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Check out the new article: Building the Market Structure Sentinel Indicator in MQL5.
This article builds a Market Structure Sentinel indicator in MQL5 that detects and visualizes Smart Money Concepts (SMC) events, including Break of Structure (BOS) and Change of Character (CHOCH), in real time. It explains swing detection, structural validation, and trend classification, and adds a compact dashboard to track bullish, bearish, or ranging states for faster on‑chart interpretation.
In practical trading, market structure serves as a framework for understanding market intent. Rather than relying solely on lagging indicators, traders analyze how price reacts around previous highs and lows to determine whether buyers or sellers are in control. A bullish market structure typically reflects strong buying pressure with continuous expansion to new highs, while a bearish structure reflects sustained selling pressure and weakening demand.
Every structural shift observed on a chart originates from the interaction between swing highs and swing lows. These swing points form the framework traders use to identify trend direction, momentum strength, and potential reversals.
In an Up trend, price typically forms a sequence of Higher Highs (HH) and Higher Lows (HL). A Higher High occurs when price breaks above a previous swing high, indicating continued buying strength. A Higher Low forms when price retraces but fails to move below the previous swing low, suggesting that buyers are still maintaining control of the market. This repeated sequence of HH and HL is the defining characteristic of bullish market structure.
Author: Chukwubuikem Okeke