Doji Candle
What Is a Doji?
A doji—or more accurately, “dо̄ji”—is a name for a session in which the candlestick for a security has an open and close that are virtually equal and are often components in patterns. Doji candlesticks look like a cross, inverted cross or plus sign. Alone, doji are neutral patterns.
A doji candlestick forms when a security’s open and close are virtually equal for the given time period and generally signals a reversal pattern for technical analysts. In Japanese, “doji” means blunder or mistake, referring to the rarity of having the open and close price be exactly the same.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- A doji is a name for a session in which the candlestick for a security has an open and close that are virtually equal and are often components in patterns.
- Alone, doji are neutral patterns that are also featured in a number of important patterns.
- Doji formations come in three major types: gravestone; long-legged; and dragonfly.
Depending on where the open/close line falls, a doji can be described as a gravestone, long-legged, or dragonfly.
What Does a Doji Tell You?
Technical analysts believe that all known information about the stock is reflected in the price, which is to say the price is efficient. Still, past price performance has nothing to do with future price performance, and the actual price of a stock may have nothing to with its real or intrinsic value. Therefore, technical analysts use tools to help sift through the noise to find the highest probability trades.
One tool that was developed by a Japanese rice trader named Honma from the town of Sakata in the 18th century, and it was introduced to the West in the 1990s by Steve Nison: the candlestick chart.2
Every candlestick pattern has four sets of data that help to define its shape. Based on this shape, analysts are able to make assumptions about price behavior. Each candlestick is based on an open, high, low, and close. The time period or tick interval used does not matter. The filled or hollow bar created by the candlestick pattern is called the body. The lines that extend out of the body are called shadows. A stock that closes higher than its opening will have a hollow candlestick. If the stock closes lower, the body will have a filled candlestick. One of the most important candlestick formations is called the doji.
A doji, referring to both singular and plural form, is created when the open and close for a stock are virtually the same. Doji tend to look like a cross or plus sign and have small or nonexistent bodies. From an auction theory perspective, doji represent indecision on the side of both buyers and sellers. Everyone is equally matched, so the price goes nowhere; buyers and sellers are in a standoff.
Some analysts interpret this as a sign of reversal. However, it may also be a time when buyers or sellers are gaining momentum for a continuation trend. Doji are commonly seen in periods of consolidation and can help analysts identify potential price breakouts.
Limitations of a Doji
In isolation, a doji candlestick is a neutral indicator that provides little information. Moreover, a doji is not a common occurrence; therefore, it is not a reliable tool for spotting things like price reversals. When it does occur, it isn’t always reliable either. There is no assurance the price will continue in the expected direction following the confirmation candle.
The size of the doji’s tail or wick coupled with the size of the confirmation candle can sometimes mean the entry point for a trade is a long way from the stop loss location. This means traders will need to find another location for the stop loss, or they may need to forgo the trade since too large of a stop loss may not justify the potential reward of the trade.
Estimating the potential reward of a doji-informed trade can also be difficult since candlestick patterns don’t typically provide price targets. Other techniques, such as other candlestick patterns, indicators, or strategies are required in order to exit the trade when and if profitable.