Forex glossary
Shooting Star
A shooting star is a candle after an advance with a small body near the range's low, a long upper shadow and little lower shadow. Common rules require the upper shadow to exceed twice the body. The same shape after a decline is an inverted hammer; future decline is not guaranteed.
Illustrative example
How does it work in practice?
Assume an advance is followed by a candle opening at 100, closing at 99, with a low of 98.8 and high of 104. Its four-unit upper shadow and one-unit body fit a shooting star.
A case to work through
A bullish body with an upper shadow
Hypothetically, after a rise O=50, C=51, H=55 and L=49.8.
- Body=1 and upper shadow=55−max(50,51)=4.
- A bullish body does not remove this geometry; check the selected rule's other thresholds.
What follows? Assess proportions and context rather than color alone.
Example boundary: Some implementations impose additional conditions; the shape does not guarantee a decline.
A useful distinction
Shooting Star / Hammer
A shooting star has a long upper shadow after a rise; a hammer has a long lower shadow after a decline.
Check your understanding
Calculate the shadow without confusing it with the complete range.
Show the answer and explanation
4
74−max(70,69)=4.
Bodies, shadows and context
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Related terms
Sources and documentation
- TA-Lib – ta_CDLSHOOTINGSTAR
Original OHLC body/shadow detection code and configurable candle thresholds; implementation is not effectiveness evidence.
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The example illustrates the mechanism. Check current account conditions and instrument specifications with the provider.