This website or its third-party tools use cookies which are necessary to its functioning and required to improve your experience. By clicking the consent button, you agree to allow the site to use, collect and/or store cookies.
Please click the consent button to view this website.
I accept
Deny cookies Go Back
  • Price Action Trading Course – 50% Off Ends 29 June
  • Trading Setups
  • Topics ↓
    • Price Action Trading
    • Day Trading
    • Trader Development
    • Site Map
  • Trading Resources
    • TSR Trading Guides
    • Trading Journal Software
    • Our Partners
    • Support Us
  • Member Login

Trading Setups Review

Trading Strategies, Guides, and Articles for Active Technical Traders

Forex Tester 5 - Software for traders by traders
You are here: Home / Trading Articles / 4 Price Action Methods to Define the Intraday Trend: Part II

4 Price Action Methods to Define the Intraday Trend: Part II

By Galen Woods in Trading Articles on September 23, 2014

In the first part of this series, we discussed the role of price action in our analysis of the intraday trend. We also looked at two ways to define the intraday trend by combining simple indicators with price action.

Now, in this second and final part, we will look at the next two methods to decipher the intraday trend. These techniques focus on only price action.

3. Higher Time-Frames

As mentioned in the first part of this series, the trend is the big picture. It is a higher level perspective of the market. Hence, one popular method to determine the intraday trend is to look at the price action of a higher time-frame.

The example below shows how we used the hourly bar highs/lows to find the intraday trend for the 5-minute time-frame.

Intraday Trend - Higher Time-Frame

This chart shows the 5-minute time-frame in the top panel and the corresponding hourly chart in the lower panel.

  1. This hourly bar made a lower low and confirmed a bearish intraday trend.
  2. This bar made a higher bar high and turned the intraday trend bullish.

For more examples, refer to Kane’s Stochastic %K Hooks Day Trading Strategy. It is a classic example of using a higher time-frame for intraday trading. It uses the hourly chart to assess the intraday trend before trading in the five-minute time-frame.

For multiple time-frame analysis, the Triple Screen System in Dr Alexander Elder’s book “Trading for a Living” is also a great starting point. In his solid system, he recommends a factor of five when considering higher-frames. An example would include the 1-minute, 5-minute, and 25-minute time-frames.

4. Trend Line

Price action traders love trend lines. It is useful for both intraday and longer term analysis.

By linking up swing pivots, we get trend lines of varying slopes and importance. Trend lines highlight the market structure of swings and project their momentum and speed.

The basic interpretation of a trend line is that the trend reverses after it is broken. The example below shows how a broken bear trend line hinted at the later bull trend.

Intraday Trend - Trend Lines

This method is simpler in the sense that it does not use any indicators and focuses on one time-frame. However, to make it work, you will need to master the skill of drawing trend lines.

The Best Method for Finding Intraday Trend

No method of determining the intraday trend is perfect. There will always be instances when the market resumes its earlier trend just as we conclude an intraday trend reversal. There will always be cases when we confirm a trend only when it starts reversing.

Such instances are unavoidable. This is why we have trading setups to pinpoint entries and limit our risk.

Each of the four methods above has its specific drawbacks.

For the two methods that rely partly on indicators (discussed in part one), we need to decide on the look-back period of the indicators. Without a sensible look-back period, the indicators will add little value to our trend analysis. The suitable value depends on the market volatility which is ever-changing.

The higher time-time method then depends on our choice of the higher time-frame. Which higher time-frame reflects the intraday trend? The half-hourly and hourly charts are popular among day traders. But forex traders might prefer the 4-hour time-frame.

As for the trend line method, the clear challenge is in drawing meaningful trend lines. If we draw trend lines indiscriminately, we will find more whipsaws than trends. The crux is to draw consistent and relevant trend lines.

If you want to pick up a consistent framework for drawing trend lines, take a look at my “Day Trading with Price Action” course. With dozens of step-by-step examples, you will learn to read market swings and build them up to draw the trend lines that matter.

Read more about Day Trading, Price Action Trading, Trading Trend

If Trading Setups Review has helped you trade better, please support us on Ko-fi.

Support me on Ko-fi

Thank you for being awesome.

You can also check out other ways to support us here.

Or, please continue exploring what we have to offer…

50% Retracement Swing Trading Strategy

What To Do When Your Day Trading Broker Fails?

The 10 Commandments of Price Action Trading

How To Use NinjaTrader

How To Lay A Solid Foundation For Price Action Trading

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trading Course Banner

Search Trading Setups Review

Recommended For You

6 Steps to Find a Day Trading Strategy That Works

5 Skills All Price Action Traders Must Have In Their Trading Toolbox

Reliable Support and Resistance Zones with High Volume Signals

7 Trading Documentaries Every Trader Should Watch

18 Trading Psychology Books To Help You Trade Better

Flipping Support and Resistance for Swing Trading

Why You Must Have An Initial Stop Loss?

Top Trading Books

Top 10 Volume Trading Books

7 Forex Trading Books To Get You Started

18 Trading Psychology Books To Help You Trade Better

Top 10 Price Action Trading Books

7 Trading Books For Your Library


If Trading Setups Review has helped you trade better, please consider supporting us on Ko-fi.

Support me on Ko-fi

Or, check out other ways to support us here.

Thank you for being awesome.


Get a Free Course Chapter from Galen Woods' Day Trading With Price Action Course [PDF]

Plus, our latest trading guides and tips in right your inbox.

Trading Setups Review

  • Support Us
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclaimer
  • Full Risk Disclosure

Learn More

  • Day Trading With Price Action Course
  • TSR Trading Guides
  • Trading Setups
  • Trading Articles
  • Trading Books
  • Site Map

Futures and forex trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing ones financial security or life style. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.


The website contents are only for educational purposes. All trades are random examples selected to present the trading setups and are not real trades. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. We are not registered with any regulating body that allows us to give financial and investment advice.


Trading Setups Review © 2012–2022

Anti-Climax Pattern - Free Course Chapter

Learn a new powerful price pattern today!

Download for free now.