Technical Analysis
Chart patterns, indicators, and price action analysis.
Chart patterns, indicators, and price action analysis.
90 terms in this category
A
Accumulation/Distribution
Accumulation/Distribution is a volume-based indicator measuring cumulative money flow, showing whether a stock is being accumulated or distributed.
ADX (Average Directional Index)
ADX measures trend strength on a scale of 0-100, without indicating direction. Higher ADX means stronger trend; lower means weak or no trend.
ATR (Average True Range)
ATR measures average price volatility over a period, showing how much an asset typically moves, used for stop loss placement and position sizing.
Average True Range (ATR)
Average True Range (ATR) is a smoothed average of true ranges measuring how much an instrument moves per bar, used to set dynamic stops and size positions by volatility.
B
Bollinger Bands
Bollinger Bands is a volatility indicator with three lines: a 20-period SMA flanked by upper and lower bands set at ±2 standard deviations from that average.
Breakout
Breakout is when price closes above resistance or below support with above-average volume, signaling a potential new trend direction.
C
Candlestick
A candlestick is a price chart element showing open, high, low, and close for a period, with body color revealing whether price closed higher or lower than it opened.
CCI (Commodity Channel Index)
CCI measures price deviation from its average, oscillating typically between +100 and -100 to identify overbought and oversold conditions.
Chaikin Money Flow
Chaikin Money Flow is a volume-weighted indicator measuring buying and selling pressure over a period, oscillating between -1 and +1.
Confluence
Confluence is the alignment of two or more independent technical signals at the same price level or moment, increasing the probability that a trade setup is valid.
Consolidation
Consolidation is a period of sideways price movement within a defined range, representing a pause in trend direction with declining volume before a breakout.
Cumulative Delta
Cumulative Delta is the running total of volume transacted at the ask minus volume at the bid, showing whether aggressive buyers or sellers are in control.
Cup and Handle
Cup and handle is a bullish continuation pattern resembling a tea cup, with a rounded bottom followed by a small pullback before breakout.
D
Dark Cloud Cover Candlestick Pattern
Dark Cloud Cover is a two-candle bearish reversal pattern where a bullish candle is followed by a bearish candle that opens above the prior high but closes below the midpoint.
Death Cross
A Death Cross occurs when the 50-day moving average crosses below the 200-day moving average, signaling a potential bearish trend.
Divergence
Divergence is a technical signal where price moves opposite to a momentum indicator, flagging momentum exhaustion and a potential trend reversal or continuation.
Doji
A Doji is a candlestick where open and close prices are virtually equal, creating little to no body — signaling market indecision between buyers and sellers.
Donchian Channel
Donchian Channel plots the highest high and lowest low over a period, creating a channel that identifies breakout levels.
Double Bottom
Double Bottom is a bullish reversal pattern formed when price tests a support level twice, bouncing up both times, resembling the letter W on a chart.
Double Top
A double top is a bearish reversal pattern formed when price reaches a resistance level twice without breaking through, resembling the letter M.
E
Elliott Wave Theory
Elliott Wave Theory is a technical framework proposing that prices move in repeating 5-wave impulse and 3-wave corrective cycles driven by collective investor psychology.
EMA (Exponential Moving Average)
EMA gives more weight to recent prices than older prices, making it faster to respond to price changes than SMA.
Engulfing Pattern
An engulfing pattern is a two-candle reversal signal where the second candle's body completely contains the first, indicating a potential trend change.
Evening Star
Evening Star is a bearish three-candle reversal pattern at an uptrend's peak: large bullish candle, small indecision candle, then a large bearish candle closing deep into candle one.
F
Fair Value Gap
A fair value gap (FVG) is a three-candle price imbalance where the middle candle's body extends beyond the wicks of the surrounding candles, leaving an unfilled zone that price tends to revisit.
Fibonacci Extension
Fibonacci extension is a technical tool that projects price targets beyond a swing high using ratios like 127.2%, 161.8%, and 261.8% to identify take-profit zones.
Fibonacci Retracement
Fibonacci retracement uses horizontal lines at key ratios (23.6%, 38.2%, 50%, 61.8%) to identify potential support and resistance levels.
Flag Pattern
Flag pattern is a short-term continuation pattern with a sharp move (pole) followed by a rectangular consolidation (flag) before continuation.
