What is a candlestick?
A candlestick is a way of displaying information about an asset’s price movement. Candlestick charts are one of the most popular components of technical analysis, enabling traders to interpret price information quickly and from just a few price bars. This article focuses on a daily chart, wherein each candlestick details a single day’s trading. It has three basic features:
(1) The body, which represents the open-to-close range
(2) The wick, or shadow, that indicates the intra-day high and low
(3) The color, which reveals the direction of market movement – a green (or white) body indicates a price increase, while a red (or black) body shows a price decrease.
Over time, individual candlesticks form patterns that traders can use to recognize major support and resistance levels. There are a great many candlestick patterns that indicate an opportunity within a market – some provide insight into the balance between buying and selling pressures, while others identify continuation patterns or market indecision.
Before you start trading, it’s important to familiarise yourself with the basics of candlestick patterns and how they can inform your decisions.
Hammer
The hammer candlestick pattern is formed of a short body with a long lower wick and is found at the bottom of a downward trend. A hammer shows that although there were selling pressures during the day, ultimately a strong buying pressure drove the price back up. The color of the body can vary, but green hammers indicate a stronger bull market than red hammers.
Inverse hammer
A similarly bullish pattern is the inverted hammer. The only difference being that the upper wick is long, while the lower wick is short. It indicates a buying pressure, followed by a selling pressure that was not strong enough to drive the market price down. The inverse hammer suggests that buyers will soon have control of the market.
Bullish engulfing
The bullish engulfing pattern is formed of two candlesticks. The first candle is a short red body that is completely engulfed by a larger green candle. Though the second day opens lower than the first, the bullish market pushes the price up, culminating in an obvious win for buyers.
Piercing line
The piercing line is also a two-stick pattern, made up of a long red candle, followed by a long green candle. There is usually a significant gap down between the first candlestick’s closing price, and the green candlestick’s opening. It indicates a strong buying pressure, as the price is pushed up to or above the mid-price of the previous day.
Morning star
The morning star candlestick pattern is considered a sign of hope in a bleak market downtrend. It is a three-stick pattern: one short-bodied candle between a long red and long green. Traditionally, the ‘star’ will have no overlap with the longer bodies, as the market gaps both on open and close. It signals that the selling pressure of the first day is subsiding, and a bull market is on the horizon.
Three white soldiers
The three white soldiers pattern occurs over three days. It consists of consecutive long green (or white) candles with small wicks, which open and close progressively higher than the previous day. It is a very strong bullish signal that occurs after a downtrend and shows a steady advance of buying pressure.
Hanging man
The hanging man is the bearish equivalent of a hammer; it has the same shape but forms at the end of an uptrend. 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.
Shooting star
The shooting star is the same shape as the inverted hammer, but is formed in an uptrend: it has a small lower body and a long upper wick. 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.
Bearish engulfing
A bearish engulfing pattern occurs at the end of an uptrend. The first candle has a small green body that is engulfed by a subsequent long red candle. It signifies a peak or slowdown of price movement and is a sign of an impending market downturn. The lower the second candle goes, the more significant the trend is likely to be.
Evening star
The evening star is a three-candlestick pattern that is the equivalent of the bullish morning star. It is formed of a short candle sandwiched between a long green candle and a large red candlestick. It indicates the reversal of an uptrend and is particularly strong when the third candlestick erases the gains of the first candle.
And many more...
A candlestick is a way of displaying information about an asset’s price movement. Candlestick charts are one of the most popular components of technical analysis, enabling traders to interpret price information quickly and from just a few price bars. This article focuses on a daily chart, wherein each candlestick details a single day’s trading. It has three basic features:
(1) The body, which represents the open-to-close range
(2) The wick, or shadow, that indicates the intra-day high and low
(3) The color, which reveals the direction of market movement – a green (or white) body indicates a price increase, while a red (or black) body shows a price decrease.
Over time, individual candlesticks form patterns that traders can use to recognize major support and resistance levels. There are a great many candlestick patterns that indicate an opportunity within a market – some provide insight into the balance between buying and selling pressures, while others identify continuation patterns or market indecision.
Before you start trading, it’s important to familiarise yourself with the basics of candlestick patterns and how they can inform your decisions.
Hammer
The hammer candlestick pattern is formed of a short body with a long lower wick and is found at the bottom of a downward trend. A hammer shows that although there were selling pressures during the day, ultimately a strong buying pressure drove the price back up. The color of the body can vary, but green hammers indicate a stronger bull market than red hammers.
Inverse hammer
A similarly bullish pattern is the inverted hammer. The only difference being that the upper wick is long, while the lower wick is short. It indicates a buying pressure, followed by a selling pressure that was not strong enough to drive the market price down. The inverse hammer suggests that buyers will soon have control of the market.
Bullish engulfing
The bullish engulfing pattern is formed of two candlesticks. The first candle is a short red body that is completely engulfed by a larger green candle. Though the second day opens lower than the first, the bullish market pushes the price up, culminating in an obvious win for buyers.
Piercing line
The piercing line is also a two-stick pattern, made up of a long red candle, followed by a long green candle. There is usually a significant gap down between the first candlestick’s closing price, and the green candlestick’s opening. It indicates a strong buying pressure, as the price is pushed up to or above the mid-price of the previous day.
Morning star
The morning star candlestick pattern is considered a sign of hope in a bleak market downtrend. It is a three-stick pattern: one short-bodied candle between a long red and long green. Traditionally, the ‘star’ will have no overlap with the longer bodies, as the market gaps both on open and close. It signals that the selling pressure of the first day is subsiding, and a bull market is on the horizon.
Three white soldiers
The three white soldiers pattern occurs over three days. It consists of consecutive long green (or white) candles with small wicks, which open and close progressively higher than the previous day. It is a very strong bullish signal that occurs after a downtrend and shows a steady advance of buying pressure.
Hanging man
The hanging man is the bearish equivalent of a hammer; it has the same shape but forms at the end of an uptrend. 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.
Shooting star
The shooting star is the same shape as the inverted hammer, but is formed in an uptrend: it has a small lower body and a long upper wick. 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.
Bearish engulfing
A bearish engulfing pattern occurs at the end of an uptrend. The first candle has a small green body that is engulfed by a subsequent long red candle. It signifies a peak or slowdown of price movement and is a sign of an impending market downturn. The lower the second candle goes, the more significant the trend is likely to be.
Evening star
The evening star is a three-candlestick pattern that is the equivalent of the bullish morning star. It is formed of a short candle sandwiched between a long green candle and a large red candlestick. It indicates the reversal of an uptrend and is particularly strong when the third candlestick erases the gains of the first candle.
And many more...
