I have data that supports some of the TradingMarkets Research observations. TradingMarkets Research
http://biz.yahoo.com/tm/070126/15384.html reports "Average 1-week return of stocks that close down 5+ consecutive days" is + 0.98 %.
I am testing a computer program that buys 1000 shares of stock at the opening following five consecutive lower closing prices then sells at the opening five sessions later.
Profit may be so small that my adjustment for slippage and commission completely offsets the gain.
For example, trading 1000 shares of Federal Express stock (same data used earlier in the thread, 26.31 years, daily price data from 2 January 1980 to 28 April 2006) with no allowance for commission or slippage, no stop loss shows 114 trades and a profit of $ 34520.
If I assume when I buy at the opening price the actual execution price is halfway between the opening price and the highest price of the day (and when I sell at the opening price the actual execution price is halfway between the opening price and the lowest price of the day) then overall the system shows a loss of $ 8099.
It is possible that tests of some securities might show greater profit. Perhaps I should take this to a new thread since it is not a mean reversion technique as there is no mean.