Footprint Chart
Footprint chart is a specialized candlestick displaying bid and ask volume at each price tick inside the bar, exposing buying vs. selling aggression and delta divergence.
G
Gap
A gap is an area on a chart where no trading occurred, created when price opens significantly above or below the previous close.
Gap Fill
Gap fill is when price retraces to close the unfilled range between a prior session's close and the next session's open, erasing the price void.
Golden Cross
A Golden Cross occurs when the 50-day moving average crosses above the 200-day moving average, signaling a potential bullish trend.
Gravestone Doji
Gravestone Doji is a single candlestick where open, close, and low meet at the bottom while a long upper shadow shows buyers were fully overwhelmed by sellers.
H
Hammer
A hammer is a bullish candlestick with a small body at the top of its range and a lower shadow at least twice the body length, signaling reversal at downtrend lows.
Hanging Man
Hanging Man is a single-candle bearish reversal pattern forming after an uptrend, with a small body at top and a lower shadow at least 2x the body length.
Harami
Harami is a two-candle reversal pattern where the second candle's body fits entirely within the first candle's body, signaling a potential trend reversal.
Harmonic Patterns: Gartley, Bat, and Crab
Harmonic patterns are price structures that combine geometric XABCD shapes with precise Fibonacci ratios to identify high-probability reversal zones called Potential Reversal Zones.
Head and Shoulders
Head and shoulders is a reversal chart pattern with three peaks where the middle peak (head) is higher than the two surrounding peaks (shoulders), signaling a trend reversal.
Heikin-Ashi
Heikin-Ashi is a modified candlestick charting technique that averages OHLC price data to smooth noise and show trend direction more clearly than standard candles.
Higher Highs and Lower Lows
Higher highs and lower lows is the structural signature of trend direction: rising peaks and troughs define uptrends; falling peaks and troughs define downtrends.
I
M
MACD
MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) is a momentum indicator showing the relationship between two moving averages of price.
Market Breadth
Market breadth is a measure of how many stocks are participating in a market move, using advancing vs. declining issues, new highs vs. lows, and percent above their 200-day MA.
Market Internals: TICK, TRIN & Breadth Indicators
Market internals are real-time breadth indicators — NYSE TICK, TRIN, and the Advance-Decline Line — used by day traders to gauge institutional order flow and overall market direction.
Market Profile
Market Profile is a charting method using TPO letters to show time spent at each price level per session, forming a bell-curve that reveals fair value, value area, and auction structure.
Market Structure Break (MSB)
Market Structure Break (MSB) is a price action signal where a candle closes beyond a key swing high or low against the prevailing trend, signaling a potential reversal.
Marubozu
Marubozu is a candlestick with no upper or lower wicks, where price opens at one session extreme and closes at the other, signaling complete one-sided control.
MFI (Money Flow Index)
Money Flow Index is a volume-weighted RSI that measures buying and selling pressure, oscillating between 0 and 100.
Morning Star
Morning star is a bullish three-candle reversal pattern at the end of a downtrend, consisting of a bearish candle, small-bodied star candle, and bullish candle closing past the 50% midpoint of candle one.
Moving Average
Moving Average is a continuously recalculated average of a security's price over a defined lookback period, used to smooth noise and identify trend direction.
Multi-Timeframe Analysis
Multi-Timeframe Analysis is the practice of examining the same asset across two or more chart timeframes to align higher-timeframe trend bias with lower-timeframe entry signals.
O
On-Balance Volume
On-Balance Volume (OBV) is a cumulative volume indicator that adds volume on up days and subtracts on down days, confirming price trends.
Opening Range
Opening range is the high and low price established in the first 5, 15, or 30 minutes of a trading session, used to identify breakout entry points.
Order Flow Trading
Order flow trading is the analysis of real-time buy and sell orders — via DOM, tape, footprint charts, and cumulative delta — to infer institutional intent.
Overbought
Overbought describes a condition where price has risen too quickly and may be due for a pullback or reversal.
Oversold
Oversold describes a condition where price has fallen too quickly and may be due for a bounce or reversal.
P
Parabolic SAR
Parabolic SAR is a trend-following indicator that places dots above or below price, providing potential stop levels and trend direction.
Pin Bar
A pin bar is a candlestick with a long wick and small body showing sharp price rejection at a level, signaling a potential reversal.
Pivot Points
Pivot points are calculated support and resistance levels based on previous day's high, low, and close prices.
