Market structure
6 min read · Educational content, not financial advice
Market structure describes the sequence of highs and lows that define a trend. An uptrend is typically characterized by a series of higher highs and higher lows; a downtrend by lower highs and lower lows. A break in that sequence — a lower high in an uptrend, for instance — is often the first technical clue that the prevailing trend may be weakening.
Reading structure across multiple timeframes (e.g. confirming a daily-chart trend before acting on an hourly-chart setup) is a common way traders try to avoid taking a short-term signal that runs against a larger, more dominant trend.
Structure is descriptive, not predictive — it tells you what has happened and gives context for what a change in that pattern might mean, not a guarantee of what happens next.