A morning star is a long bearish candle, a small star that gaps below it and a bullish candle that closes well into the first body, formed after a decline. It describes a turn over three sessions, and a close below the star's low ends it.
What is the morning star candlestick pattern?
A morning star is a three-candle bullish reversal pattern that forms after a decline. A long bearish candle continues the fall; a small-bodied candle, the star, opens lower and goes nowhere; and a strong bullish candle closes well into the body of the first. The name comes from the morning star that appears before sunrise.
The three candles tell the story in stages: sellers in control, then a session of balance at lower prices, then buyers taking back much of the first session's loss. Because the third candle is part of the pattern, a completed morning star already contains some follow-through.
How to identify a morning star
Check each candle against the conventions, then check how the three relate to each other. The relationships, a star below the first body and a close well back inside it, matter more than any single candle.
- Candle one is a long bearish candle, long compared with the stock's recent bodies.
- Candle two is the star: a small body of either color whose body gaps below the first body. When the star is a doji, the pattern is called a morning doji star.
- Candle three is bullish and closes well into candle one's body. A common convention is a close above the midpoint of the first body.
- Ideally candle three opens above the star's body, leaving a gap on the other side of the star as well.
- A decline precedes all three candles.
| Check | Prices ($) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| First body | Open 52.90, close 50.90 | Long bearish body of 2.00 |
| Star body gap | Star body top 50.45 vs first close 50.90 | Gap of 0.45 |
| Third close | Close 52.20 vs first-body midpoint 51.90 | 0.30 above the midpoint |
| Star to third candle | Third open 50.60 vs star body top 50.45 | Gap of 0.15 |
The star's color and exact size matter less than its position: it must sit below the first body, showing that the decline extended and then stalled.
Trend context and the evening star
A morning star needs a decline before it; in the figure, closes fell 8.6% over the ten sessions before the first candle. It carries more information at a support level, such as a prior swing low or a long-term moving average, where the stalled star session shows sellers meeting buyers at a known price.
The evening star is the bearish counterpart: after an advance, a long bullish candle, a small star whose body gaps above it, and a bearish candle that closes deep into the first body. The rules on this page apply to it in mirror image.
Inside a sideways range, three candles with these shapes often describe only a swing from one side of the range to the other, and the range boundaries matter more than the pattern.
Confirmation after the third candle
The third candle already shows buyers responding, so some chartists treat a completed morning star as its own confirmation. Others wait for one more session: a close above the third candle's close, or above the first candle's open, which means price has recovered the entire first session.
- In the figure, the session after the pattern closes at $52.95, above the first candle's open of $52.90.
- A next session that closes lower but holds above the star's low leaves the pattern unconfirmed.
- A close below the star's low ($49.75 in the figure) invalidates the pattern, because the price at which the decline stalled has given way.
The distance from the third candle's close down to the star's low can be wide. Know it before acting; how much to risk is a planning decision that the pattern does not make for you.
Volume analysis for a morning star
The volume profile most often described for a morning star is heavy at both ends: steady or heavy volume on the first candle as sellers press, lighter volume on the star as the pressure fades, and heavy volume on the third candle as buyers return. Each part of that profile can be checked against the stock's own recent average.
- In the figure, volume relative to the previous ten-session average is 1.4 times on the first candle, 0.7 times on the star and 1.8 times on the third candle.
- A third candle on light volume shows a recovery with few participants, which weakens the pattern.
- Very heavy volume on the first candle after a long decline can mark capitulation, where the last sellers leave at once.
Failure examples: when the star's low breaks
A morning star fails when the stock closes below the star's low. In the hypothetical example below, the pattern forms with light volume on the third candle, the next two sessions close lower, and the third session after the pattern closes below the star's low as the decline resumes.
- The third candle barely reaches the first body's midpoint.
- The third candle's volume is at or below average.
- Resistance sits close above, such as a falling 50-session moving average.
- The decline before the pattern was steady rather than stretched, so sellers were not exhausted.
Look-alikes: evening star, abandoned baby and piercing line
Several patterns share parts of the morning star. The differences are the direction, the size of the gaps and the number of candles.
| Pattern | Candles | Difference from a morning star |
|---|---|---|
| Evening star | 3 | Bearish counterpart after an advance, with the star above the first body |
| Morning doji star | 3 | The star is a doji, a session that opened and closed at the same price |
| Abandoned baby | 3 | The star gaps clear of both neighbors, wicks included, so it stands alone like a one-session island |
| Piercing line | 2 | No star: the second candle opens below the first close and closes above the first midpoint |
| Bullish engulfing | 2 | No star: the second body covers the whole first body |
The abandoned baby connects candlestick reading with gap analysis, because its star is a one-session island reversal. The gaps on both sides make it rarer than an ordinary morning star, and many chartists treat it as a stronger form of the pattern.
Research checklist
Three candles are easiest to judge on a short range. In Stock Charts, use the 3M view, keep the volume pane open and add a 50-session moving average for context. TradeClever does not identify morning stars; the steps below are for your own reading.
- Measure the decline before the pattern.
- Check that the first body is long, that the star's body gaps below it and that the third close passes the first body's midpoint.
- Mark the star's low as the invalidation level.
- Compare the volume of each candle with the recent average.
- Note resistance above, including moving averages.
- Record the next close and the outcome, and keep the failures in your notes.
Sources
- Steve Nison, Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques (New York Institute of Finance, 1991)
Read our data and methodology notes for calculation context. This guide explains research tools and observations. It does not recommend a trade or investment.