What are 'key reversals' and 'outside weeks'?

Many stock markets recently experienced a tumultuous 'outside week' with new highs followed by new lows and several 'key reversals'. For traders, these can be very powerful signals that pinpoint market tops and bottoms. Veteran spread better John C Burford explains what they are and how to take advantage.

As I write, we have finished one of the most tumultuous weeks in the markets (1-6 May) that I have experienced in years. Not only was the ten-year hunt for bin Laden finally concluded (on 1 May a traditional day of celebration, please note), but the darling of the anti-fiat currency army silver was knocked for six with a third sliced off its value.

The week started so well with the bin Laden news kicking the markets off in a bullish mood on Monday. Many markets made new highs.

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John is is a British-born lapsed PhD physicist, who previously worked for Nasa on the Mars exploration team. He is a former commodity trading advisor with the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission, and worked in a boutique futures house in California in the 1980s.

 

He was a partner in one of the first futures newsletter advisory services, based in Washington DC, specialising in pork bellies and currencies. John is primarily a chart-reading trader, having cut his trading teeth in the days before PCs.

 

As well as his work in the financial world, he has launched, run and sold several 'real' businesses producing 'real' products.