings, news, or other announcements. The Anchored VWAP line is charted using price and volume data from that significant event onward.

Check out our Anchored VWAP deep dive video featuring Brian Shannon of Alphatrends, or just read on to learn more about this technical overlay.

How Do You Calculate the Anchored VWAP?

The Anchored VWAP is calculated using the same formula as traditional VWAP. The only difference is in the bars that are included in the calculations.

  • With traditional VWAP, the calculation starts with the first bar of the day and ends with the last bar of the day. Because it only incorporates one trading day of data, traditional VWAP can only be used on intraday charts.

  • With Anchored VWAP, the chartist chooses the first bar to use in the calculation (“anchoring” the indicator to that bar), and the last bar is always the most recent bar available. Because of the more flexible starting and ending points, Anchored VWAP is not limited to intraday charts.


How Do You Interpret the Anchored VWAP?

Like traditional VWAP, the Anchored VWAP overlay can confirm trends and identify areas of support and resistance on the price chart. The advantage of using Anchored VWAP is that you can set the starting point to include only relevant data on your chart.

Typically, the chartist chooses a particular event as the starting price bar for the overlay: a significant high or low, an earnings announcement, a gap, etc. These events generally signal a change in market psychology, and the price action before that change should be excluded from the calculations since it doesn't reflect the same market psychology.

For example, in the TSLA chart below, the VWAP line (in blue) is based on the opening bar, while the Anchored VWAP line (in red) is set at the morning's low. The blue VWAP line includes data for the sharp increase in the first 20 minutes of trading, as well as the large drop to the low of the day, making for a VWAP line that doesn't reflect the price action at midday. The red Anchored VWAP line includes only data since reaching the low and more accurately reflects the midday market psychology.

Multiple Anchored VWAP lines can be used on a single chart, each anchored at a different starting point. Where multiple Anchored VWAP lines converge, that can indicate an especially strong area of support or resistance.


The Bottom Line

Anchored VWAP provides all the same benefits as traditional VWAP in defining support and resistance levels, with the added advantage that you can pinpoint the exact timeframe to study. Starting VWAP calculations at the time of a significant turning point allows you to exclude price action that was driven by a different market psychology.

As with all technical indicators, traders should use the Anchored VWAP overlay with other indicators and analysis techniques.


Charting with Anchored VWAP

This overlay can be added from the Chart Settings panel for your StockChartsACP chart.

When you add Anchored VWAP to your chart, a starting date and time will be chosen for you, but this can easily be adjusted to meet your technical analysis needs. The Anchor Date and Anchor Time fields can be edited manually, but StockCharts provides a much quicker way to update these values: simply hover over the chart, position the crosshairs on the bar where you want to start your Anchored VWAP overlay, and click on that bar to set the new Anchor Date and Anchor Time.

FAQs: Anchored VWAP

How is the Anchored VWAP different from traditional VWAP?

The main difference lies in the starting point for calculations. Traditional VWAP always starts with the first bar of the day, while Anchored VWAP allows the trader to specify the price bar where the calculations begin. Because of the more flexible starting and ending points, Anchored VWAP is not limited to intraday charts.

What is the significance of the starting price bar chosen for Anchored VWAP calculations?

The starting price bar that is chosen generally marks a shift in market psychology, such as a significant high or low, earnings, news, or other announcements. This bar anchors the VWAP calculations and provides insights into whether the bulls or bears have been in charge since then.

Can multiple Anchored VWAP lines be used on a single chart?

Yes, multiple Anchored VWAP lines can be used on a single chart, each anchored at a different starting point. Where multiple Anchored VWAP lines converge, that can indicate an especially strong area of support or resistance.

Please see our in ChartSchool for more details on the standard formula used to calculate both VWAP and Anchored VWAP.

Learn More.

Click here for a live version of this chart.
VWAP article
Click here for a live version of this chart.
VWAP Calculation