A trading channel is a useful tool for medium and short term trading of equities. It is the space between a parallel set of lines on technical analysis charts. For this charting pattern to emerge the price of stocks needs to move reliably between support and resistance zones. A channel is only considered tradable when the stock price has cycled back and forth at least three or four times. A channel six cycles long or more is considered very reliable for trading stocks in the short and medium term. A trading channel is not especially useful for day trading and is not a tool for long term investing.
If you follow technical indicators with tools such as Candlestick charting you will be able to spot the development of a trading channel. The standard means of trading a channel is to buy at the bottom of the channel and sell at the top. Then sell short at the top of the channel and buy again at the bottom. In a well developed channel a trader will be able to do this a number of times but, eventually, the stock will break out of its trading range. Read more…
