Descending Triangles

Descending Triangles have a horizontal lower boundary or Demand Line
and a down-sloping upper boundary or Supply Line. It is evident that they
are created by market conditions just the reverse of those responsible for the
Ascending Pattern. Their implications are equally strong and their failures
equally rare. Development of a Descending Formation hinges upon a campaign
by a group or syndicate (often an investment trust) to acquire a large
block of shares in a certain company at a predetermined price below the
market. Their orders are placed and allowed to stand until executed at that
level. If the successive rallies therefrom, which their buying generates, are
stifled by new supplies of stock for sale at lower and lower levels (thus
creating the typical Descending picture on the chart), orders to buy are eventually all filled and quotations break through and on down. The mere
breaking of the critical line, which many traders have seen function as a
support under the market for a more or less extended period, often shakes
the confidence of holders who had not previously considered selling. Their
offerings now come on the market and accelerate the decline.