EPAT equips you with the required skill sets to build a promising career in algorithmic trading. Enroll now! All content provided in this project is for informational purposes only and we do not guarantee that by using the guidance you will derive a certain profit. Introduction Born probably in Chicago, Pivot Point is a popular technique among traders to calculate supports and resistances.
We have tested strategies calculating the central pivot point in two different ways: As the average between close, maximum and minimum of the previous day; Including the opening of the current day; Adding the opening twice and without closing price Woodie's method. The close price has been taken at It is important to take into account different aspects of the analysis that could have taken their toll on the results: The study was conducted with intraday data of one minute.
There may be differences between the closing price of each minute and the price at which strategy would actually have been executed slippage and nothing ensures that there was enough volume. Also, commissions, fees and taxes have not been taken into account. In the study sample, there has been at least one roll, which will impact on the calculation of the Pivot Points of the next day and therefore on the results of the day. Backtest A day sample and a day Out Of Sample analysis have been used to analyze the results. We analyzed two alternative strategies: Strategy 1: Buy when price breaks resistance.
BT Strategy 1 In general, the results are mediocre, although somewhat better than the textbook version.
Calculation of Pivot Points
You can find a summary of the results in Appendix 1. BT Strategy 2 More interesting has been the results of the second strategy. The results obtained with the MiniSP stand out especially. The strategy shows consistent performance throughout the analyzed period and strongly trends in August: Graph 1: Strategy 2.
This consistency remains out of the sample: Graph 2: Strategy 2. Cumulative Returns vs Benchmark Gold They don't stay out of the sample. Perhaps because of the strong trend that started in August: Graph 4: Strategy 2. Cumulative Returns vs Benchmark Gold Out of Sample Similarly, EURUSD repeats this pattern, but of less magnitude, while the Treasury shows good results, although out of the sample it behaves similarly to Gold at the end of the backtested period: it seems this system behaves worse in very trendy markets.
How to Trade with Pivot Points the Right Way
Graph 5: Strategy 2. Conclusion We can highlight these main conclusions: Pivot Points calculation differences do not offer significant changes in the results of simple systems. Traditional trading strategies, as taught in the textbook, do not seem to work anymore. Also, the simplest or most obvious strategies do not work either way neither for purchases nor to do the opposite. But small modifications in traditional strategies do seem to work and give some hope to continue researching.
It seems that mean regression strategies work worse than momentum.

It would be interesting to continue researching and trying to find indicators to add to the strategy, especially those that made it rotate from momentum to average regression depending on the type of market. Person, Wiley Lucas, Drawdown Drawdown Days 19 9 20 15 17 8 96 98 8 13 Recovery Factor 0. Drawdown Days 10 8 4 7 Recovery Factor 7.
Pivot Points Trading Strategies
Drawdown Days 13 9 3 7 Recovery Factor 1. EDT, and the Asian open which occurs at 7 P. What we also see when trading pivots in the FX market is that the trading range for the session usually occurs between the pivot point and the first support and resistance levels because a multitude of traders play this range. Once the pivot was broken, prices moved lower and stayed predominately within the pivot and the first support zone. One of the key points to understand when trading pivot points in the FX market is that breaks tend to occur around one of the market opens. The reason for this is the immediate influx of traders entering the market at the same time.
These traders go into the office, take a look at how prices traded overnight and what data was released and then adjust their portfolios accordingly. During the quieter time periods, such as between the U. EDT and the Asian open 7 P. EDT and sometimes even throughout the Asian session, which is the quietest trading session , prices may remain confined for hours between the pivot level and either the support or resistance level.
This provides the perfect environment for range-bound traders. Many strategies can be developed using the pivot level as a base, but the accuracy of using pivot lines increases when Japanese candlestick formations can also be identified. For example, if prices traded below the central pivot P for most of the session and then rose above the pivot while simultaneously creating a reversal formation such as a shooting star , Doji or hanging man , you could sell short in anticipation of the price resuming trading back below the pivot point.
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Bulls lost control as the second candle became a Doji formation. Prices then began to reverse back below the central pivot to spend the next six hours between the central pivot and the first support zone.
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Another strategy employed by traders is to look for prices to obey the pivot level, therefore validating the level as a solid support or resistance zone. In this type of strategy, you're looking for the price to break the pivot level, reverse and then trend back towards the pivot level. If the price proceeds to drive through the pivot point, this is an indication that the pivot level is not very strong and is, therefore, less useful as a trading signal.
However, if prices hesitate around that level or "validate" it, then the pivot level is more significant and suggests that the move lower is an actual break, which indicates that there may be a continuation move.
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For the most part, prices were first confined within the mid-point and pivot level. At the European open 2 A. Prices then retraced back to pivot level, held it and proceeded to rally once again. The level was tested once more right before the U. As the charts above have shown, pivots can be especially popular in the FX market since many currency pairs do tend to fluctuate between these levels. Range-bound traders will enter a buy order near identified levels of support and a sell order when the asset nears the upper resistance.
Pivot points also enable trend and breakout traders to spot key levels that need to be broken for a move to qualify as a breakout.
Furthermore, these technical indicators can be very useful when the market opens. An excellent way for individual investors to become more attuned to market movements and make more educated transaction decisions comes from having an awareness of where these potential turning points are located. Given their ease of calculation, pivot points can also be incorporated into many trading strategies.
The flexibility and relative simplicity of pivot points definitely make them a useful addition to your trading toolbox. Advanced Technical Analysis Concepts. Technical Analysis Basic Education. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for Investopedia. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification.
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