As of 03/27/2024
  Indus: 39,760 +477.75 +1.2%  
  Trans: 16,029 +177.70 +1.1%  
  Utils: 875 +23.30 +2.7%  
  Nasdaq: 16,400 +83.82 +0.5%  
  S&P 500: 5,248 +44.91 +0.9%  
YTD
 +5.5%  
 +0.8%  
-0.8%  
 +9.2%  
 +10.0%  
  Targets    Overview: 03/13/2024  
  Up arrow40,000 or 38,500 by 04/01/2024
  Up arrow16,300 or 15,350 by 04/01/2024
  Up arrow885 or 830 by 04/01/2024
  Up arrow16,600 or 15,200 by 04/01/2024
  Up arrow5,350 or 5,100 by 04/01/2024
As of 03/27/2024
  Indus: 39,760 +477.75 +1.2%  
  Trans: 16,029 +177.70 +1.1%  
  Utils: 875 +23.30 +2.7%  
  Nasdaq: 16,400 +83.82 +0.5%  
  S&P 500: 5,248 +44.91 +0.9%  
YTD
 +5.5%  
 +0.8%  
-0.8%  
 +9.2%  
 +10.0%  
  Targets    Overview: 03/13/2024  
  Up arrow40,000 or 38,500 by 04/01/2024
  Up arrow16,300 or 15,350 by 04/01/2024
  Up arrow885 or 830 by 04/01/2024
  Up arrow16,600 or 15,200 by 04/01/2024
  Up arrow5,350 or 5,100 by 04/01/2024

Bulkowski on the Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend

The closing price reversal pattern
Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend

 

Closing Price Reversal: Important Bull Market Results

Overall performance rank (1 is best)**: 23/23
Break even failure rate*: 52% (Down breakouts)
Average drop*: 6%
Percentage meeting price target*: 64%
 
The above numbers are based on hundreds of perfect trades as of 3/8/2013. See the glossary for definitions.
* Based on the trend low, not the ultimate low. See text.
** Based on the average drop compared to other small patterns with downward breakouts in a bull market

Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend: Identification Guidelines

CharacteristicDiscussion
1 barThe pattern is composed of one bar, but it uses the closing price of the prior bar.
UptrendLook for the pattern in a short-term uptrend.
OpenThe open must be within 25% of the intraday high.
CloseThe close must be within 25% of the intraday low and be below the prior day's close.

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Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend: Trading Tips

Trading TacticExplanation
ReversalThe pattern is supposed to act as a reversal of the uptrend. However, with 52% failing to show moves more than 5%, the reversal theme is probably wrong.
ShortSell short at the open the next day after the pattern.
Measure ruleThe closing price reversal fulfills the measure rule 64% of the time (bull market). That is, measure the height of the pattern and subtract it from the low price to get a downward target.

Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend: Performance Statistics

For the following statistics, I used 1,199 stocks, starting from January 1990 to March 2013, but few stocks covered the entire range. All stocks had a minimum price of $5. Since samples were so numerous, I chose one of every ten patterns. There were two bear markets in the 2000s (as determined by the S&P 500 index), from 3/24/2000 to 10/10/2002 and 10/12/2007 to 3/6/2009. Everything outside of those dates represents a bull market.

For each uptrend closing price reversal, I found when the trend started and when it ended. To find the trend peak or valley, I found the lowest valley and highest peak within plus or minus 10 days (21 days total) each, before the closing price reversal and the same peak/valley test after the closing price reversal. The closest valley or peak before the closing price reversal is where the trend began. The closest peak or valley after the closing price reversal is where the trend ended. I compared the peak or valley to the average of the highest high and lowest low price of the closing price reversal pattern.

The 10-bar peak or valley number tends to find major turning points on the daily charts.

I measured performance from the day after the pattern ended to the nearest trend peak or trend valley.

To determine the inbound price trend (I was looking for an up trend), I used two methods. One was linear regression on the average of the high-low prices in the five days before the pattern. That caught the short-term trend.

