Peak (Peak)

This function is available on the Add Study window and in the Formula Toolbox.

The Hi/Lo Peak study identifies important highs and lows based on the number of bars, both to the left and to the right (before and after), which have lower highs to identify a Hi Peak or higher lows to identify a Lo Peak. Hi/Lo Peak identifies extreme price points of the same magnitude, based on the surrounding price action.

Characteristics & Usage

Hi/Lo Peak provides a method to consistently identify extreme price points of the same magnitude.

Hi/Lo Peak is an effective tool to identify important support and resistance levels based on recent price extremes.

The Hi/Lo Peak lines may be used to define a trading range.

The Lo Peak line identifies the price that attracted a bid and the Hi Peak line identifies the price level that attracted an offer.

A break above or below a Peak line may be considered a breakout of the trading range.

Hi/Lo Peak may also be used in a trend following manner.

A bull trend is indicated when price action persists above the Hi Peak.

An upward adjustment of the Hi Peak indicates the trend has terminated (this is due to the fact that Hi Peak only adjusts upward once lower highs follow an extreme high, indicating the bulls have been unable to bid prices beyond the highs for several bars).

The opposite holds for using Lo Peak to identify a bear trend and its termination.

When the Min/Max parameter is On, Hi/Lo Peak may be used to track the maximum and minimum values dependent on the Reset parameters. Reset parameters are employed so that Hi/Lo Peak continues to be a responsive indicator, rather than simply identifying the highest and lowest points on a chart.

Calculation

Hi Peak = Highest Price with LLev (number) of lower highs preceding the Hi Peak and RLev (number) of lower highs following it.

Lo Peak = Lowest Price with LLev (number) of higher lows preceding the Lo Peak and RLev (number) of higher lows following it.

For variations see Parameters for Peak.

Example: HiPeak(@,1,1), LoPeak(@,1,1)

Example: HiCount(@,1,1), Lo Count(@,1,1)

Parameter	Description
Display	Opens a sub-window with display properties: • Color = Select a line color. • Weight = Type a value for line thickness. • Display = Select line style: line, histogram, or dash. • ShareScale = Assign a behavior for functions and studies sharing the vertical scale: • Auto = System determine whether sharing is feasible. • On = Scale is shared regardless of the functions and studies displayed. • Off = Scale is not shared.
Price	Reference price. Optional settings include: Open, High, Low, Close, Mid-pt, HLC/3, Average, True High, True Low, Range, True Range, or Peak may reference Conditions.
LLev	Determines the number of bars to the left of the Hi/Lo peak which must have a lower Hi/higher Lo.
RLev	Determines the number of bars to the right of the Hi/Lo peak which must have a lower Hi/higher Lo.
Offset	Determines the number of bars to offset the PEAK Hi/Lo lines.
Resets	Opens a sub-window where you set Max/Min levels. Min/Max values: Hi Off = PEAK lines move up or down in accordance with the parameters set above. Hi On = PEAK tracks the Price higher, identifying each higher PEAK. Hi PEAK maintains its maximum value until the Reset parameters force PEAK to accept a lower value, in accordance with the parameters below. Price falls below the Threshold and crosses back above the Threshold value at which point Hi PEAK resets to the Threshold level. Lo On = PEAK tracks the Price lower identifying each lower PEAK. Lo PEAK maintains its minimum value until the Reset parameters force PEAK to accept a higher value, in accordance with the parameters below. Price rises above the Threshold and crosses back below the Threshold value at which point Lo PEAK resets to the Threshold level. Reset vales: <= or />= The Threshold level serves as a Minimum/Maximum value which PEAK takes. Above this level Hi PEAK identifies extreme Prices as specified above, while Lo PEAK identifies extreme Prices below the Threshold level. XA/XB = When the selected Price crosses above/below the Threshold PEAK reverts to the Threshold value and once again begin to track extreme Price values. Trig = Activates the Reset Trigger as a method to force Hi PEAK to accept a lower value and Lo PEAK to accept a higher value. Reset Trigger = Condition that serves as the Trigger for PEAK to assume the value of Price when the condition is true. The Reset Trig forces Hi PEAK to accept a lower value than the maximum while forcing the Lo PEAK to accept higher values. Threshold = Threshold serves as a minimum value for Hi PEAK and a maximum value for Lo PEAK when either <=/>= is selected or when XA/XB is selected and Price has broken the Threshold. Once Hi/Lo PEAK crosses below/above the Threshold, PEAK no longer respond to price action, until Price remains beyond the threshold for the total number of bars of LLev and RLev summed together (i.e. using the defaults, the price must remain beyond the Threshold for 3 days to be detected).