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Back :: Trading Retracements

Trading Retracements

by Teresa Lo

No matter what trading books say, all trade setups can be classified into the following four groups:

  1. Retracement: A pullback in an uptrend to buy; a bounce in a downtrend to sell.  Trend should be confirmed by rising ADX values.
  2. Test: In an uptrend, it is move back to the last swing high (a test of top) where sellers showed up before; in a downtrend, it is a move back to the last swing low (a test of bottom) where buyers showed up before.  A retracement pattern MUST precede the test.
  3. Breakout: A move out after a prolonged period of being stuck in a trading range or a big triangle, with ADX dropping to very low figures such as the 10-15 area.  A breakout is NOT a new high made on a test of top or a new low made on a test of bottom.
  4. Spikes: The Extreme ADX Reversal, after a parabolic directional move.

In 1996, Larry Connors and Linda Rachske wrote a book called StreetSmarts.  It contained a retracement strategy that basically combines the classic move back to a moving average, and qualified the strength of the trend by using ADX.

I found an interview in the AIQ Opening Bell with Linda from August 1997 where she described the setup in her own words: The Holy Grail retracement setup. 

04.01.15 13:16 #