how can i tell if an uptrend is ending or simply undergoing a pullback 
double check to make sure nothing has changed in the fundamental picture of the underlying security next take a look at trend and momentum indicators e g relative strength index or rsi average directional index or adx moving average convergence divergence or macd to see if they re turning lower potentially signaling a more significant decline is at hand if either of these conditions is met take a step back and consider whether the uptrend has hit a significant high and tighten up your stop loss sell order to minimize potential further losses the bottom linepullbacks are a normal part of any sustained uptrend they can be triggered by profit taking after a sudden surge higher in the price of a security or some minor negative news about the underlying security trend following traders frequently use pullbacks to get in on the dominant uptrend or to add to existing longs they can do this through buy limit orders stop buy entry orders or just a plain market order if they want to jump right in pullbacks usually stabilize or find a near term bottom at consequential technical levels such as a daily moving average a bollinger band or a fibonacci retracement to name just a few technical support levels it is important to note that if these support levels fail you may be looking at a bigger correction or even a total reversal traders should look at other indicators such as momentum oscillators like the rsi to see if there are any bearish divergences that may signal a deeper correction but if the fundamental picture for a company or currency has not changed significantly it increases the likelihood that it s just a normal pullback that should stabilize over a few sessions and offer buyers a chance to get in on the primary uptrend at a cheaper price 