When it comes to intraday trading, the traders may use several tools for strategic trading. One of these is candlestick patterns. These are crucial tools that provide visual insights into probable price movements and market sentiments over a specific timeframe. These patterns utilise historical price data to create patterns, helping traders anticipate potential reversals, breakouts, or continuations.
Understanding candlestick patterns allows traders to make precise and confident decisions in a fast-paced market. One can time their entry and exit points by referring to these candlestick patterns. Although no pattern guarantees success, understanding them can be quite helpful for intraday traders. In this guide, we will discuss the significance of candlestick patterns and how they can enhance trading accuracy.
List of Candlestick Patterns for Day Trading
Introduced in 18th-century Japan, Candlestick charts display open, high, low, and close prices and are popular in day trading because they clearly show market sentiment. These typical patterns include bullish and bearish reversal patterns, such as the hammer and morning star, as well as engulfing patterns. The continuation patterns comprise the Rising Three Methods and Falling Three Methods.
These representatives can provide valuable information on prices within a day; however, their effectiveness depends on confirmation by volume, momentum indicators, or trend lines. These patterns are frequently employed by day traders to recognise high-probability trades based on fast price action on relatively short timeframes (e.g. 5-15-minute charts).
Source: Investopedia
Bullish Reversal Pattern
Bullish reversal candlestick patterns indicate a possible change from a downtrend to an uptrend. These patterns are typically composed of one to three candles and are strongest when they appear following a prolonged decline. The following are popularly utilised patterns explained with structure, meaning, and statistical performance.
Key Bullish Reversal Patterns
Bullish Engulfing: A large bullish candle completely engulfs the preceding smaller bearish candle, indicating strong buying pressure.
Piercing Line: A two-line pattern where a bullish candle closes above the midpoint of the previous bearish candle, indicating renewal of buying.
Morning Star: A three-candle formation initially long bearish, followed by a small body (typically a doji), and then a long bullish candle. It represents the exhaustion of selling pressure and a bullish recovery.
Tweezer Bottom: Two similar lows in consecutive candles following a downtrend. It's a traditional reversal signal, but is frequently employed in conjunction with confirmation.
Entry & Risk Management
Confirmation: Wait for the subsequent candle to close above the pattern's high as a confirmation trigger.
Volume support: Increased trading volume supports pattern integrity, particularly for the Morning Star and Engulfing patterns.
Stop-loss: Set just below the pattern's low (Hammer or Tweezer Bottom) to manage risk.
Targets: Employ recent resistance areas or ATR-based multiples to determine a take-profit level.
Bulleted Summary
Hammer / Inverted Hammer: One-candle reversal; small body + extended shadow; confirm on next bullish close.
Bullish Engulfing: Powerful two-candle reversal; bullish body overruns bearish body; ~65% reliability.
Piercing Line: Mid-range close of a bullish candle indicates growing demand.
Morning Star: Three-candle reversal displaying sequential change of control from sellers to buyers; ~65% reliability.
Tweezer Bottom: Duplicated lows in two candles function as a double bottom, and need confirmation.
Bullish reversal patterns are essential tools for day traders, particularly when combined with volume analysis and risk management. Utilising these patterns with trendlines, oscillators, or moving averages improves consistency.
Source: Investopedia
Bearish Reversal Pattern
Bearish reversal candlestick patterns are typically found at the termination of uptrends, indicating a probable shift to downward prices. Traders use these patterns to ready themselves for shorting or closing long positions.
Major Bearish Reversal Patterns
Shooting Star: A single-candle pattern with a diminutive body close to the low and a tall upper shadow (2–3 times the body); signals a rally failure and a trend switch to sellers.
Hanging Man: Like Hammer, but following an uptrend with an extended lower shadow. Its bearish aspect is the indication of spent buying pressure.
Bearish Engulfing: A large bearish candle engulfs the preceding smaller bullish candle, indicating significant selling pressure.
Dark Cloud Cover: A bearish candle opens higher than the previous bullish candle but closes far into its body, bearish sentiment spurt.
