Piercing Line

A piercing line is a two-candle bullish reversal pattern. The second candle opens weak, then pushes back up into the prior red candle body.

At A Glance

• Name: Piercing Line
• Category: Bullish Candle Patterns
• Type: Bullish Reversal
• Number of candles: 2 candles
• Typical context: After selling pressure or near a lower support area.

How To Identify It

• Body: First candle is red. Second candle is green and closes meaningfully into the prior red body.
• Wicks: Wicks are secondary. The close into the prior body is the key.
• Relationship: The green candle does not need to cover the full red body like a bullish engulfing candle.

Look for a red candle followed by a green candle that opens lower and closes deep inside the prior red body. It does not fully engulf the prior candle; it pierces into it.

Context

This pattern is most useful when a weak open or lower push gets bought and price closes back into the prior selling candle.

Piercing lines matter most after a pullback or selloff where price opens lower but buyers respond instead of letting the selling continue. The location near support or a prior low makes the recovery more meaningful.

What It Shows

The first candle shows sellers in control. The second candle starts with more weakness, but buyers reverse the tone by closing back into the prior candle body.

What To Watch Next

Watch whether price can hold inside the prior red body and continue toward the top of that range. Holding the recovery is more important than the label.

The read weakens if price cannot hold inside the prior red body. That means the bounce did not reclaim enough of the prior selling pressure.

Common Confusion

Piercing line is weaker visually than bullish engulfing because it only moves into the prior body.

Key Takeaway

A piercing line shows buyers recovering a meaningful part of the prior red candle after an initial weak open.

Related Lessons

• Bullish Engulfing
• Morning Star
• Bullish Candle Patterns
• Candlestick Basics