Market Structures SMC [TradingFinder] BOS/CHoCH Major & Minor🟣Introduction
Understanding market structure involves analyzing market behavior. In other words, market structure encompasses how the market forms and evolves within trends.
Market structures are typically fractal and nested, so we categorize them into internal (minor) and external (major) structures. There are various definitions of market structure, with different approaches such as Smart Money and ICT providing their own interpretations.
🟣How to Use
The first step in identifying market structure is to analyze key highs and lows. An uptrend is formed when highs and lows are successively higher than previous ones. Similarly, in a downtrend, lows and highs are successively lower than previous ones.
Market trends consist of two types of movements :
•Impulsive movements
•Corrective movements
Impulsive movements align with the main trend and possess high strength and momentum. Conversely, corrective movements go against the main trend and have lower strength and momentum. The following example illustrates these concepts.
🔵 Identifying Break of Structure (BOS)
In a specific trend, for example in a downtrend, when the price breaks below the previous low and forms a new low (LL), a Break of Structure occurs. In an uptrend, a BOS (Market Structure Break or MSB) happens when the price rises and surpasses the last high.
We need at least one BOS to confirm a trend. Breaking above or below the previous high or low must be confirmed by closing at least one candle after that level.
🔵 Identifying Change of Character (CHOCH)
Change of Character (CHOCH) is a key concept in market structure analysis. A change in structure signals a trend change. In other words, a trend ends with a CHOCH (Market Structure Shift or MSS). For instance, in a downtrend, the price declines with BOS.
BOS indicates the strength of the trend, but when the price increases and surpasses the last high, a CHOCH occurs, signaling a shift from a downtrend to an uptrend.
This does not mean entering a buy trade; instead, we should wait for a BOS in the upward direction to confirm the uptrend. Unlike BOS, confirming a CHOCH does not require a candle to close; simply breaking above or below the previous high or low with the candle's wick is sufficient. The following examples show bearish and bullish CHOCH.
🔵 Range Market Structure
Besides uptrends and downtrends, a third structure often found in the market is the range or sideways structure. In this state, the power of buyers and sellers is almost equal, and the market lacks a clear trend.
Many traders believe that the Forex market ranges 80% of the time. Therefore, it requires a lot of patience to wait for a new trend to start.
🟣 Settings
Through the settings, you can customize the display, visibility, and color of each line as desired.
Marketstructureshift
ICT HTF MSS & Liquidity (fadi)ICT HTF MSS & Liquidity provides higher timeframe view of where the liquidity may reside and when higher timeframe market structure shift has occurred.
In his 2022 mentorship, ICT has advocated used the 15m chart to watch for liquidity and looking for lower timeframes for entry (5m,4m,3m,2m,1m).
Liquidity will reside above pivot points and ICT pivot points are based on 3 candle formation for the short term, three short term formation for intermediate, and three intermediate formation for the long terms.
Options
Timeframe Timeframe to monitor
Use the Short, Intermediate, or Long Term highs and lows
Liquidity Styles
Open liquidity line style, size, and color
Claimed liquidity line style, size, and color
Extend the open liquidity line beyond the current candle
Number of lines to display, this includes claimed and open
Market Structure (Breakers) [LuxAlgo]The Market Structure (Breakers) indicator aims to detect "Breaker Market Structures", an original concept inspired by breaker blocks, and extend on the original concept of market structures by extending existing MS levels, providing supports/resistances as a result.
Various graphical elements are included that highlight the interactions between price and Breaker structures.
🔶 USAGE
Breaker structures occur when a market structure is confirmed (price breaking a previous swing level). The broken swing point is extended by a dotted line which can be used as potential support or resistance.
After a market structure, the price can eventually reverse and break one or multiple breaker structures at the same time, allowing for the detection of new trends in the price.
A market structure closer to the top/bottom of a trend can return Breaker structures breakouts more indicative of potential reversals.
Breakers MS breakouts can also be useful as exits for entries done using market market structures.
The script additionally highlights support/resistance events by highlighting candle borders, with a border using a green color indicating support events while a red color is indicative of a resistance event.
🔹 Breaker Structure Lifespan
The "lifespan" of Breaker structures, that is the amount of time the script will extend/evaluate them is determined by various user settings.
The Maximum Breaks setting determines the maximum amount of breaks a breaker structure can withstand before it is broken.
For example, a maximum amount of breaks of 3 for a bearish breaker structure would require the price to cross under that precise breaker structure level three times. Using higher values of this setting will also highlight more Breakers MS.
The Breaker Maximum Duration setting on the other hand determines how many bars a breaker structure can be evaluated without being broken. If a breaker structure is not broken after this amount of bars then it will stop being evaluated and will be removed.
🔶 SETTINGS
Swings Period: Period used for the swing detection, with higher values returning longer term markter structures.
Maximum Breaks: Amount of break required for a breaker block to be considered broken.
Breaker Maximum Duration: Maximum duration of a breaker block (in bars).
ICT Institutional Order Flow (fadi)ICT Institutional Order Flow indicator is intended to provide wholistic view to better analyze order flow and where price may go to next. The concept follows ICT principles.
ICT Market Structure
ICT breaks down Pivot points into three categories:
Short Term High/Low (STH/STL) is a 3 candle pattern with a low with higher low on each side (STL), or a high with lower high on each side (STH)
Intermediate Term High/Low (ITH/ITL) uses the calculated STH/STL and marks any STH that has lower or STH on each side, and STL that has higher STL on each side
Long Term High/Low (LTH/LTL) uses the calculated ITH/ITL and marks any ITH that has lower or ITH on each side, and ITL that has higher ITL on each side
Note: ICT also states that if a STH wicks into and closes (almost?) a FVG, he marks it as ITH even if it does not have STH on reach side. This scenario is not covered by this indicator
Liquidity
liquidity is usually present under pivot points. The more prominent the pivot point, the more likely higher values liquidity pools reside under/above it. Liquidity under ITL and LTL as an example, will have better indication of which liquidity the price may seek next.
Displacement
Displacement registers above average move in the price resulting in strong visible move. If requiring a FVG is enabled (in settings), then the displacement could possibly (but never guaranteed) be used to visually recognize a move as it develops.
Full Credit: The calculation for Displacement is derived from TFO's Visualizing Displacement
Imbalances
Imbalances can come in different forms. This indicator identifies three type of imbalances:
1. FVG
2. Volume Imbalance
3. Open Gaps
Imbalances completes the picture by help visualize strong moves, where possible pivot points may develop, and how to enter or manage a trade.
