As such, you need to test the strategies and patterns you want to use, before trading real money. One of our favorite indicators to define overbought and oversold conditions is the RSI indicator. The traditional interpretation is that readings above 70 signal an overbought market, and readings below 30 an oversold market. While the spinning top on its own is believed to signal a reversal of the trend, it’s not enough to act on alone. You need additional filters and conditions to ensure that the odds are in your favor. However, according to some, the pattern shouldn’t be interpreted as a reversal pattern, but more like a general sign of indecision in the market.
Simple patterns
2 hours later, 3 consecutive big bearish pin bars form, telling you the bears have probably won the battle and that price could be about to fall, which it then does. These spinning tops can signal a reversal may soon begin, but DO NOT take them as entry signals. Most of the time, they form at market turning points, usually near a recent high or low. Most traders use indicators to confirm the signal of a spinning top and gather more facts on the price trends. Trading with the spinning top pattern can be done using derivatives like trading contracts for difference (CFDs).
Abandoned Baby Top/Bottom
In this example, the price first had a superb move higher, forming the pole of the flag. If you check any chart, you will see that the Spinning Top candlestick is very common. You already know that a market will cycle between periods of low volatility and high volatility. Get virtual funds, test your strategy and prove your skills in real market conditions.
How To Use Spinning Tops In Your Trading
- It has a small body closing in the middle of the candle’s range, with long wicks on both sides.
- Always consider other patterns and indicators, confirm the signal, and make sure not to stray from your trading plan and risk management strategy.
- Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite.
- If you have read about the Doji pattern, you might be a little confused by now, since it closely resembles a spinning top.
The only difference being that the upper wick is long, while the lower wick is short. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Please consider the Margin Trading Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), Risk Disclosure Notice and Target Market Determination before entering into any CFD transaction with us.
Spinning Top Candlestick Pattern – (Trading Strategy Analysis and Backtest Definition & Meaning)
Spinning tops, even though they can signal a reversal, often don’t – sometimes price simply stalls or retraces slightly after they form, hardly reversing an inch. Needless to say, we want to avoid these tops and focus on the ones that have the best chance of causing a reversal. Spinning tops form when the bulls and bears battle for control of price, but neither spinning top candlestick pattern side can overwhelm the other. Having a detailed knowledge of candlesticks and what they signal is one of the key requirements for successful trading. The price attempts to breakdown below the swing low, but forms a Spinning Top candlestick instead. This was followed by a pause where the formation of Spinning Top candlesticks indicated low volatility.
It means that a spinning top may alert about an upcoming crucial change in a trend. However, a confirmation from the next candle is key to determine whether the prices will drop after the uptrend. A spinning top is a candlestick pattern with a short real body that’s vertically centered between long upper and lower shadows. The candlestick pattern represents indecision about the future direction of the asset. There is usually a significant gap down between the first candlestick’s closing price, and the green candlestick’s opening.
We will look to buy a failed breakdown at an important swing low or support zone, within the context of an overall uptrend. Entry was triggered when the price broke out of the flag and more importantly, closed above it. An exit signal would be generated when you get a close below (for bull flags) or above (for bear flags) the 20 SMA.
There are a few ways to trade when you see the spinning top candlestick pattern. Most traders use technical indicators to confirm what they believe a spinning top is signalling, because these indicators can provide more insight into price trends. A daily candlestick represents a market’s opening, high, low, and closing (OHLC) prices. The rectangular real body, or just body, is colored with a dark color (red or black) for a drop in price and a light color (green or white) for a price increase. The lines above and below the body are referred to as wicks or tails, and they represent the day’s maximum high and low. This resulted in the closing price reverting back/very close to the opening price.
Please ensure you understand how this product works and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing money. Note the long lower tail, which indicates that sellers made another attempt lower, but were rebuffed and the price erased most or all of the losses on the day. The important interpretation is that this is the first time buyers have surfaced in strength in the current down move, which is suggestive of a change in directional sentiment.
