{"id":12170,"date":"2010-08-21T14:22:01","date_gmt":"2010-08-21T18:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/fx\/?p=12170"},"modified":"2010-08-21T14:22:01","modified_gmt":"2010-08-21T18:22:01","slug":"continuation-patterns-in-stock-charts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/fx\/2010\/08\/21\/continuation-patterns-in-stock-charts\/","title":{"rendered":"Continuation Patterns in Stock Charts"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sylvain Vervoort<\/strong> – Chart patterns are part of buying and selling rules in technical analysis trading. Chart patterns give an important confirmation for the next trend move. The art is to distinguish that you are dealing with a continuation pattern, after which the price will continue its previous trend or a reversal pattern leading to a trend reversal. Let’s have a closer look at continuation patterns.<\/p>\n

After a continuation correction pattern, the price extends the previous trend. Continuation patterns are a very good indication for entering a trade after a trend reaction. Triangle and rectangle formations are continuation patterns. Triangle formations appear as symmetrical triangles, ascending triangles, and descending triangles. Short period continuation patterns are pennants and flags.<\/p>\n

Symmetrical triangles in an uptrend are created with higher bottoms and lower tops. A breakout in the direction of the previous trend confirms the continuation pattern. The duration of a triangle continuation pattern on a daily chart should be minimum 20 days. Smaller values should be classified as pennants.<\/p>\n

When lower tops are made in an uptrend and next price is dropping back to horizontal support levels, a descending triangle will be created. When equal tops are made in an uptrend and next price makes higher bottoms, an ascending triangle is created. A breakout in the direction of the previous trend confirms the continuation patterns.<\/p>\n

When higher bottoms are appearing in a reaction to a falling price trend, but the tops that follow are lower, it will create a symmetrical triangle in a downtrend. Breaking out of this triangle formation on the lower side confirms the continuation pattern and continues the previous downtrend.<\/p>\n

When equal tops are made in a downtrend and next price makes higher bottoms, an ascending triangle is created. When price makes lower highs and next finds support in a downtrend at equal bottoms, a descending triangle is created. A breakout in the direction of the previous trend confirms the continuation these patterns.<\/p>\n

The rectangle is a relatively rare pattern, appearing almost always as a continuation pattern, although it can exist as a reversal pattern. The price moves between two horizontal trend lines and touches a minimum of two times each line. The pattern is confirmed on breaking one of the horizontals with a closing price.<\/p>\n

With a continuation of the previous trend 90% of the time, flags and pennants are reliable short term continuation patterns. They create a pause from 5 up to 25 bars in the current trend and then continue the previous trend. Most of the flags and pennants take up from 10 to 15 bars. Generally, the volume goes down during that phase. Flags and pennants can be found in an uptrend and in a downtrend.<\/p>\n

A rounding top pattern, with an inverse rounded bowl shape, appears mainly on daily and weekly bar charts. A rounding top starts with a steep rising trend line which with time becomes increasingly flat. Rounding tops as a reversing pattern break to the down side and lead to a farther move down 90% of the time. The pattern confirms when the price closes below the left-hand border or with a saucer lip when breaking the right-hand side of the border.<\/p>\n

A continuation rounding top pattern breaks to the upper side of the saucer and gives, on average, less profit than a break to the lower side. This is simply because, as a continuation pattern, part of the up-move already has been completed. A rounding top as a continuation pattern is confirmed when the price moves above the highest point of the rounding top.<\/p>\n

The diamond formation is a combination of two triangles. The left is an inverted broadening triangle; the right side is a symmetrical triangle. Together they make up a diamond formation. This pattern is most common as a continuation pattern, but as we have seen in the previous video about reversal patterns, it can be a top or bottom reversal pattern as well.<\/p>\n

Wedge formations are not only interesting as reversal or continuation patterns but are also good for recognizing an Elliott beginning or ending wedge impulse wave. So they will help to make a correct Elliott wave count in generally difficult circumstances. The falling wedge exists as a reversing pattern in a falling trend and as a continuation pattern in a rising trend. The duration of the wedge should be a minimum of 20 bars; with fewer than 20 bars, it is considered a flag. Breaking out of a falling wedge is generally a bullish signal. Rarely will you see the price breaking a falling wedge to the lower side. A falling wedge continuation pattern in a rising trend is a price reaction in the up-going move. The chance for a big profit is less than for the falling wedge reversal pattern because part of the up-move is already history.<\/p>\n

The rising wedge exists as a reversal pattern in a rising trend and as a continuation pattern in a falling trend. The duration of the wedge should be a minimum of 20 bars; with fewer than 20 bars, it is considered a pennant. Breaking out of a rising wedge is generally a bearish signal. It is rare for the price to break to the upper side of the rising wedge, although it can happen. A rising wedge continuation pattern in a falling trend is a price reaction for the down-move. The chance for a big profit is less for a rising wedge continuation pattern than for a rising wedge reversal pattern simply because part of the down-move is already history.<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want to learn more and see some examples about stock chart continuation patterns? You can find learning material about basic technical analysis techniques for free at my website: http:\/\/stocata.org<\/a><\/span>. Sylvain Vervoort is a trader and author with regular contributions in Stocks & Commodities magazine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sylvain Vervoort – Chart patterns are part of buying and selling rules in technical analysis trading. Chart patterns give an important confirmation for the next trend move. The art is to distinguish that you are dealing with a continuation pattern, after which the price will continue its previous trend or a reversal pattern leading … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Continuation Patterns in Stock Charts”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/fx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/fx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/fx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/fx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/fx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/fx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12170\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/fx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/fx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/fx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}