Short answer
What is a spinning top candle?
A spinning top is a candle with a small real body near the middle of its range and wicks above and below that are longer than the body. It shows indecision: buyers and sellers both moved price, but it closed near where it opened. By the 50% rule it is a base candle, so at a fresh demand or supply zone it can form the zone's base.
Key takeaways
- A spinning top has a small body near the middle of its range, with upper and lower wicks that are each longer than the body.
- There is no official cut-off. Many traders accept a body of up to about a third of the range; if the body shrinks to about 5–10% of the range or less, most call it a doji.
- The colour hardly matters. A spinning top shows indecision, and the next candle decides the direction.
- After a rise into a fresh supply zone it can warn that the rally is tiring; after a fall into a fresh demand zone it can show selling is pausing.
- By the 50% rule a spinning top is a base candle. It becomes part of a zone only when a strong exciting candle leaves it.
- Trade it only with confirmation, and put the stop beyond the spinning top's wick or the zone's distal line, whichever is further.
What is a spinning top candle?
A spinning top forms when buyers push price well above the open, sellers push it well below, and the period closes not far from where it opened. The small body sits roughly in the middle, with a wick on each side, so the candle looks like a child's spinning top. The colour hardly matters: a green or a red spinning top shows the same standoff.
- Small but visible body, roughly in the middle of the range.
- Upper and lower wicks, each longer than the body.
- Any colour: green or red.
- Anywhere on the chart: it forms in trends and ranges alike, but it matters only at a zone.
What is the difference between a spinning top and a doji?
A spinning top and a doji are close cousins. Both have wicks on both sides and both show indecision. The difference is the body: a doji's open and close are almost equal, so its body is a thin line, while a spinning top has a small but clearly visible body. A doji shows the standoff more strongly; a spinning top shows one side edged slightly ahead but could not take control.
Standard doji
Long-legged doji
Dragonfly doji
Gravestone doji
Every doji opens and closes at almost the same price. The position of that tiny body and the length of the wicks give each type its name.
| Feature | Doji | Spinning top | Marubozu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body share of range | About 5–10% or less | Small, often up to about a third | Close to 100% |
| Wicks | On both sides, can be long | On both sides, each longer than the body | Little or none |
| What it shows | Strong indecision | Indecision | One side in control |
| By the 50% rule | Base candle | Base candle | Exciting candle |
A spinning top is also different from a hammer or a shooting star. Those candles have small bodies too, but the body sits at one end of the range with one long wick. A spinning top's body sits near the middle with a wick on each side. See the doji, hammer and marubozu guides for comparison.
What does a spinning top mean in a trend?
A spinning top means the side that had been winning failed to win this period. Where it forms decides whether that matters.
- After a rise, at a fresh supply zone: buying may be tiring. Watch for a red candle that closes below the spinning top's low.
- After a fall, at a fresh demand zone: selling may be pausing. Watch for a green candle that closes above the spinning top's high.
- In the middle of a range or a trend: usually just a pause; spinning tops are common there and say little.
A spinning top is not a reversal pattern by itself. Strong trends often pause with one or two spinning tops and then carry on.
Why is a spinning top a base candle?
By the 50% rule, a candle whose wicks make up more than half of its range is a base candle. A spinning top's wicks usually make up two-thirds or more of its range, so it qualifies easily. When a spinning top sits between a strong green candle and a strong red candle, as in the chart above, it is the base of a Rally-Base-Drop supply zone. After a fall, between a red leg in and a green leg out, it is the base of a Drop-Base-Rally demand zone.
Mark the zone body to wick. For a demand zone, the proximal line goes at the highest body in the base and the distal line at the lowest wick. For a supply zone, the proximal line goes at the lowest body and the distal line at the highest wick. A spinning top's long wicks therefore often set the zone's distal line.
How do you trade a spinning top?
- Check the location: a fall into a fresh demand zone or a rise into a fresh supply zone, ideally inside a higher-timeframe zone.
- Let the spinning top close, then wait for the next candle.
- Bullish case: enter only after a candle closes above the spinning top's high.
- Place the stop loss below the spinning top's low or the zone's distal line, whichever is lower.
- Check that a 1:2 target fits before the next supply zone, and size the trade from the stop distance.
The bearish case is the mirror: at a fresh supply zone, wait for a red candle to close below the spinning top's low, with the stop above its high or the zone's distal line, whichever is higher. Shorting in the Indian cash market is intraday only, so swing traders in cash mostly use a spinning top at supply to book profit or tighten the stop on a long position.
What are common mistakes with spinning tops?
- Reading it as a reversal by itself: it only shows indecision.
- Ignoring location: spinning tops in a range or mid-trend are common and mean little.
- Confusing it with a hammer or shooting star: if the body sits at one end with one long wick, it is a different pattern.
- Trading before the close: a mid-session spinning top can close as a long red or green candle.
- Stops inside the wick: the wicks show where price already travelled; the stop belongs beyond them.
Frequently asked questions
Is a spinning top bullish or bearish?
Neither on its own. A spinning top shows indecision, whatever its colour. After a fall into a demand zone it can lean bullish, and after a rise into a supply zone it can lean bearish, but the next candle decides which side took over.
What is the difference between a spinning top and a doji?
Both have wicks on both sides and both show indecision. A doji's open and close are almost equal, so its body is a thin line. A spinning top has a small but visible body, often up to about a third of its range. Both are base candles by the 50% rule.
How small should the body of a spinning top be?
There is no official cut-off. Many traders look for a body of up to about a third of the high-to-low range, with each wick longer than the body. If the body shrinks to about 5–10% of the range or less, most traders call the candle a doji instead.
What does a spinning top after an uptrend mean?
It means buyers, who had been winning, could not win that period. At a fresh supply zone that can be an early sign the rally is tiring. It becomes a bearish setup only when a red candle closes below the spinning top's low; strong uptrends often pause with a spinning top and then continue.
Is a spinning top a reversal pattern?
Not by itself. It is an indecision candle that can appear before a reversal or simply as a pause in a trend. At a fresh demand or supply zone, followed by a strong candle in the opposite direction, it can become the base of a new zone.
Put this into practice
Work out the numbers before the market moves, then let an alert bring you back to your own plan.
Educational content only. Nothing here is investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Chart diagrams use illustrative prices, not market data. Trading involves risk of loss; verify prices independently and apply your own risk process.