Shooting star candlestick: what it means and how to spot one
A shooting star candlestick has a long upper wick and a small body low after a rise. See what it shows, how it differs from an inverted hammer, and spot one.
A shooting star has a small body near the bottom and a long upper wick, after a rise. On this site: body at most 35% of the range, upper wick at least 2x the body, lower wick at most 15% of the range, after closes rose at least 2% over 5 candles. Buyers failed to hold higher prices.
Practice on two charts
How to identify it (the exact rules)
These are the rules this site uses to build and grade every chart. Traders do not all use the same numbers; ours are published so you can check every answer (see the methodology).
- Hammer, hanging man, shooting star, inverted hammer: body more than a doji's and at most 35% of the range.
- Hammer family: the long wick is at least 2 times the body.
- Hammer family: the other wick is at most 15% of the range.
- Prior trend measured on the closes of the 5 candles before the pattern.
- A prior trend needs a move of at least 2% over that lookback.
- Shooting star: the long wick is the upper one and the prior trend is up. Inverted hammer: the same shape after a downtrend.
What a shooting star shows
Price has been climbing. A new period opens and buyers keep going, lifting price well above the open. Then the push runs out. Sellers take over and drive price back down. By the close, price is near the bottom of the range, not far from where it opened.
The long upper wick is the record of that failed push. It marks prices buyers reached but could not keep. The small body at the bottom says the close came near the low. Seen from afar, the candle looks like a star with a tail trailing above it, which is where the name comes from.
What makes it notable is the setting. In a rising market, buyers are expected to close near the highs. A period where they reached far higher and then gave it all back breaks that habit.
Two versions of the same shape
| Name | Same shape? | Trend before it | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shooting star | Yes | Rising (closes up 2%+ over 5 candles) | Buyers may be losing their grip |
| Inverted hammer | Yes | Falling (closes down 2%+ over 5 candles) | Buyers tested higher prices after a decline |
The two charts above each end on a shaded candle with this shape, and the question is the same each time: shooting star or inverted hammer? One chart shows each. Ignore the candle and read the slope of the five closes before it.
Most often confused with: the inverted hammer
Put a shooting star next to an inverted hammer and you will not see a difference. Same small body at the bottom, same long upper wick, same tiny lower wick. The only difference is what came before.
After a rise, the upper wick is read as rejection: the market tried higher and refused it. After a fall, the very same wick is read as a first attempt by buyers to fight back, even though they did not hold the gains. One candle, two opposite stories. If you name the candle before checking the trend, you have a coin flip.
What a shooting star does not tell you
- That the top is in. Strong uptrends print shooting stars and keep climbing.
- Where a decline would stop. The candle has no target built in.
- That sellers are now in control. It shows one period where they won the second half. The next period can reverse that.
- Anything when the rise was tiny. If the closes before it did not move at least 2%, this site does not call it a shooting star.
How reliable is it?
You will find shooting star success rates quoted online, usually with no data behind them. There is no number we can stand behind. Researchers have tested whether candlestick strategies create value for investors (for example Marshall, Young and Rose, 2006, in the sources); results depend on the market, the period and trading costs, and no pattern comes with a dependable success rate. Treat a shooting star as a well-described rejection, not a prediction.
Where the idea is proven wrong
The shooting star's argument is that buyers were turned away at the top of its wick. So the high of the candle is the key level. If price later closes above the shooting star's high, buyers pushed through the exact prices that were supposedly rejected, and the candle's reading no longer holds. A close below the candle's low is the follow-through its logic expects.
Frequently asked questions
Is a shooting star bearish?
It is read as a possible bearish reversal because buyers pushed price up and could not keep it, after a rise. It is still one candle. Uptrends often shrug it off. Readers usually want to see the next candle close lower before giving it any weight.
What is the difference between a shooting star and an inverted hammer?
They have the identical shape: small body near the low, long upper wick, almost no lower wick. A shooting star follows a rise. An inverted hammer follows a fall. On this site the trend is a move of at least 2% in the closes over the 5 previous candles.
Does a shooting star need to be red?
No. A red shooting star closed below its open, which some readers see as slightly stronger. A green one closed a little above its open. The long upper wick after a rise is what defines it, not the color of the small body.
What cancels a shooting star?
A close above the shooting star's high. The candle's logic is that buyers were rejected at those prices. If price closes above them later, the rejection did not last, and the shooting star's reading no longer applies.
Sources
- Marshall, Young and Rose (2006), Candlestick technical trading strategies: Can they create value for investors? Journal of Banking & Finance 30(8) (Research paper)
- Introduction to investing (SEC, Investor.gov)
- Stop order (glossary) (SEC, Investor.gov)