How to Trade the Shooting Star Candlestick in Forex

As you can see, this creates an overall bearish structure because prices were unable to sustain their higher trade. For aggressive traders, the Shooting Star pattern illustrated below could potentially be used as a sell signal. In the CSCO chart above, the market began the day testing to find where supply would enter the market. Learn how this versatile pattern can signal both reversals and continuations, shaping your trading strategies.

From here, we would immediately place a stop loss order just above the high of the shooting star formation. Once we have done that, we will need to monitor the trade carefully and watch for a touch of the lower line of the bearish channel. You can see when the exit signal was triggered on this trade by referring to the magnified area at the lower right of the price chart. The shooting star formation is a single candlestick that is often seen after a prolonged price move to the upside. Additionally, it also forms after a corrective phase within the context of a larger downtrend. We will be taking a closer look at both of these scenarios in this lesson, but for now, it’s important to understand a few primary characteristics of the shooting star pattern.

It features a small bullish candlestick, ideally with a short green or white body to give the best signal and a long upper shadow that is generally twice the length of the body. Similar to the shooting star, the inverted hammer exhibits a small or nonexistent lower shadow. The significance of the shooting star candlestick lies in its interpretation within the context of the prevailing exchange rate or price trend. When a shooting star forms after a sustained uptrend, it suggests that buying interest is losing momentum, and sellers may be gaining control. If the open, low, and closing prices are almost the same, you can see a shooting star formation that, often interpreted by traders as a sign for a bearish move. Traders who use the shooting star pattern look for confirmation of the reversal before making a trading decision.

You can see the created bearish channel that is plotted with the two downward pointing trendlines. This time we will look at trading the shooting star candlestick when it appears within the corrective phase of a larger down trending market. Now that we have recognized a shooting star formation on the price chart, we need to confirm whether or not it occurs in the context of a rising market. Obviously, we can see that the price action preceding the shooting star was clearly bullish. In order to do this, we will need to draw an uptrend line that connects the lower swing points within the rising trend.

Regarding trade execution, when trading the shooting star pattern, forex traders typically consider initiating a short position by selling the respective currency pair. They may choose to enter the trade below the shooting star’s low or after a bearish confirmation candle forms. The shooting star candlestick pattern offers valuable insights to forex traders, providing indications of potential market reversals and bearish shifts in sentiment. When identified correctly, a shooting star candle can offer guidance on the future direction of the exchange rate. Understanding and using technical analysis tools can significantly enhance a forex trader’s ability to make informed trading decisions.

A shooting star formation is a bearish reversal pattern that consists of just one candle. It is formed when the price is pushed higher and immediately rejected lower so that it leaves behind a long wick to the upside. The long wick should take up at least half of the total length of the shooting star candle – see image below. First and foremost, we will need to spot a potential shooting star formation on the price chart. Referring to the upper magnified area on this price chart, we can clearly see the forex shooting star candle formation.

Daily EUR Analysis : Weakness of EUR, will…

After finding the answers to the above questions, you will understand a pattern correctly, and you’ll be able to find the most accurate patterns from the price chart. FOREX.com, registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), lets you trade a wide range of forex markets with low pricing and fast, quality execution on every trade. We introduce people to the world of trading currencies, both fiat and crypto, through our non-drowsy educational content and tools. We’re also a community of traders that support each other on our daily trading journey. The long upper shadow represents the buyers who bought during the day but are now in a losing position because the price dropped back to the open.

Also, there is a long upper shadow, generally defined as at least twice the length of the real body. Explore how the Japanese FX market’s dynamic shift towards electronic trading and multi-dealer platforms is reshaping its financial landscape. Harness the market intelligence you need to build your trading strategies. Any information contained in this site’s articles is based on the authors’ personal opinion. These articles shall not be treated as a trading advice or call to action.

The shooting star pattern is formed when the market opens higher than the previous day’s close and then trades higher during the day. However, during the course of the day, sellers enter the market and push prices down, causing the market to close near or below the opening price. As the shooting star pattern comes close to a resistance level or a trend line, it can confirm the onset of a new bearish bias. It can act as a reasonably reliable pattern to identify a bearish reversal when it appears close to a resistance level.

  • Obviously, we can see that the price action preceding the shooting star was clearly bullish.
  • Since the prices were previously rejected at the high of the shooting star, we will look to establish the stop loss at the recent swing high (red horizontal line on the chart).
  • In both cases, an occurrence of the shooting star at the top of an uptrend only generates a signal of an impending reversal and it shouldn’t be taken as a direct trading signal.
  • That is to say immediately following the shooting star formation, we will place a market order to sell.

In the middle part of the chart, the price action starts to move gradually higher. In general, the longer the wick the stronger the reversal, since the long wick signals the inability of the bulls to secure a high close. Join thousands of traders who choose a mobile-first broker for trading the markets.

The candlestick has a long upper shadow that is at least twice the length of the real body.

Diagrams of these two single-candle patterns and the general market context in which they appear are shown in the image below. The shooting star candlestick pattern is characterized by a distinct shape that resembles a shooting star. It holds valuable insights into market sentiment and can signal a potential trend reversal. By learning to identify and interpret this candlestick correctly, forex traders can gain an edge in predicting future exchange rate movements and improve their chances of profiting from them.

What is the Shooting Star Forex Pattern?

Of course, it may not always be right, but it is considered to be effective and reliable. However, please note that this is still one signal generated by one of hundreds of technical indicators. The Shooting Star Candlestick Pattern can be used on your trading platform charts to help filter potential trading signals as part of an overall trading strategy. Many consider the Shooting Star a simple tool for helping to identify price reversals. The bullish version of the Shooting Star is the Inverted Hammer Candlestick Pattern and it looks similar. However, the Inverted Hammer emerges in a downtrend and signals the potential price rise, whereas the opposite is true for the Shooting Star.

What is the forex shooting star?

Lawrence has served as an expert witness in a number of high profile trials in US Federal and international courts. The bullish version of the Shooting Star formation is the Inverted Hammer formation that occurs at bottoms. The long upper shadow of the Shooting Star implies that the market tested to find where resistance and supply was located.

This helps a trader enhance the reliability of their trading decisions when using shooting star candlesticks. Technical analysis plays a vital role in forex trading, and the identification of chart patterns can provide valuable insights into potential trading opportunities. The shooting star pattern is a widely recognized bearish reversal pattern, signaling a potential trend reversal at the end of an uptrend. By following a systematic approach and confirming the pattern with other indicators, traders can effectively identify and trade shooting star patterns in forex charts. However, it is important to remember that no trading strategy is foolproof, and risk management should always be a priority.

In conclusion, trading forex shooting star patterns with confidence and accuracy requires a systematic approach that involves identification, confirmation, and execution. By following these steps and considering additional factors like timeframe selection, volume analysis, multiple time frame analysis, and risk management, traders can improve their chances of success. However, it is important to remember that no trading strategy can guarantee 100% accuracy, and proper risk management is essential. There are dozens of different candlestick patterns that are available to market traders.

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