Technical analysis

CCI Zero Line Crossover: Trend-Following with the Commodity Channel Index Learn how CCI zero line crossovers signal new trends, offering a different trend-filter approach than the classic ±100 overbought/oversold levels.

Chaikin Money Flow vs Money Flow Index: Which to Use How CMF and MFI differ despite their names—construction, scale, and signals—and when to apply each volume-weighted indicator.

Chaikin Oscillator Volume-weighted MACD variant that measures divergence between price momentum and volume accumulation.

Chande Momentum Oscillator An unbounded momentum indicator comparing net up-day versus down-day closes without smoothing.

Chande Momentum Oscillator vs RSI: Key Differences How CMO uses raw up/down price changes while RSI smooths them, creating different overbought/oversold signals on the same chart.

Channel pattern A channel pattern is formed by two parallel trendlines—one connecting highs, one connecting lows—showing price oscillating within a bounded zone.

Closing Price vs Intraday Wicks for Drawing Support and Resistance Whether support and resistance levels should anchor to closing prices or candle wicks, and which method yields more reliable trading signals.

Commodity Channel Index A momentum oscillator that measures how far a security's price has moved from its statistical mean, used to identify cyclical turning points.

Concealing Baby Swallow: A Rare Bullish Reversal Pattern The concealing baby swallow candlestick pattern—a four-candle bullish formation in downtrends with strict identification rules—signals potential trend reversal.

Confluence Zone A price level strengthened by the overlap of multiple independent technical signals, increasing trader conviction.

Coppock Curve A long-term momentum indicator designed to identify major buy signals at market bottoms, combining rate-of-change of price declines into a weighted average.

Coppock Curve for Long-Term Trend Reversals The Coppock Curve detects major bear-market bottoms using weighted rate-of-change momentum. Designed for monthly data, it struggles on short timeframes.

Counterattack Lines A two-candle reversal where the second candle opens against the trend but closes at the first candle's close, signalling momentum exhaustion.

Crab Harmonic Pattern An extreme harmonic pattern completing at 161.8% extension, signalling sharp price reversals from deeply overextended moves.

Cumulative TICK Index Explained How intraday NYSE TICK readings accumulate into a running total revealing institutional order flow strength and potential market turning points.

Cumulative Volume Delta Explained Cumulative volume delta explained: the running sum of buying minus selling volume, used to detect absorption, supply, and hidden institutional order flow.

Cumulative Volume Index A running sum of advancing minus declining volume that tracks the direction of institutional money flow across the entire market.

Cup and handle A cup and handle is a bullish continuation pattern consisting of a rounded bottom (the cup) followed by a shallow pullback (the handle), signalling resumption of an uptrend.

Cup and Handle Chart Pattern Explained The cup and handle is a bullish continuation pattern with a U-shaped base and tight consolidation handle; traders measure the price target from cup depth and watch for breakout confirmation.

Cup and Handle Pattern Failure Rate How often cup-and-handle setups fail, what signals confirm breakout strength, and how volume affects reliability in bearish traps.

Cup and Handle Volume Profile How volume patterns in the cup base and handle breakout distinguish valid cup and handle formations from false signals in price charts.

Cup and Handle vs Rounding Bottom: Key Differences How to distinguish cup and handle from rounding bottom patterns by examining the handle, volume, and breakout behavior.

Dark Cloud Cover A two-candle bearish reversal where a gap-up open is followed by a close below the prior candle's midpoint.

Dead Cat Bounce A brief technical recovery within a sustained downtrend that fails to reverse the primary bearish trend.

Deliberation Pattern: A Three-Candle Bearish Warning The deliberation candlestick pattern—three white candles with shrinking bodies near a high—signals potential reversal and exhaustion in an uptrend.

Delta Volume and Footprint Charts: Reading Order Flow Footprint charts and delta volume (buy volume minus sell volume) per bar reveal internal order-flow imbalance that standard OHLC charts hide.

Demand Index Oscillator combining price and volume movements to signal trend exhaustion and potential reversals.

Descending triangle A descending triangle is a bearish chart pattern with a falling upper trendline (resistance) and a flat lower trendline (support), converging toward a downward breakout.

Descending Triangle Pattern Chart pattern with flat support and declining resistance, typically predicting downward breakout.

Detrended Price Oscillator An oscillator that strips the dominant trend from price to expose short-cycle overbought and oversold conditions.

