what does a spinning top candlestick tell you 
spinning tops are a sign of indecision in the asset the long upper and lower shadows indicate there wasn t a meaningful change in price between the open and close the bulls sent the price sharply higher and the bears sent the price sharply lower but in the end the price closed near where it opened this indecision can signal more sideways movement especially if the spinning top occurs within an established range it can also signal a possible price reversal if it occurs following a price advance or decline sometimes spinning tops may signal a significant trend change a spinning top that occurs at the top of an uptrend could be a sign that bulls are losing their control and the trend may reverse similarly a spinning top at the bottom of a downtrend could signal that bears are losing control and bulls may take the reins in any case confirmation helps clarify what the spinning top is saying the confirmation comes from the next candle if a trader believes a spinning top after an uptrend could result in a reversal to the downside the candle that follows the spinning top should see prices drop if it doesn t the reversal is not confirmed and the trader will need to wait for another trade signal if the spinning top occurs within a range this indicates indecision is still prevalent and the range will likely continue the candle that follows should confirm meaning it stays within the established sideways channel spinning tops are a common candlestick pattern which means they work best in conjunction with other forms of technical analysis for example traders may look at technical indicators like the moving average convergence divergence macd or relative strength index rsi for signs of a reversal before taking a trade based on a spinning top indicators or other forms of analysis such as identifying support and resistance may aid in making decisions based on candlestick patterns example of a spinning top candlestickthe chart example shows several spinning tops the first one on the left occurs after a small price decline it is followed by a down candle indicating a further price slide the price does head a bit lower but then reverses to the upside if taking trades based on candlesticks this highlights the importance of having a plan and managing risk after the candlestick the second spinning top occurs within a range it confirms the current indecision of the market as the price continues to head sideways the third spinning top is exceptionally large compared to the candles around it it occurred after an advance and was followed by a large down candle this ended up being a reversal candle as the price proceeded lower as the price was dropping another spinning top formed it ends up being a brief pause as the next candle gapped lower and continued falling the examples highlight the importance of confirmation and context spinning tops within ranges typically help confirm the range and the market s indecision spinning tops within trends may be reversals signals but the candle that follows needs to confirm limitations of using the spinning topspinning top candlesticks are common which means many of the patterns witnessed will be inconsequential since assets often have periods of indecision this makes sense spinning tops frequently occur when the price is already moving sideways or is about to start as for forecasting reversals the common nature of spinning tops also makes this problematic many spinning tops won t result in a reversal confirmation is required but even with confirmation there is no assurance the price will continue in the new direction trading around a spinning top can also pose some problems since the candle can be quite large from high to low if confirmation comes after a spinning top and a trade is taken placing a stop loss above or below the high low of the spinning top could result in a large risk which doesn t justify the potential reward assessing the reward potential of a spinning top trade is also difficult since the candlestick pattern doesn t provide a price target or exit plan traders need to utilize other candlestick patterns strategies or indicators to find a profitable exit 