Failed Breakouts: How to Spot Them, Manage Risk, and Stay with Strong Charts

David Keller
by David Keller,
President and Chief Strategist, Sierra Alpha Research

Amid market uncertainty and the advent of the first Fed meeting of the year, Dave begins with the S&P 500 and his “traffic light” framework for defining market phases. He then walks through real-world examples including Home Depot, Mastercard, AT&T, and AMD. Using moving averages, RSI, relative strength, and key support and resistance levels, he explains how to recognize when a breakout is no longer working, why small losses can grow if ignored, and how defining exit levels in advance can help investors stay disciplined and remain focused on charts that continue to show strength.

This video premiered on January 27, 2026. Watch on StockCharts' dedicated David Keller page!

Previously recorded videos from Dave are available at this link.

Indicators Earnings Market Analysis How To
David Keller
About The Author:

David is President and Chief Strategist at Sierra Alpha Research LLC, where he helps active investors make better decisions using behavioral finance and technical analysis. He is a former President of the CMT Association. Learn More 

 Previous Article

Read More

MEMBERS ONLY

Different commodities: gold, copper, silver, corn, oil

It’s All Systems Go for Commodities

Martin Pring
by Martin Pring,
President, Pring Research

Commodity prices are rising and have the potential for further upside movement. Martin Pring analyzes the CRB Index from different perspectives. Find out what his charts show....   READ MORE 

MEMBERS ONLY

Chart of stock price showing a bounce after pullback

Morgan Stanley’s Momentum Entry Setup

Tony Zhang
by Tony Zhang,
Chief Strategist, OptionsPlay

Morgan Stanley shows strong relative strength. Learn how a bullish trend-following setup and a bull call spread can target upside with limited risk....   READ MORE 

MEMBERS ONLY

StockCharts Insider: How to Read Wall Street’s Risk-On Playbook

StockCharts Insider: How to Read Wall Street’s Risk-On Playbook

Karl Montevirgen
by Karl Montevirgen,
The StockCharts Insider

Before We Dive In… The Street says it’s risk-on. Sector charts back that up. But, at the time of writing, the stocks that usually lead real bull runs are only doing… okay. So, where’s all the money going? Which corner of risk is capital flowing into? Here’s...   READ MORE 

Featured Articles

MEMBERS ONLY

Gold and silver bars placed on price chart

What Soaring Precious Metals Say About Inflation — And What They Don’t

Mike Zaccardi
by Mike Zaccardi,

Gold and silver are soaring, but inflation isn't where many expect. These charts reveal what's really driving prices in early 2026....   READ MORE 

MEMBERS ONLY

Chart of stock price displaying indicators

What RSI Is Really Saying About GOOGL, GS, and AAPL

David Keller
by David Keller,
President and Chief Strategist, Sierra Alpha Research

The Relative Strength Index can reveal far more than overbought and oversold levels. Dave Keller, CMT, analyzes RSI structures in GOOGL, GS, and AAPL to show how momentum confirms strong uptrends, warns of divergences, and signals full trend breakdowns....   READ MORE 

MEMBERS ONLY

Chart made up of blocks in four columns

A Four Point Plan Using Market Analysis, PPO, and CCI to Find Robust Entry Points

Arthur Hill
by Arthur Hill,
Chief Technical Strategist, TrendInvestorPro.com

If you're looking to build a position in a specific industry group ETF, here's a four-point plan to follow....   READ MORE