This time, the cup prints a V-shape rather than a rounded bottom, with price stalling under the prior high. It ground sideways in a broadening formation (second blue box) that looks nothing like the classic handle for another three weeks and broke out. This rally failed to reach the measured move target at 50, calculated by adding the four-point depth of the cup to the resistance line near $46. The cup and handle is one of many chart patterns that traders can use to guide their strategy.

• There are several ways to approach trading the cup and handle, but the most basic is to look for entering a long position.
• Ask a question about your financial situation providing as much detail as possible.
• A cup and handle is a technical analysis pattern that appears on a chart as a U-shaped pattern, followed by a small downward drift, resembling a handle.
• The confirmation of this continuation pattern is due to the absence of divergence in price action and RSI.
• Most traders watch for a breakout beyond the resistance line at the completion of the pattern, which should then see the resumption of the original uptrend.
• A cup and handle is considered a bullish continuation pattern and is used to identify buying opportunities.

However, the decline doesn’t happen as a straight dump but looks more like a “flag”, meaning buyers remain interested in the asset despite its high value. After breaking above the resistance, the price skyrockets to new highs pushed by the overall bullish sentiment. William O’Neil found that stocks generally move about 20-25% in between bases. So, after a cup and handle pattern forms, traders may expect the stock to move higher by about 20-25%.

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We follow strict ethical journalism practices, which includes presenting unbiased information and citing reliable, attributed resources. There is no one perfect solution for everyone, so it’s important to find strategies that fit your personality and risk tolerance levels. The handle should not drop Cup and Handle Pattern into the lower half of the cup, and ideally, it should stay in the upper third. An experience pro-trader should include these fundamental elements into the mix before going ahead with the analysis. 2009 is committed to honest, unbiased investing education to help you become an independent investor.

As a well-defined pattern, the cup and handle pattern offers traders clear entry and exit points. Once you have identified the depth of the cup — preferably by ascertaining the shift in volume — you can identify price targets by tracking the multiple resistance levels. Also, the resistance line formed by the handle can indicate the breakout zone for the asset. One of the major benefits of using AI-driven technical analysis tools like TrendSpider is the ability to backtest historical data. This allows traders to compare the performance of their strategy over different periods and markets.

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Inverted cup and handle patterns are also possible during downtrends and signal bearish continuations. In this case, the cup shape is inverted such that it represents a resurgence in price after a downtrend followed by a downward movement. The handle slopes upwards before breaking out sharply downward to continue the original bearish trend. When studying price charts for trading patterns, our online trading platform, Next Generation, comes with a vast range of drawing tools that you can use to display your data more clearly.

This pattern is considered to be a bearish signal that indicates a stock may see a price decrease in the future. The cup and handle is considered to be a bullish signal in technical analysis. Continually scanning hundreds of charts to detect this pattern is challenging and time-consuming, but we’ve got you covered! Just sign up for your Wagner Daily PRO membership to receive the best swing trade alerts for the cup and handle and other top patterns. We also alert you to this pattern with Morpheus Crypto PRO service. The handle can be either a small, unorganized pullback, or a bear flag or pennant.

How to Identify Cup and Handle Pattern in Forex Trading

When going long off a cup and handle, you’ll want to look to enter your position shortly after the breakout has occurred. This reduces the possibility of slippage and enables you to confirm the resulting uptrend, reducing your risk. Traders should look for volume confirmation when trying to identify https://www.bigshotrading.info/stock-market-basics/ Cup-And-Handle Patterns. A large increase in volume during the breakout could suggest that institutional investors are getting behind the stock, which could lead to even more price increases in the future. Additionally, traders should be aware of certain factors that could invalidate the pattern.

• First, you will notice a “cup” shape in the chart that forms when an asset’s price rises, then retraces in a long U-shape that forms over at least 30 trading days.
• The cup forms after an advance and looks like a bowl or rounding bottom.
• For the sides to adhere to the cup and handle physiology, they should be relatively symmetrical.
• A profit target will be at the resistance trend line, connecting two highs of the cup.
• The best way to locate this is to identify the last instance of an uptrend and see how much the price moved — from a previous low to the start of the left side of the cup.
• Price carved out a choppy but rounded bottom at that level and returned to the high in June.
• Each retracement returns to a flat line of resistance, giving the pattern the appearance of a cup and handle.

Two trading platforms currently offer in-depth pattern scanning and screening, TrendSpider, and FinViz. Finviz is a good free pattern scanner, whereas TrendSpider enables full backtesting, scanning, and strategy testing for chart patterns. According to O’Neil’s description, the handle should extend no longer than between one-fifth to one-quarter of the cup’s length. This handle looks nothing like the ideal pattern but serves the identical purpose, holding close to the prior high, shaking out short-sellers, and encouraging new longs to enter positions.

How successful is cup and handle pattern?

A good way to validate the strength of a cup and handle formation is by closely examining the price levels related to key moving averages. This can help you gauge the overall market trend, only to tell if the pattern formation is going in the right direction or not. If you are viewing the pattern on a daily chart, make sure that as the cup and handle pattern forms, the price levels are always above the 50-day or the 200-day moving averages. The cup and handle pattern is a bullish continuation pattern that consists of two parts, the cup and the handle. The cup typically takes shape as a pull back and subsequent rise, with the candlesticks in the center of the cup giving it the form of a rounded bottom.

Take note that, generally, the inverted cup and handle pattern can be either a reversal or continuation pattern, depending on the location and context. This guide will discuss everything you need to know about the Inverse Cup and Handle chart pattern. Here, we will explain the basics of the inverted cup and handle chart pattern and show you how to use it correctly.