Hammer Candlestick Pattern

What a hammer looks like

• It appears after a downtrend. The same shape after a rise has a different name (see below).
• A small real body at the top of the candle’s range. It can be hollow or filled.
• A lower wick at least twice the length of the body.
• Little or no upper wick.

The long lower wick is the story: during the session the price fell well below the open, but buyers stepped in and pushed it back near the high by the close. A hollow (bullish) body is usually read as slightly stronger than a filled one, because the close finished above the open.

Confirmation

A hammer on its own only shows that selling was rejected once. Many traders wait for the next candle to close above the hammer’s close before treating it as a possible turn, and look for it at a level where buyers have stepped in before, such as support.

Hanging man: the same shape after a rise

If the identical candle appears after an uptrend, it’s called a hanging man. It’s read as a warning that buyers are losing control, again needing confirmation from the next candle.

Inverted hammer

An inverted hammer is the hammer turned upside down: a small body near the bottom with a long upper wick, after a downtrend. The same upside-down shape after an uptrend is a shooting star.

Finding it on TradingView

TradingView has built-in candlestick pattern indicators that mark patterns on the chart for you. Click Indicators at the top of the chart and search for the pattern name. You can also practise spotting patterns on past price action with Bar Replay, which hides the candles to the right so you can’t see what came next.

Diagrams are illustrations drawn from example prices. Hollow candles closed higher than they opened; filled candles closed lower. ChartWatch doesn’t give trading advice.

FAQ

More free TradingView tools