CPR is a set of three numbers worked out from the previous session’s high, low and close. The set holds a pivot, a level above it and a level below it. It is arithmetic on figures that are already fixed, so every reader of the same session gets the same three numbers.
Definition and Formula
CPR is built from one session and only one session — the previous completed one. Three numbers come out of it. The pivot sits in the middle. The Bottom Central (BC) is the plain average of the high and the low. The Top Central (TC) sits the same distance on the other side of the pivot.
BC is an average of two numbers. The pivot is an average of three. Because of this, the two can come out in either order. When BC lands above the pivot, TC lands below it. The two are then displayed the other way round, so the label "Top" always names the upper number.
The distance between TC and BC is the width of the range. Stated as a percentage of the pivot, the width can be compared across different instruments and different price levels.
Because the width is stated as a percentage, a Nifty width and a single stock’s width can be placed side by side. In absolute points, a width of 20 points reads differently on an index near 24,000 than on a share near 300. As a percentage of the pivot, both sit on the same scale.
One point about the raw material is worth stating plainly. The open of the previous session does not enter the CPR formula at all. Only the high, the low and the close do. A session that opened far from where it closed, and one that opened close to it, can still produce the same CPR. This happens if their high, low and close match.
Formula: Pivot = (High + Low + Close) ÷ 3 · BC = (High + Low) ÷ 2 · TC = (2 × Pivot) − BC · Width = TC − BC
A Worked Example
| High | 24,350.00 |
|---|---|
| Low | 24,150.00 |
| Close | 24,280.00 |
| Pivot | 24,260.00 |
|---|---|
| Bottom Central (BC) | 24,250.00 |
| Top Central (TC) | 24,270.00 |
| Width (TC − BC) | 20.00 |
| Width as % of pivot | 0.08% |
Every figure in the result column is computed by the same code that builds the levels pages on this site. The three inputs above are its only source.
What This Number Tells You
The width states how far apart the pivot and its two companions sat in the previous session. A narrow width means the three numbers came out close together; a wide one means they came out further apart.
All three numbers are fixed the moment the previous session closes. They do not move during the next session, however the price moves.
And What It Does Not Tell You
CPR says nothing about what the price will do next. It is a description of a session that has already ended, not a statement about one that has not started.
A narrow or wide width carries no built-in meaning of its own. The thresholds used on this site (below 0.15% narrow, above 0.50% wide) belong to this site. They are not an exchange rule and not a standard.
The three levels are not places where anything is expected to happen. Nothing in the arithmetic knows whether the price will reach them at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CPR the same as a pivot point?
The pivot is the same number in both. CPR adds one level above the pivot and one below it, then looks at the distance between them. Pivot levels instead derive R1 through R3 and S1 through S3, spread further out around the same pivot.
Does CPR change during the session?
No. All three numbers rest on the previous session’s high, low and close, which are already fixed. They are recomputed once for each new session.
Can TC come out below BC?
By the formula, yes — that happens whenever BC lands above the pivot. On this site the two are swapped when displayed, so that "Top" always names the upper of the two numbers.
What width counts as narrow?
That depends entirely on the threshold chosen. This site writes a width below 0.15% of the pivot as narrow and above 0.50% as wide. Those are this site’s own thresholds, stated so that the label can be checked.
Does the previous session’s open affect CPR?
No. Only the high, the low and the close enter the formula. Two sessions with the same high, low and close produce the same CPR however differently they opened.