Final answer:
3-day Simple Moving Averages are computed by taking the average of three consecutive closing prices. The process is repeated for each set of three days within the ten-day period, resulting in a smoothed series of averages.
Step-by-step explanation:
The 3-day simple moving average (SMA) of a series of stock prices is calculated by taking the sum of three consecutive closing prices and dividing by three. For the input series 7.78, 7.90, 8.00, 7.97, 7.86, 7.67, 7.60, 7.65, 7.65, 7.70, we perform the following steps:
For days 1, 2, and 3, the SMA would be (7.78 + 7.90 + 8.00) / 3.
For days 2, 3, and 4, the SMA would be (7.90 + 8.00 + 7.97) / 3.
Continue this process until you calculate the SMA for the last three days in the series.
Here is how they are actually calculated:
Day 1-3: (7.78 + 7.90 + 8.00) / 3 = 7.8933
Day 2-4: (7.90 + 8.00 + 7.97) / 3 = 7.9567
Day 3-5: (8.00 + 7.97 + 7.86) / 3 = 7.9433
Day 4-6: (7.97 + 7.86 + 7.67) / 3 = 7.8333
Day 5-7: (7.86 + 7.67 + 7.60) / 3 = 7.7100
Day 6-8: (7.67 + 7.60 + 7.65) / 3 = 7.6400
Day 7-9: (7.60 + 7.65 + 7.65) / 3 = 7.6333
Day 8-10: (7.65 + 7.65 + 7.70) / 3 = 7.6667
These averages help show the trend by smoothing out fluctuations in the data.