MACD on PSX charts explained, with PPL

MACD (MACD PSX; MACD indicator kya hai) is the 12-day exponential moving average of the close minus the 26-day one, drawn with a signal line, which is a 9-day EMA of that difference, and a histogram, which is the MACD line minus the signal line. On 16 October 2026, PPL closed at Rs 218.87. Its EMA(12) was 219.90 and its EMA(26) was 222.33, so the MACD line was −2.43. The signal line was −2.14 and the histogram was −0.29. These are measurements of past closes, not signals. You can add MACD free in SuperX Charts, with no account, in Pro.

What is MACD, and what does each part measure?

The Moving Average Convergence/Divergence oscillator was developed by Gerald Appel in the late seventies, according to StockCharts. It has three parts, each built from the one before.

Part	Formula	What it measures
MACD line	EMA(12) of the close − EMA(26) of the close	How far the faster average sits from the slower one, in rupees
Signal line	EMA(9) of the MACD line	A smoothed version of the MACD line
Histogram	MACD line − signal line	The gap between the MACD line and its own average

A positive MACD line means the 12-day average is above the 26-day average, so recent closes are higher than the longer run of closes. A negative line means the opposite. The line crosses zero at the moment the two averages are equal. StockCharts puts it the same way: the zero crossings show that the 12-day EMA has crossed the 26-day EMA, and the histogram is positive when the MACD line is above its signal line and negative when it is below.

The three numbers are in rupees, not percent. A MACD of 2 on a Rs 20 share is a far larger gap than 2 on a Rs 2,000 share. PPL’s −2.43 on a Rs 218.87 close is −1.11% of the price. Do not compare raw MACD values across shares.

How is MACD calculated step by step?

An exponential moving average (EMA) keeps a running value. Each day it takes a share of the day’s close and the rest of yesterday’s EMA. The share is 2 divided by (N + 1): 2/13 for the 12-day EMA, 2/27 for the 26-day EMA and 2/10, which is 0.2, for the 9-day signal. The first EMA is seeded with the simple average of the first N closes. The same running-average idea sits behind every moving average in the indicators guide.

Here is the final step for PPL on 16 October 2026. The closes come from SuperX’s public API, which holds 2,500 daily bars from 15 September 2016 to 16 October 2026. The terminal computes each study on the whole history, so the same history is used here.

Step	Calculation	Result
EMA(12)	218.87 × 2/13 + 220.0846 × 11/13	219.90
EMA(26)	218.87 × 2/27 + 222.6061 × 25/27	222.33
MACD line	219.8977 − 222.3294	−2.43
Signal	−2.4316 × 0.2 + (−2.0632) × 0.8	−2.14
Histogram	−2.4316 − (−2.1369)	−0.29

The inputs on the right are the previous session’s values: EMA(12) 220.0846, EMA(26) 222.6061 and signal −2.0632 on 15 October 2026. The table shows rounded figures. The unrounded ones give the results above.

What did PPL’s MACD read over the last five sessions?

Date	Close	EMA(12)	EMA(26)	MACD	Signal	Histogram
12 Oct 2026	217.03	221.34	223.78	−2.44	−1.58	−0.86
13 Oct 2026	217.43	220.74	223.31	−2.57	−1.78	−0.79
14 Oct 2026	217.47	220.24	222.87	−2.64	−1.95	−0.69
15 Oct 2026	219.25	220.08	222.61	−2.52	−2.06	−0.46
16 Oct 2026	218.87	219.90	222.33	−2.43	−2.14	−0.29

The MACD line was last above zero on 30 September 2026, at 0.38, and was below zero on each of the 12 sessions from 1 to 16 October. The histogram was last positive on 1 October, at 0.007, and negative on the 11 sessions since. Over the last 249 sessions, the line was above zero on 136. Its highest value was 13.72 on 28 January 2026 and its lowest was −13.12 on 4 March 2026. The PPL share page read Rs 218.87 on 16 October 2026, up 20.1% over one year.

