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Spinning Top

A spinning top has a small body with wicks on both sides. It often shows a pause where neither buyers nor sellers finished with strong control.

Spinning top candle with a small body and visible upper and lower wicks.

At A Glance

  • Name: Spinning Top
  • Category: Indecision And Neutral Candles
  • Type: Indecision
  • Number of candles: 1 candle
  • Typical context: After a move, during a pause, or inside a range.

How To Identify It

  • Body: Small body, but not as tiny as a doji.
  • Wicks: Upper and lower wicks are both visible.
  • Relationship: The single candle is read by comparing the small body with the wick movement around it.

Look for a small real body and visible upper and lower wicks. It should not be as bodyless as a doji; the candle has a body, but the body is not dominant.

Context

Spinning tops are most useful when they appear after stronger candles and show momentum slowing.

A spinning top matters most after a strong move or near a level where momentum may be slowing. In sideways chop, it often just blends into the range.

What It Shows

A spinning top shows hesitation. Price moved above and below the open, but neither buyers nor sellers finished with clear control. After a strong move, that pause can matter because it may show momentum slowing.

What To Watch Next

Watch whether the next candles break away from the spinning top range or keep rotating around it. The candle is more useful when the reaction after it becomes clear.

The read weakens if price keeps chopping through the same area. That means the candle was just part of an unclear range.

Common Confusion

A doji has open and close almost equal. A spinning top has a small but visible body.

Key Takeaway

A spinning top shows hesitation with a small body and wicks on both sides. It becomes more useful when it appears after a strong move or at a key level.

Related Lessons

Course Context

Chart Reading And Market Structure

Indecision And Neutral Candles

Lesson 47

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