Bearish Belt Hold

The bearish belt hold is a candlestick charting pattern that tends to signal the reversal of an uptrend. A single long black candlestick with no upper shadow and a small lower shadow (i.e. black opening Marubozu) characterizes the bearish belt hold pattern. The bearish belt hold occurs following a series of up days when the bearish belt hold candle gaps up to open at the high of the day, then falls to close near the low. The gap up of the bearish belt hold candle initially suggests a continuation of the uptrend until sellers come in and push the price down. Bulls lightening their positions in response to the weakening price contribute to the downward move that forms a bearish belt hold candle. The long body of the bearish belt hold candle implies increasing resistance to the prevailing trend. Traders believe the longer the bearish belt hold candle's body, the more reliable the signal. However, traders also consider the reliability of the bearish belt hold to be low in general. Downward trading activity on subsequent days is required to confirm the reversal signaled by the bearish belt hold. The counterpart to the bearish belt hold is the bullish belt hold.