The only difference between a pennant and a flag is the fact that the flag is shaped like a rectangle while a pennant has a triangle shape. The consolidation manifests as a small triangle — called a pennant. If you’ve waited up until the market retests its old location of assistance or resistance, you ‘d put your stop a few points listed below your entry position.

A bear pennant pattern consists of a larger bullish candlestick which forms the flag pole. It’s then followed by several smaller consolidation candles that form a pennant. A common place to see this set up is during consolidation near resistance levels; once it rejects, price action breaks down out of the apex of the pennant. Which can cause an increase in a pressure to the downside from sellers and shorts. A bullish pennant formation provides clues for a price continuation to the upside following the breakout.

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As a trader, you should fully understand the risks involved whenever you enter the market. This includes identifying an existing uptrend and the formation of a pennant after that uptrend has begun. With more conservative trading, before opening a position, you can wait for a retest of the broken-out level and then open a position. However, the retest does not always occur, and in some cases, the trader may miss a good entry point with such an approach.

• Stop loss should be set below the support level according to risk management.
• At a later stage we will also share tips on how to trade a bull pennant and make profit.
• The pennant itself looks like a triangle with successive increasing lows and decreasing highs.
• Technical traders take this as an indication that the original rising cost relocation is going to resume.

The financial information, news and research that you may receive from Top1 Insights for educational and informational purposes only and is not trading, investment, or advice. You should seek your own investment advice from an independent certified financial adviser if you have any doubts who will consider your personal objectives and circumstances. The bullish pennant pattern can take place over lots of different amount of time. Day traders look for them on 2nd or minute charts, while longer-term traders spot ones that develop over weeks or perhaps months.

What does a Bullish Pennant mean?

When you see that pennant form, you may decide to jump in on the trade. Pennants are chart patterns that ought to be looked at as a continuation chart pattern. That is to say that you should see a pennant as an indication that the pattern that you have already seen forming is likely to continue to do so. That is not a guarantee that this will be the case, but you should take it as a sign that a continuation may be about to happen. In a bullish pennant, strong positive sentiment causes a market to increase higher (forming the pole).

Bull pennants are continuation patterns that suggest uptrend extension. As you can see in the EUR/USD chart below, they occur amid north-bound price action. The first target was reached a short time after the entry, and represents the price that measures 50% the length of the flagpole measured from the breakout point. And the second target would be set at the price which equates to the 100% length of the flagpole measured from the breakout point. Notice how the price reaches our second target, and soon afterwards begins to find demand in the market from buyers that act to push the price higher once again. In summary, the main difference between a bullish pennant and a bull flag is the shape of the consolidation period.

Pennant Trading Strategy 3: Trading based on 50% of the flagpole

The initial take profit should be at the lower side of the pennant hoist. A bullish pennant is what forms when you see the price rise all the way to the point where it hits some resistance. After it smacks into the resistance, it comes back down slightly for a period of time. After that, it pulls up a little, down a little, and then — we hope — surges on to new highs. The period of time when it is bouncing back and forth in a tightening range is when it is forming the pennant that you are looking for.

In this case, based on our simplified rules, we would have gone short on the bar following the breakout close as shown by the orange circled area. Our second and final target will be at the 100% projection of the flagpole as measured from the breakout point. You will also see the bar that triggered our second target circled in green as well.

How To Identify and Trade Pennant Patterns?

Open an IG demonstration account to put it to the test with $10,000 in virtual funds. Where you put your stop will depend upon your chosen entry strategy. Therefore, you must avoid taking significant risks that may lead you to a severe loss in the long run. When it comes to the speed we execute your trades, no expense is spared. ThinkMarkets ensures high levels of client satisfaction with high client retention and conversion rates.

Like with bullish pennants, falling volume is often a good sign that a bearish pennant is forming. In terms of differences, the key distinction between the two patterns is the shape of the consolidation phase. A bull flag has a downward sloping channel, while a bullish pennant has a symmetrical triangle pattern. Additionally, the duration of the consolidation phase in a bull flag tends to be shorter compared to a bullish pennant. The pattern is considered bullish if the price action is moving up towards the apex of the triangle and bearish if it is moving down. Depending on whether it is a bullish or bearish pennant, traders can use different strategies to capitalize on the price movements.

A second test of the 50% retracement level occurred sometime afterwards, but again was rejected from that level. As such our Fibonacci based filter has been satisfied for this set up. As a continuation pattern, we would expect that the pennant formation should not retrace more than 50% of the previous price leg. In the event that it does, the https://g-markets.net/ chances of a significant rebound in the direction of the prior trend begins to diminish. As a result we will use the 50% retracement level as our maximum limit for trading the pattern. It’s important to understand that pennant patterns are fractal in nature, meaning that they can occur at all degrees of trend from the shortest to the longest.

Technical traders take this as a sign that the original ascending price move is going to resume. This makes the bullish pennant pattern particularly sought after, as it can offer an early indication of significant upward price action. Bear pennant trend lines come together in a point during consolidation. They start with a big push in volume forming the flagpole with volume becoming steady during consolidation coming to a point completing the pennate shape. Unlike trading other chart patterns, the original range of a pennant is hardly ever utilized to plan where to take profit.

It is commonly viewed as a buy signal and a way of entering prevailing bullish trends. In this article, we will discuss how to recognize bullish and bearish pennant. You will learn what each of them means and how to use them to perform profitable and effective trades. Also, we will describe the key difference between a triangle and bullish and bearish pennant patterns. Pennant patterns are chart patterns that are used by traders to identify potential changes in the trend of a stock. They consist of two converging trendlines that form a symmetrical triangle, resembling the shape of a pennant.

How to trade bullish and bearish pennants with Top1 Markets

Having tested the level, the price subsequently reversed, thus forming a bear trap. However, the bears had the opportunity to open a short position at the point of a downside breakout and take profits. Let me explain the bullish pennant pattern on the example of the USDCHF H4 chart. Watch this video to learn how to identify and trade the bear pennant pattern with a real-time example. When trading the bear pennant pattern, stop losses are easy to locate.

• We also offer real-time stock alerts for those that want to follow our options trades.
• On the flagpole front, the bearish version shows a series of lower highs and lower lows.
• However, on markets like stock, where the traders can see the volume figures clearly, Pennants alone can help them to analyze the breakout.
• When the bullish pennant pattern is formed, a strong upward movement is likely to occur when the price breaks above the pennant.
• The candle that breaks out from the pennant formation should do so on high-volume and with increasing momentum.
• We teach day trading stocks, options or futures, as well as swing trading.

A bullish pennant forms a symmetrical triangle, while a bull flag forms a rectangular shape. Pennants and wedges are both technical chart patterns used in technical analysis to analyze market trends and predict future price movements. While they may appear how to trade bearish and bullish pennants similar at first glance, there are some key differences between the two patterns. In this case, a short position must be opened after the breakout of the pennant lower border. In addition, the price tested the lower border, where the bears went ahead.

But, it’s important to remember that no indicator is 100% accurate. Second, you want to wait for the pattern to fully form, and the breakout candle must close above the flag formation. Firstly, you want to make sure when a breakout occurs, the volume also surges significantly.