Point of Control (POC) in Volume Profile
Point of Control (POC) is the price level with the highest traded volume in a Volume Profile — the market's fairest price and a key support/resistance zone.
Price Action
Price action is a trading methodology that uses raw candlestick data, chart patterns, and structural levels to identify supply and demand imbalances without indicators.
R
Relative Strength
Relative Strength is a measure of how a stock's price performance compares to a benchmark like the S&P 500 over a set lookback period, identifying market leaders.
Relative Volume (RVOL)
Relative Volume (RVOL) is the ratio of current trading volume to the average volume for the same intraday time window, revealing whether unusual activity is driving price.
Renko Chart
Renko Chart is a price-only charting method that plots fixed-size bricks only when price moves a set amount, ignoring time completely.
Resistance
Resistance is a price level where selling interest is strong enough to prevent further advance, causing price to reverse or consolidate.
ROC (Rate of Change)
Rate of Change is a momentum indicator measuring the percentage change in price over a specified period, showing speed of price movement.
RSI (Relative Strength Index)
RSI is a momentum oscillator measuring speed and change of price movements on a scale of 0-100, indicating overbought or oversold conditions.
S
Shooting Star Candlestick Pattern
Shooting Star is a single-candle bearish reversal pattern with a small real body near the low, upper shadow at least 2× the body, and minimal lower shadow — signaling seller rejection at highs.
SMA
SMA is the arithmetic mean of closing prices over a set period, recalculated each bar by adding the newest close and dropping the oldest.
Spinning Top Candlestick
Spinning Top Candlestick is a candle with a small real body and upper/lower shadows each at least 2x the body length, signaling indecision between buyers and sellers.
Stochastic Oscillator
Stochastic Oscillator is a momentum indicator comparing closing price to the high-low range over N periods, with readings above 80 overbought and below 20 oversold.
Supertrend
Supertrend is a trend-following indicator that overlays on price charts as a color-coded line, generating buy/sell signals when price crosses the ATR-based band.
Supply and Demand Zones in Trading
Supply and demand zones are price rectangles where large institutional orders caused sharp reversals, marking the origin of a move rather than a repeated bounce level.
Support
Support is a price level where buying interest is strong enough to prevent further decline, causing price to bounce or consolidate.
T
Tape Reading
Tape reading is the practice of interpreting real-time Level 2 order book depth and Time & Sales prints to gauge buying/selling pressure and short-term direction.
Three Black Crows
Three Black Crows is a bearish reversal pattern of three consecutive long bearish candles, each opening within the prior body and closing near its session low after an uptrend.
Three White Soldiers
Three White Soldiers is a bullish reversal pattern of three consecutive long green candles, each opening within the prior body and closing near its session high, signaling sustained buying pressure.
Trendline
A trendline is a diagonal line connecting two or more swing highs or lows to identify trend direction and dynamic support or resistance on a price chart.
Triangle Pattern
Triangle pattern is a consolidation formation where price narrows between two converging trendlines, compressing volatility until a breakout resolves the pattern.
Tweezer Tops & Bottoms
Tweezer Tops & Bottoms is a two-candle reversal pattern where consecutive candles share identical highs (bearish) or lows (bullish), signaling trend exhaustion at key levels.
V
Value Area
Value Area is the price range containing approximately 70% of a session's traded volume, bounded by the Value Area High (VAH) and Value Area Low (VAL).
Volume
Volume is the total number of shares or contracts traded during a specific period, used to confirm price movements and gauge conviction behind a trend.
Volume Profile
Volume Profile is a chart study that plots horizontal volume bars at each price level, identifying the Point of Control, Value Area, and high/low volume nodes.
VWAP
VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price) is the average price weighted by volume, showing the true average price traders paid during a session.
W
Wedge Pattern
Wedge pattern is a converging trendline pattern where both support and resistance slope in the same direction, signaling potential reversal.
Wick (Shadow)
A wick (shadow) is the thin line above or below a candlestick body, showing the high and low prices reached during that period.
Williams %R
Williams %R is a momentum indicator measuring overbought/oversold conditions, ranging from 0 to -100, similar to an inverted Stochastic.
Wyckoff Method: Accumulation & Distribution
Wyckoff Method is a price-and-volume framework for decoding institutional buying and selling intent across four market phases: accumulation, markup, distribution, and markdown.