Flip the hammer upside down: small body at the bottom, long upper wick.
Inverted hammer (bullish)
After a downtrend. Buyers tried to push up and got rejected, but the fact that they tried at all is an early sign of a turn. Needs confirmation.
Shooting star (bearish)
After an uptrend. Buyers pushed to new highs, sellers slammed price back down. Very powerful at resistance.
Wick says
A shooting star is a rally that went up like a firework... and came down like one too.
Pro tip
Stop placement for a shooting star short: just above the top of its wick. If price goes above that, the rejection failed.
Key takeaways
- Long upper wick, small body near the low.
- After a fall: inverted hammer (bullish hint). After a rise: shooting star (bearish).
- The shooting star at resistance is one of the most reliable single-candle signals.