How to Draw Trendlines

What a trendline is

A trendline is a straight line drawn on a price chart that connects swing points in the direction of a trend. A swing point is a turning point: a swing low is a low with higher lows on both sides, and a swing high is a high with lower highs on both sides.

• In an uptrend (higher highs and higher lows), you connect swing lows. The line sits under price.
• In a downtrend (lower highs and lower lows), you connect swing highs. The line sits above price.

A trendline is a sloped version of support and resistance. It shows where earlier pullbacks ended, not where price must go next. If you are new to trend direction itself, read Market trends first.

How to draw trendlines step by step

• Identify the trend on a clean chart. Remove indicators. Look for a clear sequence of higher lows or lower highs. If you cannot see one, there is no trendline to draw.
• Pick clear swing points. Choose lows (or highs) that are obvious turning points, with visible pullbacks between them. Small wiggles inside a single move are not swing points.
• Connect the earliest clear swing point with a later one. Use the trendline tool in your platform. In MetaTrader, the trendline object can be extended to the right, so the line projects into the future.
• Decide on wicks or bodies, then stay consistent. Some traders touch the extremes (wicks), others the candle bodies. Neither is "correct", but switching between them line by line makes the analysis meaningless.
• Extend the line and wait for another touch. A line drawn through only a pair of points is a hypothesis. It gains meaning when price later returns to it and reacts.
• Check it on a higher timeframe. A line that fits the hourly chart may be irrelevant on the daily. See Multiple timeframes.

Example: a drawn chart

The sketch below is illustrative only. It shows no real market or prices.

The line A–C only becomes a working trendline once it is projected forward. Point E is where it stops holding. Point F is the retest, which tells you more than the break alone.

What makes a trendline valid

Not every line you can draw is worth watching. Signs that a line reflects real market behaviour:

• Separate touches with real pullbacks between them. Touches that come from one move do not count as independent.
• Clear reactions at the line. Price should turn away from it, not drift through and back.
• Reasonable spacing. Anchors spread across the move describe the trend better than points bunched together.
• Agreement with market structure. If the line holds while the sequence of higher lows has already failed, trust the structure over the line.

Avoid forcing a line through candles. If you have to cut through several bodies to make it fit, the line is not describing the market.

Angle of the trendline

The slope tells you how fast the trend is moving.

• Steep lines come from sharp moves. They break easily, often because the pace slows, not because the trend has reversed.
• Shallow lines come from slow, steady trends. They tend to hold longer, but a break of a shallow line usually says more about the trend.
• Changing angle. When a steep line breaks and price continues at a gentler pace, traders often redraw a flatter line from the same starting area. This is normal. The trend has slowed rather than ended.

Remember that the visual angle depends on chart scaling. Zooming or stretching the price axis changes how steep a line looks, so compare slopes on the same chart settings.

Breaks and retests

A break happens when price closes beyond the line instead of reacting at it. A close is more informative than a wick that pokes through and returns.

A retest happens when price comes back to the broken line from the other side. In an uptrend line break, the old support may now act as resistance (point F in the example). If price closes back above the line and continues higher, the break was false.

Points to keep in mind:

• A trendline break is not the same as a trend reversal. A reversal needs a change in structure, such as a lower high and a lower low after an uptrend.
• Many breaks fail. Read Breakouts and false breakouts for how this happens.
• A retest may never come. Price can break and move away without returning.

Common failure modes

• Curve fitting. Redrawing the line every time price crosses it, so it always "works". A line you keep moving tells you nothing.
• Hindsight lines. Drawing lines on finished charts where the outcome is known. Practise by hiding the right side of the chart and drawing as if live.
• Too few touches. Treating a line through a pair of points as confirmed.
• Wrong anchors. Using minor wiggles instead of clear swing points.
• Ignoring the timeframe. A break on a lower timeframe may be just a pullback on the higher one.
• Ignoring volatility. In fast markets, price can overshoot the line and come back. Many traders treat a trendline as a zone, not an exact price.
• Lines everywhere. Too many lines on one chart guarantee that price touches something. Keep only the lines that matter.

Using trendlines in a plan

Trend line trading means using trendlines as one input among several, not as a signal on their own. A trendline strategy usually defines in advance what counts as a touch, a break and a retest, which timeframe the line comes from, and where the idea is proven wrong. Combining lines with horizontal levels, structure, or tools such as a linear regression channel gives more context than the line alone.

Trendlines do not predict outcomes. Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money fast, including more than you planned if you trade without limits. Decide your position size and exit before you act; see Risk management. For more tools, browse Technical analysis.

Frequent questions

Should I draw trendlines on wicks or candle bodies?

Either works if you are consistent. Wicks show the extremes; bodies show where price closed. Pick one method and use it on every chart.

How many touches make a trendline valid?

There is no fixed rule. A line through a pair of points is only a starting idea; it becomes more meaningful when price later returns to it and reacts clearly.

Does a broken trendline mean the trend has reversed?

No. It may only mean the trend has slowed. A reversal is confirmed by a change in market structure, not by the line alone.

Why do my trendlines keep failing?

Common reasons are steep angles, weak anchor points, lines drawn in hindsight, and using a lower timeframe than the trend you are trying to describe.

Can I rely on trendlines alone?

Trendlines are best used together with structure, horizontal levels and a written risk plan. On their own they describe past behaviour and do not guarantee any result.