It’s one of the main misunderstandings traders have about the spinning top and a key reason why price action traders lose money. Each top represented a significant battle between the bulls and bears; bears wanted price to keep falling, bulls wanted higher prices. Once they did, no buyers were left to stop price falling, resulting in a sharp decline before a new battle commenced at a lower price. It just means one side was able to edge the other slightly, but not enough for a decisive victory. It’s only when the body forms right at the end that it’s not classed as a spinning top… we call these pin bars. They’ll outnumber all other candlesticks by at least 3-1 – and that’s being conservative.
Candlesticks are great forward-looking indicators, but confirmation by subsequent candles is often essential to identifying a specific pattern and making a trade based on it. In particular, candlestick patterns frequently give off signals of indecision, alerting traders of a potential change in direction. Over time, individual candlesticks form patterns that traders can use to recognise major support and resistance levels.
Watching a candlestick pattern form can be time consuming and irritating. If you recognize a pattern and receive confirmation, then you have a basis for taking a trade. Let the market do its thing, and you will eventually get a high-probability candlestick signal. A hanging man pattern suggests an important potential reversal lower and is the corollary to the bullish hammer formation. The story behind the candle is that, for the first time in many days, selling interest has entered the market, leading to the long tail to the downside. The buyers fought back, and the end result is a small, dark body at the top of the candle.
After price falls and a bearish engulf forms (also a good reversal signal – and probably the better entry option), price begins to move sideways, and another spinning top appears. Here, in a prevailing downtrend, the price formed several Spinning Top candlesticks but failed to reverse. 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.
Assessing the reward potential of a spinning top trade is also difficult since the candlestick pattern doesn’t provide a price target or exit plan. Traders need to utilize other candlestick patterns, strategies, or indicators to find a profitable exit. A spinning top that occurs at the top of an uptrend could be a sign that bulls are losing their control and the trend may reverse. Similarly, a spinning top at the bottom of a downtrend could signal that bears are losing control and bulls may take the reins. Spinning tops are a sign of indecision in the asset; the long upper and lower shadows indicate there wasn’t a meaningful change in price between the open and close. The bulls sent the price sharply higher and the bears sent the price sharply lower, but in the end, the price closed near where it opened.
It indicates a buying pressure, followed by a selling pressure that was not strong enough to drive the market price down. If the closing price is above the opening price, then normally a green or hollow candlestick (white with black outline) is shown. If the opening price is above the closing price then a filled (normally red or black) candlestick is drawn. They are commonly formed by the opening, high, low, and closing prices of a financial instrument. A doji (plural is also doji) is a candlestick formation where the open and close are identical, or nearly so.
Sometimes a pattern will only work in a highly volatile market, while the opposite sometimes holds true as well. Now, another great way to see whether a spinning top is worth taking or not, is by using some sort of filter that measures overbought and oversold conditions. Generally, when securities like stocks have gone too far in one direction, they tend to revert back. Following this, we might only want to take a trade if the market is overbought or oversold, depending on if you’re going short or long. Most markets have some type of seasonal or time-based tendencies, meaning that they aren’t equally bullish or bearish all the time. For example, there might be certain days, months, hours or weeks, that time after time show bearish or bullish tendencies.
Whereas a period of low volatility is when the market just pauses without making any meaningful moves. A period of low volatility will be followed by a period of high volatility and vice versa. Discover how you can generate an extra source of income in less than 20 minutes a day—even if you have no trading experience or a small starting capital. Trade on one of the most established and easy-to-use trading platforms. No matter your experience level, download our free trading guides and develop your skills. CFI is the official provider of the Capital Markets & Securities Analyst (CMSA)® certification program, designed to transform anyone into a world-class financial analyst.
When the breakout fails, the stops of all those who went long will be hit, and it will further add to the selling pressure. When a breakdown fails, all those who shorted at the breakdown will see their stops getting hit and start covering their shorts, which further adds to the upward momentum. The entry could have been taken just before the close, or at the next day’s opening. And since the price is trending, a continuation in the direction of the trend becomes more likely. Also, it is safe to assume that most traders are tracking more than one stock/pair.
