Market structure basics: trends, ranges and key areas
How to describe what a market is doing: higher highs and lows, ranges, and areas where price reacted before.
Describe before you predict
Market structure is a vocabulary for describing price, not a crystal ball. It helps you decide which kind of setup fits the conditions and when to stay out.
Trends
An uptrend makes higher highs and higher lows; a downtrend makes lower highs and lower lows. A trend is often described as broken when that sequence stops on the timeframe you trade.
Ranges
In a range, price moves between an upper and a lower area without making new highs or lows. Strategies that work in trends often fail in ranges, and the other way round.
Areas where price reacted before
Traders mark areas where price turned or paused in the past, often called support and resistance. They are zones, not exact lines, and they can fail. Study them on historical charts and record in your journal how they behaved.
Timeframes
A market can trend on the daily chart and range on the hourly one. Decide which timeframe defines your trade and read the others as context.
Educational content only, not investment advice. Trading involves a high risk of losing money.
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