Detrended Price Oscillator vs MACD Detrended Price Oscillator isolates cycles by removing trend, while MACD follows momentum; each serves different market conditions and trader goals.

Diamond Bottom Pattern A bullish reversal pattern combining expanding and contracting volatility at market troughs, signalling an impending uptrend.

Diamond Top Pattern A bearish reversal pattern combining a broadening formation and a triangle, resembling a diamond at the peak of a price run.

Displaced Moving Average in Trend Trading A displaced moving average shifts the calculation forward or backward to smooth entry signals and reduce whipsaws in trend trading.

Divergence When price and an oscillator move in opposite directions, signalling that momentum is weakening and a trend reversal may be imminent.

DMI Plus and Minus: Reading Directional Movement The +DI and −DI lines measure trend strength and direction. Learn how their crossovers signal shifts and why filtering with ADX prevents false signals.

Doji A doji is a candlestick in which the open and close prices are approximately equal, resulting in a thin or absent body with wicks extending above and below. It signals market indecision.

Doji at Support and Resistance: What It Means A doji candle at support or resistance signals indecision at a key price level. Learn how location changes what the pattern tells you.

Doji Candlestick Types Explained Four main types of doji candlestick patterns — standard, long-legged, gravestone, dragonfly — and what each reveals about buyer-seller equilibrium.

Double bottom A double bottom is a bullish reversal pattern consisting of two approximately equal lows separated by a rally, signalling an end to a downtrend.

Double Bottom Confirmation Signal A double bottom pattern confirmation signal requires a neckline breakout, volume surge on the second trough, and a retest. Learn the specific rules that separate valid bottoms from false signals.

Double Bottom Support A technical pattern where price falls, bounces, falls again to the same level, and bounces a second time, signaling strong support.

Double Bottom vs Triple Bottom How adding a third trough changes reliability, volume patterns, and measured-move targets in reversal formations.

Double Exponential Moving Average A trend-following indicator that applies exponential smoothing twice to cut response lag in half compared to standard EMAs.

Double top A double top is a bearish reversal pattern consisting of two approximately equal peaks separated by a valley, signalling an end to an uptrend.

Double Top and Double Bottom Chart Patterns Double top and double bottom chart patterns signal potential reversals when price peaks or troughs fail to break to new extremes, with confirmation at the neckline.

Double Top Measured Move Target Calculate a double top measured move target by measuring peak-to-neckline height and projecting that distance below the breakdown point to find a downside price objective.

Double Top Resistance Two consecutive price peaks at approximately the same level, followed by a decline—a technical pattern signaling potential reversal and future resistance if the price recovers.

Dow Theory The six foundational tenets that define trend, confirmation, and market phases in price analysis.

DPO Cycle Length Selection: Matching the Indicator to Your Chart Learn how to select the right detrended price oscillator cycle length by identifying dominant chart cycles and tuning the DPO period for accurate trend isolation.

Dragonfly Doji A doji candle with a long lower shadow and no upper shadow, indicating early selling pressure was overcome by buyer demand.

Dynamic Support Resistance Support and resistance levels derived from moving averages, adapting to price momentum rather than fixed historical levels.

Earnings Gap as a Support or Resistance Level Why large post-earnings price gaps often mark durable support and resistance levels, and how unfilled gaps act as magnets for future price action.

Ease of Movement Technical indicator measuring price movement relative to volume efficiency.

Elder Ray Index A momentum indicator that separates buyer power from seller power relative to an exponential moving average, revealing force imbalances.

Elliott Wave Theory Five-wave impulse and three-wave corrective structures that map price cycles to crowd psychology and market momentum.

EMA vs SMA in Trending vs Ranging Markets EMA vs SMA in trending vs ranging markets: exponential moving averages respond faster to recent price changes and dominate in trends, while simple moving averages smooth noise better in sideways markets.

Engulfing pattern An engulfing pattern is a two-candle formation where a large candle completely contains the range of the preceding smaller candle, signalling a reversal of the prior trend.

Evening Doji Star Candlestick Pattern The evening doji star is a three-candle bearish reversal pattern at the top of an uptrend where a doji gaps above a bullish candle before a gap-down close.

Evening star An evening star is a three-candle bearish reversal pattern consisting of a large bullish candle, a gap up with a small candle, and a large bearish candle. It signals exhaustion of an uptrend.