Look at the last three columns together. The histogram shrank from −0.86 to −0.29 over the five sessions. That says the MACD line moved closer to its signal line, because the MACD line rose from −2.64 to −2.43 while the signal line kept falling. It does not say what the price does next. When the gap reaches zero, the two lines touch, and that event has the same status as any other number on the page: a measurement.

What does MACD not tell you?

It lags. Each EMA is built from past closes only, so MACD cannot show a turn before it has happened. The 26-day average carries about 7% weight on the newest close (2/27), so it moves slowly, and the 12-day carries about 15% (2/13).

It depends on its three inputs. 12, 26 and 9 are conventions. Change them and the lines change. SuperX Charts keeps all three as editable inputs.

It does not know about corporate events. SuperX Charts adjusts daily prices for bonus shares, rights and splits, and not for cash dividends. PPL has a Rs 6 ex-dividend date listed for 20 October 2026, not yet confirmed in the snapshot of 9 October 2026. A one-day fall of Rs 6 lowers EMA(12) by 6 × 2/13 = 0.92 and EMA(26) by 6 × 2/27 = 0.44, so the MACD line drops by about 0.48 from that one bar alone. That is a payout leaving the company, not a change of view by the market. See ex-date, book closure and record date for the dates, and the PPL dividend page.

It does not turn a crossing into a rule. Many guides publish “buy” and “sell” rules based on the MACD line crossing the signal line or zero. This post gives none, and cites no test of them on PSX shares. A line crossing is geometry. The histogram changes sign.

How do I add MACD in SuperX Charts?

MACD is in Pro, which is on for everyone and needs no account. Simple has four presets only: Price only, Moving averages 20 / 50, RSI 14 and Bollinger Bands. The indicators guide shows each step.

1. Open PPL on a one-year daily chart with MACD. The link writes the indicator as its id and its three inputs.
2. Or click Indicators in the top bar, or press I, and type “macd” in the search.
3. Click the MACD row. A pane opens under the price with the histogram, the MACD line and a line named Signal.
4. To change 12, 26 or 9, find the MACD row in the legend, open its settings and use the Inputs tab. Save as default keeps your values, and Reset goes back to 12, 26 and 9.
5. Right-click the legend row and choose Explain this indicator for a short card in words.
6. Click × on the legend row to remove it.

In the Formula editor of the Indicators panel, macd(12, 26, 9).signal names the signal line, so an alert or a formula can read it. The terminal’s code seeds each EMA with the simple average of its first N closes, as described above. The figures in this post are recomputed from the daily bars with that definition. They were computed from the closes, not read off the pane, so a small difference in the last decimal is possible.

Where to go next

Open a different share to see the same pane: OGDC closed at Rs 299.10 on 16 October 2026, and HBL at Rs 290.42. The PPL chart page here plots its daily closes, and the PPL stock page shows its fundamentals. For the index, how to read the KSE-100 chart covers the basics, and Fibonacci retracement on PSX charts shows another measuring tool with a worked example.

Frequently asked questions

What is the MACD indicator?

It is the 12-day EMA of the close minus the 26-day EMA, drawn with a 9-day EMA of that difference as the signal line and the gap between them as a histogram. It measures the distance between two averages of past closes.

How is MACD calculated?

MACD line = EMA(12) − EMA(26). Signal = EMA(9) of the MACD line. Histogram = MACD line − signal. For PPL on 16 October 2026 these were −2.43, −2.14 and −0.29.

What does a negative MACD mean?

The 12-day average is below the 26-day average, so recent closes are lower than the longer run of closes. PPL’s MACD line was −2.43 on 16 October 2026.

Is MACD a buy or sell signal?

This post treats it as a measurement only. It describes past prices and gives no forecast.

How do I add MACD in SuperX Charts?

In Pro, press I, type “macd” and click the MACD row. A pane opens with the MACD line, the signal line and the histogram.

Education, not investment advice.