Ascending Triangles -Short Trading Strategy
Ascending triangles have been very popular with traders on the long side and are not so often traded when it breaks in the downward direction. An ascending triangle is defined by two lines, one on the upper boundary of the price movement which is horizontal and one on the lower side which slopes up.
Ascending Triangles Can Be Profitable Short
The ascending triangle is not often traded as a short pattern, but when it does break down, historically 36% of the time, it can be profitable. An ascending triangle breakout to the downside is not as reliable as a breakout to the upside with only 44% of the trades profitable. The average profits are also less at 0.31% in 9 days.
Specific Setups to Improve Profitability
Short breakouts from ascending triangles work better in falling markets which is clear from the results that were achieved in 2000, 2002 and 2008. The best short trades occur at market turning points. The market and the stock should be in an up trend or consolidating, with the sector consolidating or falling for the best results when trading ascending triangles short.
Ascending triangles that breakout early in the pattern, produce inferior results to those that breakout later. It is acceptable for the stock to move all the way to the point of the pattern before breaking out. The best results are achieved when the stock climbs up from the lower boundary and collapses back before reaching the upper boundary of the pattern.
Ensure that the volume is supportive of the breakout, i.e. volume as the stock falls is greater than volume as the stock rises.
Ascending Triangles Profitable on the Short Side as Well
Incorporating these simple changes when selecting ascending triangles to trade short, dramatically improves the results. With an average return per trade of 1.07% in 10 days and a hit rate of 52% it is possible for ascending triangles to be traded short successfully.
Note: Statistics for this article have been provided by Patterns Trader after analyzing over 60,000 chart patterns on the Australian market from 2000 – 2008.
