Average price on the Kite market depth
The Average price field on the Kite market depth panel is the Volume-Weighted Average Price (VWAP) of all trades on the scrip during the current trading day. It is not a simple average of the day’s prices; it weights each price by the quantity traded at that price.
Formula
For a sequence of trades on a day:
VWAP = Σ (Price_i x Quantity_i) / Σ Quantity_i
Where i indexes every trade from market open. The exchange computes and publishes this; Kite reads the live VWAP from the exchange feed.
Where it appears
| Surface | Where the field shows |
|---|---|
| Kite web | Market depth panel, alongside volume, OHLC, circuit limits |
| Kite mobile app | Quote screen, in the surrounding metrics section |
| Chart | Available as a built-in indicator (VWAP line) |
Why VWAP, not simple average
A simple average of intraday prices would weight every price observation equally, regardless of how much actually traded at that price. VWAP weights by quantity. A single trade at Rs 100 with 10,000 shares matters more than 10,000 separate trades at varying prices on lower volume.
This makes VWAP the most representative “fair price for the day so far” for execution-quality benchmarking.
How traders use it
Order benchmarking
A trader executing a large position over the day measures execution quality against VWAP. A buy executed below VWAP is considered well-timed; above VWAP is poorly timed. This is the basis of VWAP execution algorithms used by institutions.
Intraday support / resistance
VWAP often acts as a dynamic intraday support (price tends to bounce off it on the way down) or resistance (price tends to stall at it on the way up). This is more pronounced on liquid scrips with active intraday flow.
Comparison with LTP
| LTP > VWAP | Most recent trades are above the day’s average; momentum positive | | LTP < VWAP | Most recent trades are below the day’s average; momentum negative | | LTP ~ VWAP | Price is at the day’s centre of mass |
Day-trader bias
Many intraday-only traders use VWAP as the line they fade or trade with:
- Fade-the-VWAP: Take counter-trend trades at VWAP touches.
- Ride-the-VWAP: Take trend-following trades when LTP holds VWAP after a touch.
Neither approach is universally profitable; both rely on the scrip’s volatility profile and the trader’s edge.
Differences from related metrics
| Metric | Definition | Relation to VWAP |
|---|---|---|
| LTP | Most recent traded price | Independent of VWAP |
| Open | First traded price of the day | Independent |
| Close | Last traded price of the day | Independent |
| Day’s average (simple) | (High + Low) / 2 or similar | Different from VWAP |
| TWAP | Time-weighted average | Weighted by time, not quantity |
| Anchored VWAP | VWAP from a specific anchor point | A variant indicator |
End-of-day vs intraday
During market hours, the VWAP field updates continuously as trades print. At market close, the final VWAP becomes the official day’s volume-weighted average. End-of-day systems (Console, bhav copy) report this final number.
Limitations
- Sensitive to opening volume spike. A large opening-print volume anchors VWAP and reduces sensitivity to later trades.
- Block deals can distort. A single 1-crore-share block at off-market price (in the block deal window) does not normally affect VWAP, but check the bhav copy if you see an unusual VWAP.
- Illiquid scrips. With few trades, VWAP approximates the LTP and offers little independent signal.
See also
- Market depth view on Kite
- How to use the marketwatch on Kite
- How to add scrips to the Kite marketwatch
- VWAP
- VWAP execution algorithm
- Day’s change in absolute and percentage
- Absolute and percentage change from open
- 52-week high and low on the marketwatch
- Delivery volume percentage on the Kite marketwatch
- 20-market-depth feature on Kite
- LTP difference marketwatch vs chart
- LTP under holdings vs marketwatch difference
- Briefcase symbol on Kite
- Event tag on the Kite marketwatch
- Volume (Indian equity)
- Open interest
- How to use VWAP on Kite
- How to use Supertrend on Kite
- Limit order
- Market order
- Kite (Zerodha)
- Kite web
- Kite mobile app
- Zerodha
- National Stock Exchange
External references
- NSE India, market data and trade dissemination
- Zerodha Kite Support, market depth
- Zerodha Varsity, technical indicators
References
- NSE India, Volume-weighted average price calculation methodology, nseindia.com.
- Zerodha Support, Average price field on the market depth panel, support.zerodha.com.
- Zerodha Varsity, VWAP, anchored VWAP and intraday usage, zerodha.com/varsity.