Method / Walkthrough 1
How I analyse a stock.
I work from the highest timeframe down: weekly, daily, 4-hour, 1-hour, then 15-minute. The weekly, daily and 4-hour charts give me the trend and every support and resistance level. The 1-hour and 15-minute charts only time the entry; I draw no new levels on them. The example below is Apple in October 2026, on real prices.
Weekly: confirm the trend
The weekly chart decides whether there is anything to look for. If it is not making higher highs and higher lows, I don't look for a long position, whatever the shorter charts show.
What I check
- Higher highs and higher lows over the past year
- The major weekly resistance above the price
- The major weekly support below it
- April 2025: the low of the last big fall, 169.21. The lows since have stepped up: 201.50 in July 2025, around 244 in October 2025, January and March 2026.
- June 2026: a higher low at 273.75, followed by a new high. The trend is up, so I only look for long positions.
- Support at 300: the low after July's results, tested again in August, and held.
- Resistance: the July high (344.57) and the September high (345.34) are less than a dollar apart. Sellers turned price back there twice.
Daily: the trend in detail
The daily chart has to agree with the weekly. Here I use two simple moving averages, the 50-day and the 200-day: the 50 above the 200 says the longer trend is up, and price holding above the 50 says buyers are still in control. Then I add the daily levels: the swing highs and lows that are too small to see on the weekly chart.
What I check
- The 50-day average above the 200-day, both rising
- Price above the 50-day, or back above it after a pullback
- Higher lows on the daily chart too
- Daily swing lows below the price: support
- Whether the daily highs confirm the weekly resistance
- Aug 12: 300.57, the retest of the weekly support. After July's results price had dropped below the 50-day average, but the 50-day stayed well above the 200-day.
- Sep 9: 309.90, a higher low and the last close below the 50-day. It becomes daily support.
- Sep 10: price closed back above the 50-day, with the 50 still above the 200. The daily chart agrees with the weekly again.
- Sep 22: price reached 345.34 and closed at 339.75. The daily chart shows the weekly resistance at work.
- Oct 1: 325.81, another higher low, held above the 50-day (322.18). On Oct 8: price 340.42, 50-day 322.32, 200-day 290.42.
4-hour: finish the map
The 4-hour chart is the last one I draw levels on. It shows the nearest support, which decides where the stop goes, and the nearest resistance. After this chart, no new lines.
What I check
- The nearest support below the price, ideally tested more than once
- The nearest resistance above it
- Every line on one chart: weekly, daily and 4-hour
- Oct 2: the day after the drop to 325.81, price held at 330.60.
- Oct 6: tested again at 330.63, and held. Two tests make 330.60 the nearest support.
- Oct 8: 341.57, the nearest resistance above.
1-hour: wait for price to reach a level
The 1-hour chart shows how price is arriving at the map. I don't take a position in the middle of a range; I wait for price to reach a level and watch how it reacts.
What I check
- Price at a marked level, not between two
- The first reaction: a long lower wick, a close back near the high
- The weekly and daily trend still intact
- Oct 9: Apple opened at 331.61, 2.6% below the previous close and straight into the 4-hour support. The first hour dipped to 330.68 and closed at 333.09, near its high: buyers defended the level.
15-minute: the entry and the stop
The 15-minute chart is only for the entry. The stop is not chosen here: it sits 1% below the nearest 4-hour support already on the map. There is no take-profit order; how the trade is closed is the next step.
What I check
- A break of 15-minute structure: a higher low, then a close above the last swing high
- The stop 1% below the nearest 4-hour support
- Risk per share: entry minus stop. That distance sets the first exit
- 9:45: after the gap down to the 4-hour support (low 330.68), the first swing high, 333.78.
- 10:00: a higher low at 331.80. Sellers could not push price back to the support.
- 10:45: a close at 334.06, above the 333.78 swing high. The 15-minute structure has turned up: that is the entry. The stop goes 1% below the 4-hour support of 330.60, at 327.29, a risk of 6.77 a share (2.0%). Half the position comes off at 340.83, entry plus that risk.
Manage it: half off, then trail the stop
There is no take-profit order. When the stock has moved up by as much as I risked, half the position comes off and the stop moves just above break-even, so the rest can no longer turn into a loss. From there I check the 4-hour and daily charts each day and raise the stop to 1% below each new 4-hour higher low. The second half runs until the stop is hit.
What I check
- Half off when the gain equals the risk (1 to 1)
- Then the stop to entry plus 2% of that move
- After that, the stop 1% below each new 4-hour higher low. It only ever moves up
- Every position logged against the plan, including the ones that hit the stop
- Oct 12: price reached 340.83 in the first hour (high 342.63). Half the position comes off, 6.77 a share above the entry, and the stop moves up to 334.20: entry plus 2% of the move.
- Oct 13: a new 4-hour higher low at 340.74, confirmed once the next 4-hour bar held above it. The stop moves to 1% below it, 337.33.
- Oct 14: another higher low, 341.72. Once it is confirmed, the stop moves to 338.30. On Oct 16 Apple closed at 343.43; the second half was still open, with at least 4.24 a share locked in.
Written down before the order is placed.
- Entry
- 334.06
- 15-minute close above the last swing high
- Stop loss
- 327.29
- 1% below the 4-hour support, 330.60
- Risk per share
- 6.77
- 2.0% of the entry
- Half off
- 340.83
- When the gain equals the risk
- Then the stop
- 334.20
- Entry plus 2% of the move
- The rest
- Trailing stop
- 1% below each new 4-hour higher low
When the stop is hit
This example was chosen because every step shows clearly, and it worked. Many don't, and that is what the stop is for. When a stop is hit, what I review is whether the plan was followed: was the trend confirmed on the weekly, was the entry at a level drawn on the higher charts, was the stop where the map put it, and did the size keep the loss to what I had accepted beforehand.
This page describes a process for education. The examples, including the Apple trade, are illustrations of past prices, not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Price data: Financial Modeling Prep.