Indicators

On-Balance Volume (OBV)

Also called: OBV

A cumulative volume line that adds volume on up days and subtracts it on down days — a running tally of buying vs selling pressure.

priceOBV rising = accumulation
Schematic of a on-balance volume (obv) — illustrative geometry, not a live price chart.

Created by Joe Granville, OBV adds the day's volume to a running total when price closes up and subtracts it when price closes down. The absolute number doesn't matter; the direction does. A rising OBV says volume is flowing into up days (accumulation); a falling OBV says it's flowing into down days (distribution).

OBV is most useful for confirmation and divergence: OBV making new highs with price confirms a move, while OBV stalling or falling as price rises warns the advance lacks volume support.

On StockSetups

StockSetups tracks the OBV trend as a screener field, so you can require accumulation — a rising OBV — behind a breakout instead of taking the price move at face value.

Related terms

Get daily signals & real-time alerts.

StockSetups scans ~12,300 US stocks & ETFs after every close and sorts every long setup into four ranked lanes — each with a trade plan — plus an always-on engine firing 35+ real-time intraday alerts. Free for 7 days, cancel in one click.

Start free — 7-day full access →