How to Read a Piercing Line Pattern
A bearish candle followed by a bullish candle that closes above its midpoint -- a somewhat less decisive cousin of bullish engulfing.
CANDLESTICK PATTERNS
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2-candle pattern · Bullish reversal
A piercing line is a bearish candle followed by a bullish candle that opens below the first candle’s low but closes above the midpoint of the first candle’s body — without fully engulfing it (that would make it a bullish engulfing pattern instead). It shows a sharp rejection of lower prices partway through what looks like a developing recovery.
Because the second candle recovers only part of the first candle’s decline rather than all of it, a piercing line is generally read as a somewhat less forceful signal than a full bullish engulfing pattern — real, but calling for more confirmation before assuming the trend has actually turned.
Related patterns
- How to Read a Bullish Engulfing Pattern
- How to Read a Dark Cloud Cover Pattern
- How to Read a Morning Star Pattern
This article is educational only and isn’t a recommendation to trade any particular instrument or pattern — no candlestick pattern works in isolation. See the full candlestick guide for how patterns like this one fit into a broader approach.