The same shape as a hammer but appearing after an advance, hinting that selling pressure appeared even though buyers closed it back up.
Small body near the top of the range, long lower-shadow, occurring at the top of an uptrend. The bearish reading is that for the first time in a while, sellers were able to drive price sharply lower intraperiod, even though the close recovered.
This is one of the least reliable candles in common use. The shape itself is bullish in isolation; only its position makes it bearish, and position is subjective.
Use it as a caution flag rather than a short signal: tighten stops, take partial profit, or require a close below the hanging man's low before acting. Shorting a strong trend because a single candle had a long lower wick is a reliable way to be stopped out as the trend continues.
Original diagrams for the ideas on this page. Illustrative, not real market data.
The parts of a candlestick. One candle sums up a slice of time: the thick real body runs from the opening price to the closing price, and the thin wicks reach out to the highest and lowest prices traded. Colour tells you which way the body ran.
Educational only, not advice. Spotted an error? Post in Site Feedback.