The only definition that matters
An uptrend is a sequence of higher highs and higher lows. A downtrend is lower highs and lower lows. Everything else — 'it feels strong' — is a story. Market structure is just tracking those swing points.
A trend is intact until structure breaks: an uptrend ends when price makes a lower low that undercuts the prior higher low. That objective definition keeps you honest when emotions say otherwise.
Trends are fractal
A stock can be in a daily downtrend inside a weekly uptrend — a pullback. Knowing which trend you're trading with (and against) is half the battle. 'The trend is your friend' really means: trade in the direction of the timeframe you hold on.
How to mark structure
Do it mechanically so you stop arguing with the chart:
- Mark the obvious swing highs (peaks) and swing lows (troughs).
- Uptrend = each peak and each trough higher than the last; downtrend = each lower.
- In an uptrend, the most recent higher-low is your line in the sand — break it and the trend is in question.
- Sideways = peaks and troughs roughly level; treat it as a range, not a trend.
Change of character
Trends rarely reverse in one candle — they change character first. Watch for a pullback that's deeper than the trend's usual dips, a counter-trend move that's unusually sharp, or momentum fading as price still ticks up. None of these end the trend by themselves, but together they say 'the balance is shifting' — tighten stops and stop adding.