Markup Phase
The Markup Phase is the stage in market cycle analysis between accumulation and distribution where price historically rose persistently as demand absorbed available supply at successively higher levels.
In the Wyckoff four-phase model of market cycles — Accumulation, Markup, Distribution, and Markdown — the Markup Phase is the expansionary leg in which price travels upward from the base established during accumulation. In historical market data, markup phases were characterized by a series of higher price highs and higher price lows, generally accompanied by expanding volume on advances and contracting volume on pullbacks, consistent with the presence of continued demand absorbing supply at each retracement.
The Markup Phase was not typically a straight-line ascent. Historical examples documented periodic re-accumulation zones — smaller sideways consolidations within the uptrend — where price paused to digest prior gains before resuming the advance. Wyckoff analysts distinguished re-accumulation from distribution by examining whether tests of the consolidation range produced signs of continued demand or emergent supply.
Trend lines drawn along successive reaction lows provided a visual framework for tracking the structure of the markup. Breakdowns below these trend lines in the historical record were studied as potential early indications that the markup was losing momentum or transitioning toward the distribution zone. Conversely, pullbacks that held above prior reaction lows and then resumed were historically consistent with a trend that retained its structural integrity.
The Markup Phase is conceptually aligned with the classic bull market stage framework described by Charles Dow and later popularized by Robert Rhea. Dow's 'second phase' of a bull market — where the broader public begins participating and price advances most rapidly — corresponds closely to the Wyckoff markup in both its behavioral characteristics and its relationship to the accumulation base that preceded it.
Volume analysis during markup was considered particularly informative. Historical markup phases where each successive advance brought increasing volume and each pullback showed declining volume were viewed as reflecting healthy demand-supply dynamics, while markup legs with persistently declining volume were noted as potentially thinning in their underlying participation.