Candlestick Charts: Anatomy, Patterns, and Interpretation

This makes candlestick analysis a powerful tool for predicting future market behavior, essential for traders in diverse markets like Forex, crypto, and the stock market. The first pair, Hammer and Hanging Man, consists of identical candlesticks with small bodies and long lower shadows. The second pair, Shooting Star and Inverted Hammer, also contains identical candlesticks, but with small bodies and long upper shadows.

Start with a free account to explore 20+ always-free courses and hundreds of finance templates and cheat sheets. Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master’s in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses.

The price range is the distance between the top of the upper shadow and the bottom of the lower shadow moved through during the time frame of the candlestick. The range is calculated by subtracting the low price from the high price. The answer (of course) depends on your timeline, goals and risk tolerance.

A bearish harami cross occurs in an uptrend, where an up candle is followed by a doji—the session where the candlestick has a virtually equal open and close. Candlestick charts show that emotion by visually representing the size of price moves with different colors. Traders use the candlesticks to make trading decisions based on irregularly occurring patterns that help forecast the short-term direction of the price. Never rely on a single data point when making assumptions about a stock’s next potential move, especially volatile securities like penny stocks. A bearish engulfing pattern is the opposite, with a small bullish candlestick followed by a larger bearish one.

An evening star is a bearish reversal pattern where the first candlestick continues the uptrend. The third candlestick closes below the midpoint of the first candlestick. One of the more easily recognized stock candlestick patterns is the bullish engulfing signal, which signals a downtrend reversal could be on the horizon. The pattern, called “engulfing,” involves two consecutive candlesticks, with the second completely shadowing the first. The second engulfing candle should have a body encompassing the entire area of the first candle from the intraday high to the intraday low.

After a long uptrend, long white candlestick or at resistance, focus turns to the failed rally and a potential bearish reversal. The Shooting Star is a bearish reversal pattern that forms after an advance and in the star position, hence its name. The candlestick forms when prices gap higher on the open, advance during the session, and close well off their highs. The resulting candlestick has a long upper shadow and small black or white body.

A symmetrical triangle suggests indecision in the market, while an ascending triangle indicates a potential bullish reversal and a descending triangle indicates a potential bearish reversal. Each candlestick represents a specific time period, and the patterns of these candlesticks over time can help traders identify trends and potential trading opportunities. Candlestick charting is believed to have originated in Japan in the 18th century and was used to track the prices of rice. The three black crows candlestick pattern comprises of three consecutive long red candles with short or non-existent wicks. Each session opens at a similar price to the previous day, but selling pressures push the price lower and lower with each close. Over time, individual candlesticks form patterns that traders can use to recognise major support and resistance levels.

Doji indicate that the forces of supply and demand are becoming more evenly matched and a change in trend may be near. Doji alone are not enough to mark a reversal and further confirmation may be warranted. ​A bearish harami is a small Forex Brokers black or red real body completely inside the previous day’s white or green real body. If the price continues higher afterward, all may still be well with the uptrend, but a down candle following this pattern indicates a further slide.

  1. Yes, candlestick analysis can be effective if you follow the rules and wait for confirmation, usually in the next day’s candle.
  2. This may come as a gap down, long black candlestick, or decline below the long white candlestick’s open.
  3. ​A bearish engulfing pattern develops in an uptrend when sellers outnumber buyers.

By using the open of the first candlestick, close of the second candlestick, and high/low of the pattern, a Bullish Engulfing Pattern or Piercing Pattern blends into a Hammer. The long lower shadow of the Hammer signals a potential bullish reversal. As with the Hammer, blackbull markets review both the Bullish Engulfing Pattern and the Piercing Pattern require bullish confirmation. The upper and lower shadows on candlesticks can provide valuable information about the trading session. Upper shadows represent the session high and lower shadows the session low.

How do you read a candlestick chart?

Beyond individual candlesticks, the patterns they form are crucial for traders. From the uncertainty depicted by a Doji to the bullish reversal indicated by a Hammer, each pattern offers unique insights. For instance, the Engulfing pattern, observed in markets ranging from the NASDAQ to EURUSD currency pairs, can signal major trend shifts, guiding traders in their decision-making process. Daily candlesticks are the most effective way to view a candlestick chart, as they capture a full day of market info and price action. Candlestick charts are a technical tool that packs data for multiple time frames into single price bars.

Get Started

Candlesticks are a suitable technique for trading any liquid financial asset such as stocks, foreign exchange and futures. A candlestick chart (also called Japanese candlestick chart or K-line[1]) is a style of financial chart used to describe price movements of a security, derivative, or currency. As Japanese rice traders discovered axitrader review centuries ago, traders’ emotions have a major impact on that asset’s movement. Candlesticks help traders to gauge the emotions behind an asset’s price movements, believing that specific patterns indicate where the asset’s price might be headed. A candlestick has a body and shadows, sometimes called the candle and wicks.

Key Components of a Candlestick

Usually, the market will gap slightly higher on opening and rally to an intra-day high before closing at a price just above the open – like a star falling to the ground. It indicates that there was a significant sell-off during the day, but that buyers were able to push the price up again. The large sell-off is often seen as an indication that the bulls are losing control of the market. The only difference being that the upper wick is long, while the lower wick is short. The technical analysis definition is a trading tool and method of analysing financial…

This ability to translate market sentiment into a visual format gives traders an edge, especially in volatile markets where rapid interpretation of data is crucial. Candlestick charts are not just tools in technical analysis; they are the visual language of the financial markets. Their origins in 18th-century Japan and subsequent global adoption underscore their enduring relevance and efficacy in market analysis. A hammer shows that although there were selling pressures during the day, ultimately a strong buying pressure drove the price back up. The colour of the body can vary, but green hammers indicate a stronger bull market than red hammers. A candlestick chart (also called Chinese candlestick chart or K-line[6]) is a style of financial chart used to describe price movements of a security, derivative, or currency.

Leave a Comment