If you apply a 200-period moving average on a weekly or monthly chart and the line doesn't appear, it's because there isn't enough historical data for the stock to calculate it.
A 200-period average needs 200 candles
A moving average is the average of a set number of periods. A 200-period moving average needs 200 candles of history before it can plot the first point:
- On a monthly chart, that's 200 months — about 16.6 years of data.
- On a weekly chart, that's 200 weeks — nearly 4 years of data.
If the stock hasn't been listed and traded for that long, there simply aren't 200 candles to average — so the moving average can't be drawn and stays hidden.
What you can do
- Use a shorter period — a 50 or 100 moving average needs far less history and will show on more stocks.
- Switch to a lower timeframe (daily, for example), where 200 candles is only about 200 trading days.
- For a 200-period average on the monthly chart, use it on stocks with a long trading history (roughly 16.6 years or more).
It's not an error — the line appears as soon as the stock has enough candles for the average.