Play the Merck chart challenge
Merck (MRK), Pharmaceuticals. This challenge is 200 sessions, from December 28, 2007 to October 13, 2008, plus 60 earlier sessions of context. You picked the company on this page. On the chart the name and the dates are hidden, and the price is rescaled so the close before session 1 equals 100.
Play this chartThe shape of this chart
Merck from December 28, 2007 to October 13, 2008 falls −49.9%. The drawdown is −56.7% and the low is on October 9, 2008, session 198. The worst session comes earlier, March 31, 2008 at −14.7%, so the damage is spread out. Both halves are down, −33.5% then −24.6%. The window ends in the middle of the 2008 crash. Buy and hold is deep underwater on the last session.
What you trade
Buy and hold over these 200 sessions finishes at −49.9%, and the drop from a high inside the window reaches −56.7%. The low is session 198 (October 9, 2008). Beating that benchmark depends on how much of the decline you sit out or sell short, and on whether you get back in if the chart turns. The worst session is March 31, 2008, at −14.7%.
This page names Merck because this challenge is that company. The daily puzzle and a random practice game keep the company hidden. Inside this round the chart still hides the name and the dates until you finish.
Other chart challenges
A lesson that fits this chart
ATR (Average True Range) — How much the price moves per day