Gravestone Doji in Forex

A gravestone doji is a doji variant in which the open and close are near the low of the period while a long upper wick shows that price traded substantially higher before falling back.

How to Recognise It

The candle has little or no real body near the bottom of the range, a long upper shadow, and little or no lower shadow. The exact open and close can differ slightly, but they should remain very close relative to the full candle range.

How to Read It

The upper wick shows that buyers pushed price higher but could not hold those prices into the close. After an advance or at resistance, that rejection can be meaningful. In an unstructured sideways market, the same candle may simply reflect two-way volatility.

Context and Confirmation

Read the candle only after its timeframe has closed. A single candlestick records what buyers and sellers did during one period, but it does not guarantee what the next period will do. Its meaning becomes stronger when it appears after a relevant prior move, near a meaningful support or resistance area, and alongside clear market structure. A wick through a level is not automatically the same as a confirmed body-close break.

Key Takeaway

A gravestone doji closes near its low after a strong intraperiod rejection higher. Its context determines whether that rejection is meaningful.