what is a golden cross 
a golden cross is a chart pattern in which a short term moving average crosses above a long term moving average the golden cross is a bullish breakout pattern formed from a crossover involving a security s short term moving average such as the 15 day moving average breaking above its long term moving average such as the 50 day moving average as long term indicators carry more weight the golden cross indicates a bull market on the horizon and is reinforced by high trading volumes the bottom linea moving average ma is a stock indicator commonly used in technical analysis used to help smooth out price data by creating a constantly updated average price a rising moving average indicates that the security is in an uptrend while a declining moving average indicates a downtrend the exponential moving average is generally preferred to a simple moving average as it gives more weight to recent prices and shows a clearer response to new information and trends 