Basic Candlestick Patterns

Candlesticks are created by up and down movements in the price. While these price movements sometimes appear random, at other times they form patterns that traders use for analysis or trading purposes. There are many candlestick patterns. Here is a sampling to get you started.

Patterns are separated into bullish and bearish. Bullish patterns indicate that the price is likely to rise, while bearish patterns indicate that the price is likely to fall. No pattern works all the time, as candlestick patterns represent tendencies in price movement, not guarantees.

Bearish Engulfing Pattern

A bearish engulfing pattern develops in an uptrend when sellers outnumber buyers. This action is reflected by a long red real body engulfing a small green real body. The pattern indicates that sellers are back in control and that the price could continue to decline.

Bullish Engulfing Pattern

An engulfing pattern on the bullish side of the market takes place when buyers outpace sellers. This is reflected in the chart by a long green real body engulfing a small red real body. With bulls having established some control, the price could head higher.

Bearish Evening Star

An evening star is a topping pattern. It is identified by the last candle in the pattern opening below the previous day's small real body. The small real body can be either red or green. The last candle closes deep into the real body of the candle two days prior. The pattern shows a stalling of the buyers and then the sellers taking control. More selling could develop.

Bearish Harami

A bearish harami is a small real body (red) completely inside the previous day's real body. This is not so much a pattern to act on, but it could be one to watch. The pattern shows indecision on the part of the buyers. 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.

Bullish Harami

The bullish harami is the opposite of the upside down bearish harami. A downtrend is in play, and a small real body (green) occurs inside the large real body (red) of the previous day. This tells the technician that the trend is pausing. If it is followed by another up day, more upside could be forthcoming.

Bearish Harami Cross

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. The doji is within the real body of the prior session. The implications are the same as the bearish harami.

Bullish Harami Cross

A bullish harami cross occurs in a downtrend, where a down candle is followed by a doji. The doji is within the real body of the prior session. The implications are the same as the bullish harami.

Let's look at a few more patterns in black and white, which are also common colors for candlestick charts.

Bullish Rising Three

This pattern starts out with what is called a "long white day." Then, on the second, third, and fourth trading sessions, small real bodies move the price lower, but they still stay within the price range of the long white day (day one in the pattern). The fifth and last day of the pattern is another long white day.

Even though the pattern shows us that the price is falling for three straight days, a new low is not seen, and the bull traders prepare for the next move up.

A slight variation of this pattern is when the second day gaps up slightly following the first long up day. Everything else about the pattern is the same; it just looks a little different. When that variation occurs, it's called a "bullish mat hold."

Bearish Falling Three

The pattern starts out with a strong down day. This is followed by three small real bodies that make upward progress but stay within the range of the first big down day. The pattern completes when the fifth day makes another large downward move. It shows that sellers are back in control and that the price could head lower.

Bullish Falling Three — Image by Julie Bang © Investopedia 2019

The Bottom Line

As Japanese rice traders discovered centuries ago, investors' emotions surrounding the trading of an asset have a major impact on that asset's movement. Candlesticks help traders to gauge the emotions surrounding a stock, or other assets, helping them make better predictions about where that stock might be headed.

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