Concept
Upthrust
Upthrust is a Wyckoff concept. The Library holds 1 implementations, each one a working definition you can pull into Quant.
UT
Top Upthrust indicators
1 total
What is an Upthrust?
An upthrust is the bearish mirror of the spring: price pushes above the resistance of a trading range, finds no real demand, and falls back inside. The pop above the highs fills resting buy stops and attracts breakout buyers, and its swift failure shows that higher prices could not be sustained; in Wyckoff terms, larger sellers use the excursion to distribute inventory. In the Wyckoff Distribution Schematic, ordinary upthrusts (UT) appear through phase B, and the decisive one, the upthrust after distribution (UTAD), is the phase C test of demand that precedes markdown.
Other schools describe the same footprint as a sweep of buy-side liquidity or a false breakout of the range highs. As with springs, the label is conditional: a push above resistance that holds and builds acceptance is a breakout, not an upthrust, and the difference is often clear only from the close and the behavior on the retest.
How to identify an Upthrust
Like the spring, an upthrust is defined by its context: a mature trading range following an uptrend.
- 1Frame the range: mark the resistance defined by the buying climax and later tests, where breakout buy stops are likely resting above the highs.
- 2Watch the poke above: price trades above resistance but cannot hold there, closing back inside the range, often with a long upper wick and volume that produced no upward result.
- 3Confirm with weakness: a failing rally that stays below the upthrust high, followed by expanding volume to the downside, supports the distribution read; acceptance above the range invalidates it.
How traders use it
- As a short-entry model inside distribution: the classic sequence is a UTAD, then a weak rally that fails below the upthrust high, then a short with the stop above that high, anticipating a sign of weakness.
- As a trap detector on breakouts: a wide push above resistance that closes back inside the range on elevated volume warns that breakout longs are trapped, with downside follow-through in the next bars as the usual confirmation.
- As a phase marker: repeated upthrusts across a range's upper boundary, each showing effort with no upward result, are among the behaviors that distinguish distribution from re-accumulation.
Related concepts · Distribution schematic
Concept family
Wyckoff
17 concepts mapped · 8 in the Library
Upthrust FAQ
What is the difference between an upthrust and a UTAD?
An upthrust (UT) is any failed push above the resistance of a trading range, and several can occur while the range develops in phase B. The upthrust after distribution (UTAD) is the specific phase C event in the Wyckoff distribution schematic: a final test of demand above the range, often on strong volume, that fails and gives way to signs of weakness. Not every distribution range prints a UTAD.
How do you tell an upthrust from a real breakout?
In real time you often cannot, which is why both reads wait for evidence. A breakout tends to close above resistance, hold it on the retest, and follow through; an upthrust closes back inside the range and rolls over. Volume helps at the margins, since heavy effort with no upward result favors the upthrust read, but the deciding factor is acceptance or rejection of the higher prices.
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