Evening Star: Three candles: long bullish, small indecision body (doji or small real body), then long bearish candle signals top exhaustion.
Tweezer Top: Two candles with similar highs after an uptrend indicate a potential reversal point.
Entry & Risk Management
Confirmation: Close below the pattern's low is considered confirmation (e.g., after Shooting Star).
Volume Support: The expanded bearish candle volume confirms the commitment.
Stop-Loss: Above the pattern high, such as the upper wick of a Shooting Star or Tweezer Top.
Targets: Support areas, Fibonacci retracements, or ATR multiples to control exits.
Bulleted Summary
Shooting Star/Hanging Man: One-candle weak signals after rally; looks like inverted hammer or hammer in downtrend context.
Bearish Engulfing: Strong reversal demonstration—strong selling overwhelms buying.
Dark Cloud Cover: Provides verification from a bearish candle that breaks the previous candle's gap, taking a significant amount of volume.
Evening Star: Three-step reversal; high confirmation when volume surges on last bearish candle.
Tweezer Top: Two highs create resistance; employs the following candle for confirmation.
Bearish reversal formations offer key alertness for day traders contemplating short sales or risk management. Performance is enhanced when combined with volume, RSI divergences, or trendline breaks.
Source: Investopedia, Livemint
Continuation Pattern
Continuation patterns of candlesticks indicate that the existing trend, whether up or down, is likely to continue after a temporary halt. They are critical for trailing trends and scaling positions.
Major Continuation Patterns
Three Methods Rising: Following a robust bullish candle, three minor down candles (within its range), and another robust bullish candle. It indicates bullish trend continuation.
Three Methods Falling: The reverse of the above, it reaffirms bearish trend continuation.
Doji: Generally neutral, but in a trend, a doji could be a minor halt before the trend resumes—context required.
Spinning Top / High Wave: Both are small bodies with upper and lower shadows, which during trends indicate consolidation—lack of reversal indicates continuation.
Three White Soldiers / Three Black Crows: While usually signals of reversal, they can confirm ongoing trends when they occur during mid-trend: three consecutive long candles in the direction of the trend.
Island Reversal: Proper reversal, but when partial, islands can function as continuation signals because of liquidity trapped.
Entry & Risk Management
For Rising/Falling Three Methods: Enter on final strong candle breakout; stops are set below the consolidation candles with small bodies.
For Doji or Spinning Tops: An Aggressive trader can enter on the candle close in the direction of the trend with a tight stop-loss; a conservative trader will wait for a breakout.
Confirm with Volume: The continuation candle must demonstrate volume consistent with the trend (greater for bullish, lesser for bearish).
Targets: Employ trendline projections, near-term swing highs/lows, or channel trends to control exits.
Bulleted Summary
Doji / Spinning Top: Reflect consolidation; apply context and breakout confirmation.
Three White Soldiers / Three Black Crows: Confirm the strength of the trend when not at extremes.
Island Reversal (unsuccessful): Occasionally implies continuation if reversal does not hold up.
Continuation patterns are crucial for trading with the trend. Their accuracy improves considerably when combined with confirming volume patterns and trend-following tools, such as moving averages or MACD.
Source: Investopedia
Conclusion
The candlestick patterns provide valuable background knowledge of daily market action, allowing day traders to detect possible reversals and continuation patterns across different time frames. Regular patterns, such as Hammer, Engulfing, or Morning Star, provide statistically supported signals that are, in most cases, between 60% and 70% successful. However, they must always be confirmed by either volume, price movement, or technical indicators.
Identification with constructions such as the Rising/Falling Three Methods or quiet Spinning Tops helps traders conform to the trends. Although there is no discernible pattern that guarantees profitability, a skilled combination of candlestick signals, risk management, and technical tools may ensure a considerable improvement in decision-making and profit outcomes in fast-paced intraday trading.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Bajaj Broking Financial Services Ltd. (BFSL) makes no recommendations to buy or sell securities.