Glossary
Trend
The dominant direction of price — a sequence of higher highs and lows, or lower highs and lows.
Trend, explained
A trend is the prevailing direction in which a market is moving over a given timeframe. An uptrend prints higher highs and higher lows; a downtrend prints lower highs and lower lows. Trading with the trend keeps the odds on your side.
The classic wisdom "the trend is your friend" reflects that trends persist more often than they reverse. Most reliable setups are continuation trades that enter on a pullback within an established trend rather than fighting it — joining the move on a discounted entry instead of guessing its end.
Trends move in waves, not straight lines: an impulse leg in the trend direction followed by a corrective pullback against it. The skill is entering during the pullback, when price is cheaper and the stop can sit behind a structural swing, rather than chasing the impulse after it has already run.
Trends exist on every timeframe and can conflict — a daily uptrend can contain an hourly downtrend. Aligning your trade with the higher-timeframe trend while timing entries on a lower one is a core multi-timeframe technique that stacks the higher-timeframe odds with a lower-timeframe entry.
On the desk we strongly favour trading with the higher-timeframe trend. A continuation setup that aligns daily direction with a lower-timeframe entry is far higher quality than a counter-trend reversal, which is why we treat reversals as the exception rather than the default.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I identify a trend?
- Read the swing points. Higher highs and higher lows define an uptrend; lower highs and lower lows define a downtrend. When highs and lows are roughly level, the market is ranging rather than trending.
- Is it better to trade with or against the trend?
- With the trend, in most cases. Trends persist more often than they reverse, so continuation trades on pullbacks tend to be higher probability than counter-trend reversal attempts, which require more confirmation.
Related terms
Range
A market moving sideways between a defined support floor and resistance ceiling.
ReadMarket Structure
The sequence of swing highs and lows that defines whether a market is trending or ranging.
ReadBreak of Structure (BOS)
Price breaking a prior swing high or low in the direction of the trend, confirming it continues.
ReadSupport & Resistance
Price levels where buying or selling has repeatedly stepped in — floors and ceilings on the chart.
Read
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