Charts and timeframes
Swing trading
Swing trading means holding a position for a few days to a few weeks to capture one leg of a price move.
Swing trading sits between intraday and investing. You hold for a few days to a few weeks, aiming at one leg of a move: from a support area to the next resistance, or the run that follows a breakout. Decisions are made on hourly or daily charts, often after market hours, which suits people with a day job.
Because the position stays open overnight, it is exposed to gaps. News, global markets and results arrive while NSE is shut, and the next open can be far from the last close. A stop-loss order does not protect you from that. It fills near the opening price, not at your level. Swing traders therefore size smaller than intraday traders for the same capital.
In India the instrument matters. Stocks bought for delivery can be held as long as you like. Futures need carry-forward margin and they expire, so a longer swing may need a rollover. Bought options lose time value every day you hold them, which works against a slow swing. Many swing traders stick to cash stocks or futures for this reason.
The common mistake is watching a daily-chart trade on a 5-minute chart. Every intraday dip looks like a reason to exit, and the trade is closed long before the daily stop-loss or target comes near. If the signal came from the daily chart, review it once a day, after the close.
Worked example
A daily-chart swing in Reliance
Illustrative numbers. A buy signal closes on the daily Reliance chart: entry ₹1,400, stop-loss ₹1,365, T1 ₹1,435, T2 ₹1,470, T3 ₹1,505. Risk is ₹35 per share. Risking ₹7,000 gives 7,000 / 35 = 200 shares, a position worth ₹2,80,000. Six sessions later T2 is hit and the stop-loss moves up to T1. If price turns down without a gap, the remaining shares exit near ₹1,435, a gain of ₹35 each.
In WizeBuySell
On hourly and daily charts WizeBuySell gives swing signals in the same form as intraday ones: entry, T1, T2, T3 and a trailing stop-loss, confirmed on candle close. A daily signal is confirmed only when the day's candle closes, so you act on it in the next session. The software reads price only. It does not predict overnight gaps, results or news, and a gap can open beyond the stop-loss.