A pullback describes a decline following an advance. Calling it a healthy pause after observing a rebound is hindsight. At the time, a temporary decline and the beginning of a reversal cannot be distinguished with certainty; specify failure separately.
Reproduce distance first
A hypothetical close of 102 versus SMA20 of 100 gives 2% extension. A close of 99 lies 1% below it. “Near the average” does not specify whether both qualify. Fix a distance band or an above-average requirement before evaluating outcomes.
A closer planned exit is not a loss guarantee
For hypothetical entry 102, exit 98 and risk budget 40,000, the arithmetic gives 10,000 units. A gap and fill at 94 instead doubles the loss to 80,000. These are arbitrary units, not a trade recommendation. A narrower planned distance can increase gap exposure if it is used to justify more units.
Qualification and proximity disagree
On 2026-10-02, 29 of 90 Korean passers were more than 10% above SMA20. The pass list is not a pullback list. Conversely, proximity alone does not establish long-average slope or RS qualification.
Keep failures under the same rules
Record approaches that never rebound. A moving exit, a fixed previous-day-low exit and closing confirmation are different strategies. Comparing them needs identical samples, fills and costs. This article does not establish superiority for any of those rules.
Data and corrections
See the methodology for calculation rules and the 2026-10-02 signal-disagreement study for the frozen sample. Report a date and URL through contact when you find an error.