One-Candle Shooting Star

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Figure 1. One-Candle Shooting Star pattern.

Japanese name: nagare boshi
Forecast: bearish reversal
Trend prior to the pattern: uptrend
Opposite pattern: none
Extended pattern: Two-Candle Shooting Star

Construction:

• white or black candle with a small body
• no lower shadow or the shadow cannot be longer than the body
• upper shadow at least two times longer than the body
• if the gap is created at the opening or the closing, it makes the signal stronger
• appears as a long line

This article is devoted to the One-Candle Shooting Star one-line pattern.

The One-Candle Shooting Star is a pattern that is described very variously by many authors causing confusions.

Nison in the first edition of his book describes One-Candle Shooting Star as a one-line pattern. However, in the second edition from 2001, he included the pattern into the two-lines patterns group although providing examples as if it would be a one-line pattern.

Morris concludes that although the pattern belongs to the one-line patterns group, it should be seen as consisting of two lines, because while searching for it, we should also take into account the previous candle.

Shimizu points out that the star occurs when a price gap occurs between the candles, but in the example describing the Shooting Star there is no such gap visible.

Bulkowski found the compromise solution, discerning One-Candle Shooting Star and Two-Candle Shooting Star, and such differentiation was adopted in CandleScanner.

One-Candle Shooting Star is a very distinctive pattern, occurring in an uptrend. It has a long upper shadow, at least two times larger than the body. What is more, the longer the shadow, the more reliable the pattern. The lower shadow may exist, however, cannot be larger than the body.

The long upper shadow is a warning that the high prices are no longer accepted by the market participants. As with any one-line pattern, there is a need to wait for the confirmation of a trend change signal on the following candles which closing prices should be significantly lower than the pattern's low price. Some traders may want to be more aggressive and start entering into positions on the of the pattern's occurrence.

One-Candle Shooting Star often appears as the first line of the two-line patterns like a Bearish Engulfing. Such Bearish Engulfing pattern is then a very strong bearish reversal signal. One-Candle Shooting Star can also occur as a second line of a Bearish Harami pattern and the first line of a Tweezers Top pattern.

If the candles following the One-Candle Shooting Star closes above its upper shadow, it should be interpreted as a signal cancelling the pattern.

Figure 2. On the chart we can notice two occurrences of One-Candle Shooting Star pattern.
The first occurrence was cancelled on the following day. The fact that Dark Cloud Cover pattern appeared does not matter here as on the day of One-Candle Shooting Star occurrence we could not yet know about it.
The second occurrence of One-Candle Shooting Star happened in a different market context. After Dark Cloud Cover had occurred, the prices began to drop slightly, but the market is trying to defend itself. On the fourth day after the Dark Cloud Cover occurrence, the market opens with the gap and the price went up, cancelling for a while during the day the occurrence of Dark Cloud Cover. After all the price decreased and the One-Candle Shooting Star pattern was formed. From now on the prices are slightly decreasing but the support zone created by the Rising Window pattern works for a few days stopping the market from a clearer drop.

Figure 3. Market is in an uptrend. Rising Window pattern appears what means confirmation of the market direction (high trading volume). After the occurrence of Rising Window, the market slows down. That is a common phenomenon when the market hits new maximums. Long White Candle created a very strong support zone. Next day the One-Candle Shooting Star pattern was cancelled as a bearish reversal signal.

One-Candle Shooting Star statistics

Below you can find some One-Candle Shooting Star pattern statistics calculated by CandleScanner software. To see more detailed statistics, for other markets and periodicity try our CandleScanner software. Prices start at only $10, and you can see more detailed statistics, for other markets and periodicity. Click here to find out more!