INTRODUCTION

The channel may be a powerful yet often overlooked chart pattern and combines several sorts of technical analysis to supply traders with potential points for entering and exiting trades, as well as controlling risk. The first step is to find out the way to identify channels. The next steps include determining where and when to enter a trade, where to put stop-loss orders, and where to require profits.

Channel Characteristics

In the context of technical analysis, a channel occurs when the worth of an asset is moving between two parallel trendlines. The upper trendline connects the swing highs in price, while the lower trendline connects the swing lows. The channel can slant upward, downward, or sideways on the chart.

If price breaks out of a trading channel to the upside, the move could indicate that the worth will rally further. For example, the chart below shows a channel and breakout in Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H) stock. If the worth breaks below rock bottom of the channel, on the opposite hand, the dip indicates that more selling might be on the way.

Buying or Shorting the Channel

Channels can sometimes provide buy and sell points and there are several rules for entering long or short positions:
When the worth hits the highest of the channel, sell your existing long position and/or take a brief position.
When the worth is within the middle of the channel, do nothing if you’ve got no trades, or hold your current trades.
When the worth hits rock bottom of the channel, cover your existing short position and/or take an extended position.

There are two exceptions to these rules:

●If the worth breaks through the highest or bottom of the channel, then the channel is not any longer intact. Do not initiate any longer trades until a replacement channel develops.
●If the worth drifts between the channels for a protracted period of your time , a replacement narrower channel could also be established. At now , enter or exit near the extremes of the narrower channel.

During a rising channel, specialise in buying near rock bottom of the channel and exiting near the highest .

During a descending channel, specialise in shorting near the highest of the channel and exiting near rock bottom . Be wary of initiating longs during a falling channel since the trend is down.

Other sorts of technical analysis are sometimes wont to enhance the accuracy of the signals from the channel and verify the general strength of the up or down move. Some other tools to use while channel trading include:

●The moving average convergence divergence (MACD) will often be near zero during horizontal channels. The MACD line crossing the signal line also can means potential long trades near the rock bottom of a channel or short trades near the highest of the channel.

●A stochastic crossover can also signal a buying opportunity near rock bottom of the channel or a selling opportunity near the highest .
●Volume can also aid in trading channels. Volume is often lower in channels, especially near the middle of the channel. Breakouts are often associated with high volume. If the quantity isn’t rising on a breakout, there’s a greater likelihood the channel will continue.

Determining Stop-Loss and Take-Profit Levels

Channels can provide built-in money-management capabilities within the sort of stop-loss and take-profit levels. Here are the essential rules for determining these points:

If you’ve got bought at rock bottom of the channel, exit and take your profits at the highest of the channel, but also set a stop order slightly below the bottom of the channel, allowing room for normal volatility.

If you’ve got taken a brief position at the highest of the channel, exit and take profit at rock bottom of the channel. Also, set a stop-loss order slightly above the top of the channel, allowing room for regular volatility. Here is a descending channel in BCE Inc. (BCE) along with potential stop-loss and exit points.

Determining Trade Reliability

Channels provide the power to work out the likelihood of success with a trade. This is done through something known as confirmations. Confirmations represent the number of times the price has rebounded from the top or bottom of the channel. These are the important confirmation levels to remember:
1-2: Weak channel (not tradeable)
3-4: Adequate channel (tradeable)
5-6: Strong channel (reliable)
6+: Very strong channel (more reliable)

Estimating Trade Length
The amount of time a trade takes to reach a selling point from a buy point can also be calculated using channels. This is done by recording the quantity of your time it’s taken for trades to execute within the past, then averaging the quantity of your time for the longer term . This estimate is predicated on the idea that price movements are roughly equal in terms of your time and price. However, it’s only an estimate and should not always be accurate.

CONCLUSION
Channels provide a method to shop for and sell when the worth is moving between trendlines. By “encasing” an equity’s price movement with two parallel lines, buy and sell signals, also as stop-loss and target levels, are often estimated. How long the channel has lasted helps determine the channel’s strength. The amount of your time a price usually takes to maneuver from high to low (or low to high) provides an estimate of how long trades may last.