What Is Consolidation?
Consolidation is the term for a stock or security that is neither continuing nor reversing a larger price trend. Consolidated stocks typically trade within limited price ranges and offer relatively few trading opportunities—even on 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:online brokers and trading ཧplatforms—until another pattern emerges. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Technical analysts and traders regard consolidation periods as indecisive and cautious.
Key Takeaways
- Stocks under consolidation trade in a limited range.
- Identifying consolidating stocks involves looking for those that have steady support and resistance levels, trade in a narrow range, and have low trading volumes.
- An important step in trading consolidation patterns involves assessing how long the pattern has held.
- Trading on narrowly consolidated stocks can happen but there is often less room for profit due to the small range.
Stocks Under Consolidation
You can identify a stock that is under 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:consolidation by watching for three simultaneously occur💧ring properties on a price chart.
- The first is that the stock has definable and steady support and resistance levels, much like a flag 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:continuation pattern.
- The second characteristic is a narrow 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:trading range. Be careful, though, because not all stocks and securities have similar volatility. Trading ranges are relative.
- The last feature to look for is a relatively low level of trading volume that does not exhibit major spikes.
Consolidation is neither positive nor negative on its own. Sometimes a consolidation period emerges after a healthy price movement. Traders, careful about possible 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:overbought or oversold positi🍷ons, may look to smooth out movements before another t🐭rend emerges.
Consolidation Breakouts
Once you have identified a consolidation, keep an eye out for any possible 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:breakouts above or below the upper and lower trading range bounds. These breakouts can be accompanied by large increases in volume and lead to large gains or losses in a short peri﷽od of t🌃ime, especially if the stock has been in consolidation for a longer stretch of time.
A breakout from a consolidation pattern signals a victory by either buyers or sellers over the other. Standard breakout trading techniques include buying long and covering short when prices break through the resistance level, or selling short and covering long wh💧en prices drop below support. More conservative traders look for some confirmation before entering these trades, either through analytical tools or continued price 💙action.
Consolidation Strategies
It is common for a support level to become the new resistance point after a bearish breakout and for a resistance level to form support after a bullish breakout. Sometimes consolidations show triangle or pennant patterns, making it possible to execute 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:continuation strategies.
Before determining howܫ to trade a consolidation, identify how long the pattern has held. There are no appreciable time restraints on a consolidation. Intraday consolidation can last for only a few minutes or hours. If you look for active intraday trading, cons෴ult technical analysis software for dynamic information updates. Some consolidation patterns last for days, weeks, or even months or years. These patterns are susceptible to false breakouts, making it important to seek confirmation of prices before looking to capitalize on a trend.
Countertraders and contꦛrarians can still trade on narrowly consolidated stocks, but there is often less room for profit due to the small ra🤡nge.