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AI Analyst
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ICT's version of a trend change: a liquidity sweep, then a displacement that breaks the swing that made it.
Illustration, not real market data.
What it is
A market structure shift is ICT's name for the first break against the trend, with conditions attached. Price first sweeps liquidity (runs a high or low), then moves away with displacement and breaks the short-term swing that created the sweep. It is the second step of ICT's 2022 model.
It is close to SMC's change of character (CHoCH), and many traders use the two names for the same thing. The difference is the context: an MSS is expected to come straight after a sweep and with displacement, usually leaving a fair value gap behind.
How to spot it
Mark the liquidity: an old high, equal highs, or the session high.
Wait for price to run it and turn.
The MSS is the energetic break of the swing low (for a bearish shift) that sits between the start of the sweep move and its top.
Traders disagree on whether a wick through the swing counts; most want a candle body to close beyond it.
How to use it
After the MSS, look for an entry on the pullback into the fair value gap the displacement left, with the stop above the sweep high.
Target the opposite liquidity, such as the low of the range or the previous session's low.
Common mistakes
Calling any break of a swing an MSS, with no sweep before it.
Accepting a slow, overlapping break; without displacement it is just noise.
Entering on the break candle itself instead of waiting for the pullback.
