how to trade bearish and bullish pennants: How To Identify and Trade Pennant Patterns?

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This pattern consists of a single candlestick with a nearly identical open and close. In this guide, we’ll explain what the doji candlestick is and how traders can interpret it. One way to place your stop loss is on the resistance line of the pennant. This will help you manage your risk in case the breakout does not occur or the market reverses course.

With both strategies, your stop is far closer than the point at which you take profit. This is one reason why pennants are so sought after by traders – relative to other patterns, the risk-reward ratio tends to be high. For our EUR/USD trade, for example, you might be risking 10 or 20 points in exchange for 200 points of potential profit.

How to Trade Bullish and Bearish Pennants in Forex

Both are very similar in terms of structure, and it may take some practice before an investor can readily tell the difference between the two. These short-term patterns that last only a two to three weeks in length can be indicated by an initial significant volume move followed by a tapering off period. Then another strong volume increases at the end as the break out occurs. First, the bullish pennant pattern occurs during a strong uptrend, while the bearish one occurs during a downtrend. A bullish pennant pattern is created when the price action rallies and then moves sideways in a narrowing range before resuming the prevailing uptrend.

This includes being aware of the potential for false breakouts, as well as the bearish pennant reversal probability. A breakdown occurs when prices move lower, and close below the support trend line of the formation. You will see prices move up and down between two converging trend lines, which form a triangular flat shape at the bottom of the market. You should also pay attention to the bear pennant trading volume.

That way, we’d be out of the https://g-markets.net/ right away in case the breakdown was a fake out. Discover the range of markets and learn how they work – with IG Academy’s online course. Like we discussed earlier, the size of the breakout move is around the height of the mast .

Step 1: Identify the Trend

Because of this, the price usually consolidates and forms a tiny symmetrical triangle, which is called a pennant . Candlestick analysis is one of the most important concepts in price action analysis. The goal of the procedure is to look at how a chart looks and then using this information to predict how the price will move in the future. Please ensure you understand how this product works and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing money.

Their occurrence helps technical analysts predict future price variations. The trader places a Take Profit order depending on their risk tolerance. In this case, the trader expects the price to make half of the decrease of $10,550 prior to the pause of the bearish trend. Thus, the trader places the Take Profit order around $48,000, which the market does hit after a few days.

Bull Pennant vs Bear Pennant

The price target for pennants is often established by applying the initial flagpole’s height to the point at which the price breaks out from the pennant. Some traders use the relative strength index lines to make sure they deal with the bear pennant pattern. In the consolidation period, the RSI lines are expected to narrow, and the asset will get overbought. Post-breakout price usually comes with a new resistance level. Today we’ll have a look at chart patterns – which ones are the most popular, what do they look like, and how you can leverage them in your own trading!

Always use look at other indicators to assist in the final trading decision. Lastly, the current trend of a share should always be respected – preempting a change can prove costly. Our second and final target will be at the 100% projection of the flagpole as measured from the breakout point. You can see that level marked as the lower red line on the chart. You will also see the bar that triggered our second target circled in green as well. The extreme swing high within the pennant pattern must not exceed the 50% retracement of the prior move, the flagpole.

What Is a Pennant Chart Pattern in Technical Analysis?

The breakout from this consolidation typically occurs to the upside, signaling a continuation of the uptrend. The pattern is considered bullish because it reflects the underlying psychology of traders during an uptrend. Notice on the image above, the bullish pennant pattern occurs after a sharp price move to the upside.

It can be applied to any number of financial markets, and can be found at all degrees of trend from the very minor to the very long term. It’s a simple pattern to recognize on the price chart, however, there are some nuances in correctly labeling it. The first target was reached a short time after the entry, and represents the price that measures 50% the length of the flagpole measured from the breakout point. And the second target would be set at the price which equates to the 100% length of the flagpole measured from the breakout point.

It is this flag pole that separate the bearish pennant with other patterns. Like with bullish pennants, this causes the market’s price to consolidate. But consolidation can’t last forever, and without enough bullish sentiment to recover, the market turns bearish once more. Once it moves outside of its support line, any sellers who have been holding back jump on – sending it to new lows. The bullish pennant pattern can occur over lots of different time frames. Day traders look for them on second or minute charts, while longer-term traders spot ones that arise over weeks or even months.

• The Pennantrepresents a pause to consolidate, retracing a small part of the initial rally within a tight channel.
• In my experience, this chart pattern is very bearish because the overall market is pessimistic, and traders don’t feel like catching a falling knife.
• Notice here that entry occurred quite a bit below the support level just one bar prior.
• You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
• As this happens, it tends to form a pattern, which is known as a bearish pennant.
• A flag is a technical charting pattern that looks like a flag on a flagpole and suggests a continuation of the current trend.

When this happens, we would anticipate how to trade bearish and bullish pennantss to move lower, with the target price that is the same as the distance traveled in the prior flagpole. They can be bullish or bearish in nature depending on the trend’s initial direction. As seen by the above chart, the bearish pennant pattern is identified by converging trend lines forming a pennant that is sloping upwards at the bottom end. The pattern is somewhat similar to a symmetrical triangle formed within a smaller number of candles, but preceded by a sharp bearish drop.

The flagpole of the pennant pattern must display strong bullish characteristics in the price action. Soon after this period of relative quiet ends, we can expect another push lower as the selling pressure intensifies once again. It’s important to understand that pennant patterns are fractal in nature, meaning that they can occur at all degrees of trend from the shortest to the longest. Additionally they can form in any freely traded liquid market. The second is to use the general rule of thumb that markets will often revert briefly before a full breakout begins.

A bearish pennant is a pattern that is similar to a bearish flag. The only difference between a pennant and a flag is the fact that the flag is shaped like a rectangle while a pennant has a triangle shape. While the price is still consolidating, more buyers or sellers usually decide to jump in on the strong move, forcing the price to bust out of the pennant formation. These patterns usually appear after a significant spike up or down in price, the price consolidates and breaks out in the direction of the trend. Flags are identical to pennants with the exception of the support and resistance levels being broadly parallel. Finally, you need to ensure you fully understand the risks involved when trading this chart pattern.

The cover price will then be set at the initial flagpole’s height minus the breakout price. In terms of risk management, a stop loss would generally be placed just above the upper trendline. The bull pennant is a continuation pattern that signals the possible extension of an uptrend.

This buying pressure creates demand for the stock, pushing prices higher. As the uptrend continues, some traders may begin to take profits or close their positions. This profit-taking leads to a period of consolidation, as there is no longer enough buying pressure to push prices higher.

A bullish pennant formation provides clues for a price continuation to the upside following the breakout. The confirmation of the breakout occurs upon a candle close above the resistance line of pennant pattern. When this occurs, we expect price to move higher, often with a target that is equivalent to the length of the prior impulsive move, also referred to as the flagpole.

This trend line now becomes a support level, so it can be a good entry for a long position. You will also see decreasing volume throughout the consolidation period, as traders become uncertain of the direction of the market. The breakout from the pennant to the upside occurs when the price action begins to rise, and eventually breaks up through the top trendline.