The spinning top candlestick pattern represents indecision and uncertainty about the future course of an asset. It indicates that the bulls sent the price higher, while the bears pushed it low again. However, a spinning top can signify a future price reversal if confirmed by the next candle. 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.
It indicates a strong buying pressure, as the price is pushed up to or above the mid-price of the previous day. 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. This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Australia Pty Ltd. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result.
If you don’t feel ready to trade on live markets, you can develop your skills in a risk-free environment by opening an IG demo account. If a candlestick pattern doesn’t indicate a change in market direction, it is what is known as a continuation pattern. These can help traders to identify a period of rest in the market, when there is market indecision or neutral price movement. Let’s assume you’re following Aston Martin’s share price, which opens the trading day at 442p. As sellers enter the market, the share price starts moving, hitting a low of 430p. Buyers start to push back, and the share price reaches a high of 455p before the market settles and the share price closes at 445p.
Explore the latest MetaTrader platform and access advanced trading features and tools. When it comes to the speed we execute your trades, no expense is spared. Check out our sponsorships with global institutions and athletes, built on shared values of excellence. Receive $50 for you and your friend when you convert them into an active trader of ThinkMarkets.
Traditionally, candlesticks are best used on a daily basis, the idea being that each candle captures a full day’s worth of news, data, and price action. This suggests that candles are more useful to longer-term or swing traders. Overbought and oversold conditions can be identified using indicators like RSI or by considering the highest/lowest close over a certain number of bars. The effectiveness of spinning top patterns may vary based on the timeframe and market conditions. Now, there might be that single trading strategies work better or worse on certain days, but you could also look at the general tendency of the market itself. Since candlestick patterns are representations of market action, they give us interesting insights into what the market has been up to.
The Spinning Top candlestick pattern is most effective at these particular points. A spinning top indicates exhaustion after a cycle of uptrends or downtrends price pattern. The gap between the opening price and closing price means that no progress was achieved during the timeframe of the candle. The long upper and lower wick displays a higher level of volatility that occurred during the trading period, with neither bulls nor bears dominating.
As mentioned, the Spinning Top candlestick tells you that there is a pause or indecision in the market. Join thousands of traders who choose a mobile-first broker for trading the markets. Harness the market intelligence you need to build your trading strategies. Deepen your knowledge of technical analysis indicators and hone your skills as a trader.
Active traders should not trade instantly after the formation of a spinning top but rather wait for the confirmation from technical indicators after the formation of the next candle. It will help eliminate uncertainties in the market since the signal trend reversal will have been established. It is formed of a long red body, followed by three small green bodies, and another red body – the green candles are all contained within the range of the bearish bodies. It shows traders that the bulls do not have enough strength to reverse the trend. Bullish patterns may form after a market downtrend, and signal a reversal of price movement. They are an indicator for traders to consider opening a long position to profit from any upward trajectory.
This will help you in predicting exactly when price is going to reverse from a level or zone. Now, on its own, this isn’t a great signal because we don’t know whether the zone will hold or not. After a sharp rise, Eur/Usd moves into a supply zone and begins to show bearish price action. We don’t actually get an entry in this case – after the top, price reverses on its own and jumps higher. A spinning top appears 4 -5 hours after price enters the zone – some would call this a doji, but it’s really a spinning top. It’s simple enough – just watch for a spinning top once price hits a level or enters a demand zone.
The formation of the candlestick indicates a level of indecision among buyers and sellers, which depicts price reversals, hence creating a neutral pattern. However, the pattern of the candlestick is mostly found within an uptrend, a downtrend, and a sideways movement, indicating a potential reversal. The bullish trend increases the price further, while the bearish trend lowers the price until the overall price closes where it opened. After a strong price advance or decline, spinning tops can signal a potential price reversal if the candle that follows confirms. A spinning top can have a close above or below the open, but the two prices are always close together. The spinning top candlestick chart pattern is a formation that occurs when buyers and sellers balance each other out, resulting in similar opening and closing price levels.
