Technical Analysis Plain and Simple: Charting the Markets in Your Language, Second Edition

Saucers

At the ends of rallies and declines, you often look for clear reversal patterns or trend breaks. Not all rallies and declines end this way. Some involve gradual changes and slow shifts from bulls to bears or bears to bulls. Then the market slowly rolls over and begins a gradual change of direction.

A saucer pattern is also called a rounded top or bottom, depending, of course, on where it forms. It is fairly difficult to detect until it is almost over because there are no clear trend breaks. It is also sometimes an exercise in subjective analysis to determine which of the many support or resistance breaks are important. The point to remember with this pattern is that the process is gradual and it will be impossible to detect the absolute ...