As of 12/02/2024
  Indus: 44,782 -128.65 -0.3%  
  Trans: 17,545 -73.73 -0.4%  
  Utils: 1,057 -21.90 -2.0%  
  Nasdaq: 19,404 +185.78 +1.0%  
  S&P 500: 6,047 +14.77 +0.2%  
YTD
 +18.8%  
 +10.4%  
 +19.9%  
 +29.3%  
 +26.8%  
  Targets    Overview: 12/02/2024  
  Down arrow44,000 or 46,000 by 12/15/2024
  Down arrow17,025 or 18,000 by 12/15/2024
  Down arrow1,025 or 1,100 by 12/15/2024
  Up arrow20,000 or 18,500 by 12/15/2024
  Up arrow6,200 or 5,900 by 12/15/2024
As of 12/02/2024
  Indus: 44,782 -128.65 -0.3%  
  Trans: 17,545 -73.73 -0.4%  
  Utils: 1,057 -21.90 -2.0%  
  Nasdaq: 19,404 +185.78 +1.0%  
  S&P 500: 6,047 +14.77 +0.2%  
YTD
 +18.8%  
 +10.4%  
 +19.9%  
 +29.3%  
 +26.8%  
  Targets    Overview: 12/02/2024  
  Down arrow44,000 or 46,000 by 12/15/2024
  Down arrow17,025 or 18,000 by 12/15/2024
  Down arrow1,025 or 1,100 by 12/15/2024
  Up arrow20,000 or 18,500 by 12/15/2024
  Up arrow6,200 or 5,900 by 12/15/2024

Bulkowski on the Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend

Updated with new performance, corrected, information on 11/22/24.

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.

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Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend: Target Exit, Stock Performance

CPRU in DDD

The following tests are different from the ones above.

Trading using a target exit is simple to explain. Look at the adjacent chart.

I drew a square around the CPRU pattern in red. Entry happens when the stock climbs above a buy stop placed a penny above the top of the pattern. The sell target is twice the height of the CPRU added to the top of the pattern.

A stop loss order placed a penny below the bottom of the pattern triggers to help prevent a bigger loss.

In this example, the stop triggers when the stock gaps open lower.

For a more detailed explanation of the method I used to test the CPRU, see the link.

Testing

As explained in the example above, I used a target exit placed twice as high as the height of the CPRU pattern added to the top of it. I placed a stop loss a penny below the bottom of the pattern.

Table 5 shows results for bull markets with upward breakouts and an inbound upward price trend leading to the CPRU (because an uptrend is built into the CPRU identification guidelines). I used 492 stocks in the test.

Table 5: Testing the CPRU in Stocks with Height Exit
Metric CPRU in
Uptrend 
Uptrend
Benchmark
Trades3,3125,682
Average profit/loss per trade$64.48$32.55
Win/loss ratio44%43%
Average hold time (days)108
Winning trades1,4692,430
Average gain of winners (days)6%5%
Average hold time of winners119
Losing trades1,8433,252
Average loss-3%-3%
Average hold time of losers (days)97

For stocks, the CPRU pattern almost doubles the performance of the benchmark using the same set of stocks ($64.48 versus $32.55 for the benchmark).

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Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend: Target Exit, ETF Performance

CPRU in ITA

The associated chart shows an example of how I tested the CPRU pattern in exchange traded funds (ETFs).

The red square highlights the CPRU. The day after the pattern ends, we have an upward breakout.

The target exit is twice the height of the pattern added to the top of it, but a stop loss order triggers before the stock can rise that far, booking a loss.

Testing

This is the same test as the prior one except I used 94 exchange traded funds (ETFs) instead of common stocks.

Table 6: Testing the CPRU in ETFs with Height Exit
Metric CPRU in
Uptrend 
Uptrend
Benchmark
Trades3,8376,095
Average profit/loss per trade$46.01$38.39
Win/loss ratio48%51%
Average hold time (days)86
Winning trades1,8393,120
Average gain of winners3%3%
Average hold time of winners (days)97
Losing trades1,9982,975
Average loss-2%-2%
Average hold time of losers (days)76

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Table 6. The CPRU pattern doesn't performs as well in ETFs as it does in stocks. However, it still beats the benchmark.

Closing Price Reversal, Uptrend: Target Exit, Crypto Performance

CPRU in AAVE

This is an example trade in the cryptocurrency AAVE on the daily scale. I highlight the CPRU pattern in the red box.

Entry is a penny above the top of the chart pattern with a buy-stop

A stop-loss order helps minimize the loss with a sell price of a penny below the bottom of the pattern. The two green lines show the approximate buy stop and stop-loss order locations.

The currency broke out upward and climbed far enough to reach the exit target for a profitable trade.

Testing

This is the same test as the prior one except I used 38 cryptocurrencies instead of common stocks.

Table 7: Testing the CPRU in Crypto Currency with Height Exit
Metric CPRU in
Uptrend 
Uptrend
Benchmark
Trades4013,147
Average profit/loss per trade$177.69$146.81
Win/loss ratio46%45%
Average hold time (days)65
Winning trades1831,420
Average gain of winners11%10%
Average hold time of winners (days)54
Losing trades2181,727
Average loss-6%-6%
Average hold time of losers (days)54

The CPRU works well in cryptocurrencies by outperforming the benchmark.

-- Thomas Bulkowski

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See Also

Below are other short patterns...

 

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