Displacement dates allow you to specify a period relative to the end date on the input screen. For example, -10D indicates the 10 days prior to the end date. The default end date is the current date. The periods you can use are:
D days
W weeks
M months
Q quarters
Y years
MAX#(FTSE100,-30D,) gives the highest value for the FTSE index over the past 30 days
MAX#(FTSE100,-2W,) gives the highest value for the FTSE index over the past 2 weeks
MAX#(FTSE100,-6M,) gives the highest value for the FTSE index over the past 6 months
MAX#(FTSE100,-1Q,) gives the highest value for the FTSE index over the past quarter
MAX#(FTSE100,-5Y,) gives the highest value for the FTSE index over the past 5 years
Displacement dates are usually calculated back from the end date on your input screen. The default end date is the current date.
Note: You should ensure that the end date specified for the display period is compatible with the displacement date used in your function.
If you use displacement dates with a single function, take care not to confuse the moving and static formats.
The examples below are identical in format except for the final comma, but produce very different results. In cases, the start and end dates on the input screen are set to 01/01/98 and 01/01/99:
Moving format SDN#(FTSE100,-3M)
In the moving format, a moving standard deviation for
the FTSE 100 index is plotted with each calculated value based on a moving
three month spread of data (defined by the -3M period parameter), ranging
from October-December 1992 for the earliest plots though to October-December
1998 for the latest plots.
Note that the minus sign is ignored in this format (-3M).
Static format SDN#(FTSE100,-3M,)
In the static format, a single value standard deviation for the FTSE 100 index is plotted with the calculated value based on the last three months' data, that is, from October 1998 to December 1998. Note that the end date parameter (blank) defaults to the end date on your input screen.