Candlestick trading is a very powerful tool in technical analysis. It provides us with great sentiment and market condition, insights and even signals, trend changes and price reversals. In this lesson, GVD Markets will break down candlesticks signals with you.
What is Candlesticks Signals
Candlesticks originated in 17th century Japan, and it’s believed they were used by rice traders to track historical price movements in the rice market Now it’s become the basis of Japanese investment philosophy only as recently as the 1990s were the candlestick charting techniques introduced to the West by a trader named Steve nson. Since then, candlesticks have gained huge popularity and nowadays can be found in every charting platform.
Here’s a quick recap about candlestick anatomy. The big blocks are called real bodies. The vertical lines above these blocks are upper shadows, and the lines below are called lower shadows. For a bulk candle, here is the open, low, high, and close. And similarly, if it’s a bare candle, the open, high, low, and close are given. Large real bodies indicate strong buying or selling. Small bodies show that there’s been low buying or selling pressure. Shadows indicate how high or low the price has been in a particular session. If the price is long, the traders push it back towards the opening price.
Doji candlesticks in Forex
A doji candlestick has the same opening and closing price so its real body appears as a horizontal line. It represents indecision in the market.
Let’s take a look at what’s going on when a doji candlestick-forms. As the session started, the price was driven up by buyers, but it could also have been sellers driving the price down. Then sellers push the price back to its opening price and even lower just to meet the buyer jumping in the market again and drive the price up to its opening once more.
This process could have been repeated several times up to the end of the session when the price closed, the same as it opened. As you can see, there is no real conviction about which direction the price should go, and that’s what makes the candlestick neutral. I wouldn’t advise anyone to make a trade based on only the appearance of a doji.
However, if we see a doji after a strong bullish move and we’re at the resistance level, it could indicate that bulls have become exhausted and bears are ready to take control or the opposite in a downtrend. After a strong selling pressure, a dogy appearance at support could indicate that the bulls are getting ready to go along.
What matters most when trading candlestick signals
The most important thing to remember when trading candlestick signals is to look at the context A doji in the middle of a trading range means absolutely nothing and you should never trade it. A doget support or resistance, however, is a completely different story. Now let’s get into the interesting part, adoji has appeared at resistance.
Remember, doji is a neutral signal, so don’t jump in the market right away. Instead, let the market come to you. Wait for a close below the doji’s low, and only then open your short positions. When placing your stops, you have to ask yourself one question. What is the price that tells me I was wrong?
In this case, a candle closing above the doji’s high would invalidate the reversal signal, so I would place my stop a couple of pips above the doji’s high. A dragonfly doji is formed when the session’s opening and closing prices are at or near the session high. It’s a bullish reversal signal. So we only look for that in a downtrend. Bes were in the charge at the start of the session.
They pushed the price lower, but then bulls rejected this lower level and were able to drive the price up to its opening, where it also closed a gravestone. Doge is the exact opposite of a dragonfly doji. It’s a bearish reversal pattern and we will only look for it in an uptrend. Bears were in control. They push the price up, but this new high was rejected by bears who managed to push the price back down to its opening price.
What is a long legged doji?
The long legged doji is a candle that has the same opening and closing price, but has very long shadows on both sides. This candle signal shows complete indecision between the bulls and the bears, and it’s not advisable to trade on its own. I know I’ve already mentioned it, but this is extremely important. Candlestick signals are valuable only when looked at in context A doji in the middle of the range is a no go. A dojit support or resistance, however, is something to be looked at.
Final Thought
A trader should really be skilled and acknowledged to make profit from the forex market. At GVD Markets, top forex brokers, here we provide live forex prices, forex news, forex profit calculator. If you want to become a top trader of the forex market, visit our GVD Markets Education Academy to learn more about advanced forex trading now! Beyond the basics of support and resistance, mastering these concepts requires practice and real-time application—tools and education like those offered at GVD Markets can bridge the gap between theory and profitable execution.
Wow, this really cleared up candlestick patterns for me! The Doji makes so much sense now.
Thanks for this awesome guide on candlestick signals! I’ve read a few articles on this, but yours is the best because of the clear examples and the way you explain the market sentiment. I’d love to see a follow-up post on how these patterns work in different market conditions, like trending vs. ranging markets. That would be super helpful!
Thanks for reading and sharing, we will share more advanced forex trading skills at our Education Academy.
how do you tell a hammer from a hanging man? They look pretty similar.
Hammer: It appears at the bottom of a downward trend. It shows that the price is about to rise. Imagine a hammer building something from the bottom.
Hanging Man: appears at the top of an uptrend. This signals a price drop. Picture someone hanging from the top, about to fall.