The Ascending Triangle Pattern: What It Is, How To Trade It

If this happens, you can draw an angled trendline along those lower highs. Look for volume to decrease on the run-up as it hits a point of resistance and begins to fade back. A volume drop can also mean that shorts are waiting to see what longs will do. Shorts may even start to accumulate shares at each failed breakout.

With the descending triangle, these candles create peaks of lower highs and lower lows. Once you identify the lower volume, simply measure the distance from the first high and low. Then you project the same from the breakout area which becomes your target price.

How Do You Trade the Ascending Triangle Chart Pattern?

The descending triangle chart pattern occurs when sellers are in control, but buyers are not willing to let the trend continue lower without putting up some resistance. As buyers become more active and force prices to stay near the same level, the support line begins to flatten out. Eventually, a breakout occurs in either direction, signaling a reversal or continuation descending triangle stock of the trend. A descending triangle pattern is a bearish continuation pattern that is formed when a series of lower highs is followed by a series of equal lows. The descending triangle can be used to confirm a downtrend, as well as to signal a potential entry point for a short position. The descending triangle is a chart pattern used in technical analysis.

It is formed as a downward-sloping triangle with support and a slope of lower highs. While both the symmetrical triangle and the pennant are continuation patterns with a good degree of reliability, there are two key differences between the two in terms of their formations. A wedge angled down represents a pause during an uptrend; a wedge angled up shows a temporary interruption during a falling market. As with pennants and flags, volume typically tapers off during pattern formation, only to increase once price breaks above or below the wedge pattern. Ascending triangles tend to be bullish as they indicate the continuation of an upward trend. That’s because they point to the continuation of a downtrend or the reversal of an uptrend.

The buyers may not be able to break through the supply line at first, and they may take a few runs at it before establishing new ground and new highs. The chartist will look for an increase in the trading volume as the key indication that new highs will form. An ascending triangle pattern will take about four weeks or so to form and will not likely last more than 90 days. Also, there is always the possibility that prices move sideways or higher for lengthy periods of time, acting contrary to the usual features of descending triangles. In some situations, trend lines may need to be redrawn as the prices break out in the opposite direction than the one that was expected. In conclusion, the descending triangle pattern is a versatile chart pattern which often displays the distribution phase in a stock.

Descending Triangles

The minimum distance that price moves prior to the breakout is measured from the initial high. This distance is projected lower after price breaks out below the support level. The classic version of this pattern forms with a trend line that is sloping and a flat or a horizontal support line.

Depending on your charting platform, you will notice that volume bars also change. This is because they reflect the bullish/bearish sentiment based on the Heikin Ashi candlesticks. Volume bars serve an additional purpose to alert you to a potential bullish breakout. The illustration below shows what an “ideal” descending triangle pattern looks like, which is often labeled a descending wedge, as well.

What is a Descending Triangle Chart Pattern?

If the triangle is $5 high, add $5 to the upside breakout point to get the price target. If the price breaks lower, the profit target is the breakout point less $5. A notable technical analysis pattern that denotes a negative market is the falling triangle.

• However, a descending triangle pattern can also be bullish, with a breakout in the opposite direction, and is known as a reversal pattern.
• Here’s a big downside of the descending triangle … Shorts could get caught in a short squeeze if there’s a reversal.
• This type of technical analysis identifies a downward trend, which will eventually break through the resistant levels causing the price action to plummet.

Once you master the Descending Triangle pattern, a simple chart pattern, you’ll gain a clear understanding of what goes on behind the price action. While descending triangles are typically bearish, these bullish triggers are always a possibility. Therefore, it should never be assumed a stock’s price will continue to fall just because a descending triangle has formed. Be sure to wait for a breakout before entering a position, long or short. These two types of triangles are both continuation patterns, except they have a different look. The descending triangle has a horizontal lower line, while the upper trendline is descending.

Is a descending triangle good or bad?

Add in our news feeds, social media feeds, indicators, and so much more … There’s a lot to love about this platform. If the reversal is strong enough, it leads to a break of resistance. Finally, if the price rises back up, you shouldn’t see it to go any higher than the last high.

In this strategy, traders simply have to see an agreement between the support breakout and the Chaikin Money Flow reading. Once the descending triangle breakout happens, we need to have a Chaikin Money Flow reading below the -0.2 level. Like its ascending triangle counterpart, a stock’s descending triangle formation is best used in combination with other tools. As formations emerge, other analyses can be incorporated to help support or reject a potential scenario.

How to identify descending triangles?

These patterns signify periods where the bulls or the bears have run out of steam. The established trend will pause, then head in a new direction as new energy emerges from the other side (bull or bear). Buyers eventually lose patience and rush into the security above the resistance price, which triggers more buying as the uptrend resumes. The upper trendline, which was formerly a resistance level, now becomes support.

In general, the price target for the chart pattern is equal to the entry price minus the vertical height between the two trend lines at the time of the breakdown. The upper trend line resistance also serves as a stop-loss https://g-markets.net/ level for traders to limit their potential losses. It’s important to remember that the descending triangle chart pattern is traditionally used to anticipate potential breakouts in the direction of the bearish trend.

A downside penetration of the horizontal trend line is a technical sell signal for a stock breaking down from a descending triangle pattern, and indicates distribution will follow. Descending triangles are popular because they provide traders with the chance to make considerable profits over a short term. To trade the pattern, technical traders take a bear position after a high-volume break. The price target is usually equal to the entry point minus the vertical distance between drawn lines when the breakdown takes place. To profit from a descending triangle, traders have to identify clear breakdowns and avoid false indications. They also have to consider that in case of no breakdowns, the price may test the upper resistance before moving down again to the lower support line.

The pattern is complete when the price breaks out of the lower trend line. The pattern is typically considered to be complete when the price closes below the lower trend line. Descending triangles indicate to investors and traders that sellers are more aggressive than buyers as the price continues to make lower highs.