A liquidity sweep (also called a liquidity grab or stop hunt) is when price moves just beyond a swing high or low, triggers the orders resting there, and then reverses. It is the SMC name for Wyckoff's spring and upthrust, and one of the most useful signals in the whole toolkit.
Sweep or run?
Price reaching a liquidity pool can end two ways. A sweep takes the liquidity and fails: the candle closes back inside the level and price reverses. A run (a breakout) takes the liquidity and keeps going: candles close beyond the level and hold. The difference is almost always visible in the close.
| Sign | Sweep | Run |
|---|---|---|
| Close | Back inside the level | Beyond the level |
| Wick | Long wick through the level | Small wick; strong body |
| Next candles | Move away from the level | Hold beyond it and continue |
| Structure | Followed by a CHoCH the other way | Followed by a BOS in the same direction |
Sweep plus shift: the core reversal pattern
A sweep on its own is just a wick. It becomes a trade idea when it is followed by a change of character (Module 3) in the opposite direction, ideally with a strong, fast move called displacement. That sequence says: the liquidity was taken, and the other side has stepped in.
Worked example: a sweep of yesterday's high
EUR/USD's previous-day high is 1.0920. In the London session price spikes to 1.0927, then the 15-minute candle closes at 1.0912.
That's a sweep of buy-side liquidity. Two candles later, price closes below the last 15-minute higher low at 1.0898: a bearish CHoCH.
A short idea now has a clear invalidation above the sweep high (1.0927), and a target at the sell-side liquidity below.
Key takeaways
- A liquidity sweep takes the orders beyond a swing point and then reverses.
- A sweep closes back inside the level; a run closes beyond it and continues.
- A sweep followed by a change of character, ideally with displacement, is the core SMC reversal pattern.
- Read sweeps in context: against a strong higher-timeframe trend they often fail.