Hanging Man Candlestick

A hanging man candlestick is a candle with a small body near the top of its range and a long lower wick, appearing after a price rise. It has exactly the same shape as the hammer candlestick; only the market before it differs. The hammer follows a decline, the hanging man follows a rise.

How do you spot a hanging man?

You spot a hanging man by finding a candle with a small body near its high and a lower wick often at least twice the body, straight after a rise. The four checks below make that precise. The same shape after a fall is a hammer, so the trend before the candle decides the name.

• A rise before it. Without an earlier rise, the same candle is called a hammer.
• A small body in the upper part of the candle. It can be bullish or bearish.
• A long lower wick, often described as at least twice the length of the body.
• Little or no upper wick.

The shape says that during the period sellers pushed price a long way down and buyers recovered most of the fall before the close. Traders read it as the first sign of selling pressure after a rise, and wait for the next candle to confirm it. Single-candle shapes like this are also called pin bars.

Worked example: hanging man candlestick on EURUSD

EURUSD has risen for several H1 candles. The next candle opens at 1.0950, falls to 1.0910, recovers, and closes at 1.0945, with a high of 1.0952.

The candle has a hanging man shape. At 0.10 lot, about $1 per pip, a buy opened at 1.0950 was 40 pips ($40) down at the 1.0910 low and 5 pips ($5) down at the close; a sell opened at 1.0950 was $40 up at the low and $5 up at the close. Confirmation comes if the next candle closes below 1.0945, the bottom of the body.

What confirms a hanging man?

A hanging man is confirmed when the next candle closes below its body, ideally at resistance after an extended rise. Until that close, the candle only shows one period of selling that buyers absorbed. Traders add the location, the higher timeframe and a defined stop before they act on it, as the checks below set out.

• A close below the body. Traders treat the next candle closing below the hanging man's body as the bearish confirmation.
• Location. It carries the most weight at a resistance level at the end of an extended rise; see trends and ranges.
• The higher timeframe. Check the H4 or D1 candle too; the same hour can be a small part of a larger candle.
• A defined stop. Traders who sell on confirmation commonly place the stop-loss just above the hanging man's high, 1.0952 in the example.

How do you find a hanging man in MetaTrader 5?

MetaTrader 5 has no hanging man label, so you find one by reading a candlestick chart yourself after a rise. Show the chart as candlesticks with Alt+2 and open the Data Window with Ctrl+D to measure the body and wicks. Candles are drawn from Bid prices.

What do traders get wrong about the hanging man?

The common mistake is reading a hanging man on its own as proof that the rise is over. It marks one period in which sellers pushed price down and buyers recovered it. Traders count the bearish reading only once the next candle closes below the body, and give it more weight at a resistance level.

Sources

• MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: Chart Settings, accessed 19 October 2026: candlestick chart type; bars are formed from Bid prices. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/charts_advanced/charts_settings
• MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: Hot Keys, accessed 19 October 2026: Alt+2 shows candlesticks, Ctrl+D opens the Data Window. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/start_advanced/hotkeys
• MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: View and Configure Charts, accessed 19 October 2026: price charts can be shown as Japanese candlesticks. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/charts_analysis/charts