Spinning Top White

A White Spinning Top is a single candlestick pattern that signals indecision in the market and a possible pause or reversal in the ongoing trend. It has a small bullish (white or green) real body with long upper and lower shadows, showing that both buyers and sellers were active but neither side could fully dominate.​

What is a White Spinning Top?

A White Spinning Top is a candlestick where the open and close are close to each other, but the price moves significantly higher and lower during the same period. The candle closes slightly above the open, which makes the body bullish (white/green), but the long wicks show strong intraday volatility.​

This pattern is considered neutral on its own, but its meaning changes depending on where it appears in the trend. Traders often watch the next candle to confirm whether the market will reverse or simply continue sideways after the spinning top.​

Key Characteristics

A typical White Spinning Top has three clear visual features that help traders identify it on a chart. These features make it easier to distinguish from other small-bodied candles.​

• Small bullish (white/green) body, showing that the close is slightly above the open.​
• Long upper and lower shadows that are usually longer than the body, reflecting strong price swings both ways.​
• The body is roughly centered between the shadows, highlighting a balance between buying and selling pressure.​

What Does It Tell Traders?

The White Spinning Top represents a tug of war between bulls and bears where neither side wins decisively. Even though the candle closes higher, the long wicks show that sellers also pushed the price down during the session.​

This imbalance suggests that the current trend may be losing momentum and that the market is at a decision point. For this reason, many traders use it as a warning sign that a reversal or consolidation phase could be near, especially after a strong move.​

White Spinning Top in a Downtrend

When a White Spinning Top appears after a prolonged downtrend, it often signals weakening selling pressure. Bears were able to push the price lower during the session, but bulls managed to bring it back up near the open and even close slightly higher.​

This pattern in a downtrend can be interpreted as a potential early sign of a bullish reversal if supported by the next candles and other indicators. Traders may look for a strong bullish candle after the spinning top as confirmation that buyers are taking control.​

White Spinning Top in an Uptrend

In an established uptrend, a White Spinning Top shows that the strong bullish momentum may be slowing down. Buyers still manage to close the price higher, but the long shadows reveal that sellers are starting to fight back more aggressively.​

This can signal either a short pause or the start of a bearish reversal, depending on what happens next. Many traders use support and resistance levels around the pattern to judge whether the price is more likely to consolidate or reverse.​

How to Trade the White Spinning Top

Most traders do not trade the White Spinning Top in isolation; they combine it with confirmation from later candles and indicators. The pattern works best as a signal to prepare rather than to act immediately.​

Common trading approaches include:

• Waiting for a confirming candle: bullish confirmation after a downtrend, or bearish confirmation after an uptrend.​
• Using support and resistance: targets and stop-losses are often placed relative to nearby key levels and the high/low of the spinning top candle.​
• Combining with indicators like RSI, MACD, or moving averages to filter out weak signals.​

Entry, Stop-Loss, and Target Ideas

For a possible bullish trade after a downtrend, some traders consider entering when the next candle closes above the high of the White Spinning Top. In such cases, a common risk management rule is to place the stop-loss slightly below the low of the spinning top.​

In a potential bearish scenario after an uptrend, traders might enter when the next candle closes below the low of the pattern, using a stop-loss just above the high of the spinning top. Targets are often set using recent swing highs/lows or key support and resistance areas, with risk–reward ratios such as 1:2 or 1:3.​

Advantages of the Pattern

The White Spinning Top offers several benefits to technical traders when used properly with context.​

• Acts as an early warning sign that the current trend could be pausing or reversing, especially after strong moves.​
• Works across multiple timeframes, from intraday charts to daily and weekly charts, making it versatile for different trading styles.​
• Integrates well with other tools like support/resistance zones and indicators, helping refine entries and exits.​

Limitations and Common Mistakes

While useful, the White Spinning Top has limitations and can give misleading signals if used alone. Because it is fundamentally a neutral candlestick, it does not guarantee any direction.​

Traders often make the mistake of overreacting to a single spinning top candle without waiting for confirmation. Another error is ignoring the broader trend and support–resistance context, which can turn a potentially strong signal into a false one.​

Practical Tips for Beginners

For new traders, the White Spinning Top is a good pattern to study because it visually explains the idea of market indecision. Watching it in live charts helps build intuition about how buyers and sellers interact.​

Beginners should focus on:

• Marking recent trends and key levels before interpreting the pattern.​
• Tracking what typically happens in the few candles after a White Spinning Top in different stocks or indices.​
• Practicing on a demo account before using real money to trade these signals.​

Conclusion

The White Spinning Top is a small-bodied, long-shadow candlestick that highlights a temporary balance between bulls and bears and often appears at key turning or pause points in a trend. Used with confirmation candles, support and resistance, and indicators, it can help traders time entries and exits more thoughtfully rather than chasing price blindly.