Horizontal Ray

A Horizontal Ray is a hybrid between a horizontal line and a ray: it marks a fixed price level, but only for bars after a chosen anchor bar. This temporal precision makes it ideal for marking S/R that becomes relevant only after a specific event — a news release, an earnings report, a policy announcement (FOMC, NFP, CPI), a gap open, an IPO, or a structural break in trend.

Unlike a full horizontal line (which applies across all chart history), the horizontal ray respects that context matters. A level that acts as support after a Federal Reserve rate decision may not have been relevant before it, and applying it retroactively would create a misleading chart. The anchor point provides temporal precision: "before this date, this level did not exist as S/R."

This tool is especially valued by event-driven traders and fundamental traderswho need to mark post-event levels without the line retroactively claiming significance before the event occurred. It is also useful for gap analysis — after an overnight gap, the gap level becomes a post-gap S/R level but was meaningless before.

The Horizontal Ray tool requires 1 anchor point. Click at the desired price on a specific bar. The ray extends horizontally to the right from that point at that fixed price. Unlike a full horizontal line, there is no line to the left of the anchor — the left side is visually empty, creating a clean before/after separation.

After placement, drag the anchor point left/right to change where the ray begins (different bar, same price level). Drag the anchor up/down to change the price level (same bar, different price). Drag the ray body (the segment from anchor to right edge) to translate the entire ray. In multi-select mode, selected horizontal rays move together.

On hover, the anchor and ray body highlight. The ray always extends to the right chart edge; there is no left-extension option by design. As the chart scrolls right and new bars form, the ray continues to extend, maintaining its fixed price level from the anchor forward.

Post-Event Levels: Earnings reports, economic data releases, and central bank decisions often create new S/R levels that did not exist before the event. A horizontal ray anchored at the event bar captures the level at which the market repriced, without implying the level was relevant before. This is crucial for accurate post-event analysis and prevents hindsight bias.

Breakout Retest Tracking (Role Reversal): When price breaks above a long-standing resistance level, place a horizontal ray at the breakout bar at the resistance price. This creates a clean "flip zone" marker — the former resistance (now expected support) from the breakout point forward. If price retests this level from above, the ray makes it clear that the level is now functioning as support.

Gap Analysis: After an overnight gap (common in stock markets), draw a horizontal ray from the gap bar at the gap level. The gap level acts as a magnet — price often retests the gap fill area in the following days or weeks. The ray visually distinguishes the post-gap relevance of the level from the pre-gap period when the level was not significant.

1. 1
   Identify the event bar

   Find the specific bar corresponding to the event — earnings release, FOMC decision, gap open, breakout bar.
2. 2
   Click on the bar at the target price

   Click at the price level on that specific bar. The ray extends horizontally to the right from that point.
3. 3
   Adjust the anchor

   Drag the anchor left/right to change the start bar, or up/down to change the price level. The ray updates live.
4. 4
   Add label and event note

   Enable the price and date label at the anchor. Add a text annotation: "FOMC Sep 2024," "Earnings gap," "Breakout level."
5. 5
   Evaluate over time

   Watch subsequent bars. Does price respect the ray level? Does the level get retested and hold? Does it break?

• Price to the right of the anchor interacts with the level as S/R \u2014 the level is "active."
• Price to the left of the anchor is unrelated \u2014 the level did not exist as S/R before the event.
• A retest of the ray level from below = support test. A bounce confirms the role reversal.
• A retest from above = resistance test. A rejection confirms the level holds as resistance.
• The anchor bar itself shows the event reaction (spike, gap, reversal candle). This is the reference point for the level creation.
• If price never retests the ray level, the level may not be relevant \u2014 not all event levels become active S/R.

Sequential Event Rays: After multiple recurring events (e.g. four consecutive FOMC meetings, quarterly earnings), draw a horizontal ray from each event date at the closing price or the high/low of the reaction. The stack of rays shows how the market re-priced at each decision point and whether the levels are rising (improving sentiment) or falling (deteriorating sentiment).

Volume-Weighted Ray: Place the horizontal ray at the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of the event bar, rather than the close or open. The VWAP of the event bar represents the average execution price during the event, which often acts as precise S/R in the following bars.

Correlation Event Rays: Place horizontal rays at the same time on correlated instruments. For example, after an FOMC meeting, place a ray on EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY at their respective close prices. Compare how each pair interacts with its ray — the pair that respects its ray the best is showing the strongest trend conviction.

• 1.Horizontal ray tool — TradingView Help
• 2.Support and Resistance — Investopedia
• 3.Technical Analysis of Financial Markets — John J. Murphy
• 4.Event-Driven Trading Strategies — Investopedia
• 5.Gap Trading: A Complete Guide — TradingSim
• 6.Trading Earnings Reports — StockCharts