Piercing Line candlestick pattern
A bearish candle followed by a bullish candle that opens below the prior close and closes above the midpoint of the prior body.
Illustrative shape. Real patterns vary in proportion.
How to identify a Piercing Line
- Appears after a decline
- First candle is a solid bearish body
- Second opens below the first candle's close (a gap down on daily charts)
- Second closes above the midpoint of the first body, but not above its open
What the Piercing Line tells you
The second session opens with more weakness, then buyers reverse it and recover more than half of the prior day's loss. The deeper the close into the first candle, the stronger the signal.
How traders use it
Traders often treat a close above the midpoint as the minimum and a close near the first candle's open as stronger. Stops go below the second candle's low.
Before taking any pattern-based trade, decide your stop first and size the position from it with the position size calculator.
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Frequently asked questions
Is the Piercing Line bullish or bearish? +
The Piercing Line is a bullish reversal pattern. A bearish candle followed by a bullish candle that opens below the prior close and closes above the midpoint of the prior body.
How reliable is the Piercing Line? +
No candlestick pattern works every time. Patterns are more reliable when they form at a meaningful level (support, resistance, a moving average), after a clear trend, on higher volume, and when the next candle confirms them.
Do I need confirmation to trade the Piercing Line? +
Most traders want it. Waiting for the next candle to move in the expected direction filters out many false signals, at the cost of a slightly worse entry price.
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