I also used the price of the closest minor high or low compared to the average high-low price of the pattern. Anything that wasn't a reversal was thrown out. For example, if the average price of the closing price reversal was $10 and the prior minor high was below $10, then the pattern acted as a reversal of the up trend (that is price must have climbed into the closing price reversal with an assumed downward breakout).

Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend: Performance and Failure Rates

Table 1: Performance and Failure Rates
Market 5% Failure  Average 
 Drop 
Bull52%6%
Bear34%14%

Table 1 lists the failure rates, sorted by market condition along with the average drop. Since the closing price reversal is supposed to act as a reversal of the upward trend, I assumed a downward breakout.

A failure occurs when the stock fails to drop more than 5%.

The failure rates may appear high, but that's typical for short-term patterns like the closing price reversal. The highest failures occur in a bull market: 52% fail to see price drop at least 5%. The average drop is just 6%.

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Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend: Measure Rule

Table 2: Measure Rule Performance
Market Success 
Bull64%
Bear70%

Table 2 shows how often the measure rule works. Use the measure rule to estimate of how far price is likely to drop.

To do this, measure from the highest high to the lowest low in the pattern to get the height. Subtract the height from the lowest low to get the target.

The best performance of the measure rule occurs in a bear market, with 70% of patterns reaching their target.

Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend: Trading Performance

Table 3: Testing the Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend
Market Bull  Bear 
Net profit/loss$(137.97)$(45.53)
Wins39%46%
Winning trades5,6011,278
Average gain of winners$744.18$750.97
Losses61%54%
Losing trades8,7961,501
Average loss($699.70)($723.69)
Average hold time (calendar days)2715

Table 3 shows the performance based on 17,252 trades using $10 commissions per trade ($20 round trip), starting with $10,000 per trade. No adjustments were made for interest, fees, slippage and so on.

The results are sorted by bull or bear market. The trades used the same setup as listed in Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend, Performance Statistics.

Here's the setup.

For example, in a bull market, the net loss was $137.97 for all trades. The method won 39% of the time and there were 5,601 winning trades. The average gain of winning trades was $744.18.

Sixty-one percent, or 8,796 trades were losers. They lost an average of $699.70.

The average hold time was 27 calendar days.

Notice how the gains and losses were pegged near 7%, which is how the test was setup.

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Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend: Trading Performance With Pattern Stop

Table 4: Testing the Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend, with Pattern Stop
Market Bull  Bear 
Net profit/loss$(44.35)$(51.85)
Wins24%32%
Winning trades3,483889
Average gain of winners$688.30$740.96
Losses76%68%
Losing trades10,9761,890
Average loss($276.84)($424.77)
Average hold time (calendar days)107

Table 4 shows the results of 17,252 trades, but this time, a penny above the top of the closing price reversal pattern was used as a stop instead of a 7% stop.

For example, in a bull market the net loss was $44.35 for all trades. The method won 24% of the time and there were 3,483 winning trades. The average gain of winning trades was $688.30.

Seventy-six percent, or 10,976 trades were losers. They lost an average of $276.84.

The average hold time was 10 calendar days.

When compared to the 7% stop method, placing a stop above the top of the pattern showed that losses dropped dramatically. However, the win/loss ratio suffered and that could not make the pattern a profitable one.

Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend: Trading Example

Closing price reversal in Arkansas Best (ABFS)

The figure shows a closing price reversal pattern in Arkansas Best (ABFS) on the daily scale, at A.

Price rises leading to the one-day pattern. Price opens near the high for the day and closes near the low for the day, and below the prior day's close, as required by the pattern.

The next day, B, short the stock at the open, or 7.94.

The stock drops and hits the target (7.38 or 7% below the buy price) as shown in the chart, at C.

A stop is placed 7% above the short sale price would exit the trade if needed.

If the pattern stop method were used, the trade would exit a penny above the high at A.

-- Thomas Bulkowski

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See Also

Below are other short patterns...

 

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