Candlestick patterns

Marubozu and spinning top: full-body conviction vs small-body doubt

What marubozu and spinning top candles are, how body size relative to range shows conviction or indecision, and why both depend on context to mean anything.

By Sky Trade editorial teamUpdated November 5, 20265 min read

A marubozu and a spinning top sit at opposite ends of the same scale. A marubozu is almost all body with little or no wick: one side controlled the period from open to close. A spinning top has a small body and wicks on both sides: price moved around but ended near where it began. Both are building blocks rather than complete signals, and reading them well comes down to one ratio, body size compared with total range.

The body-to-range ratio

Every candle has a total range (high minus low) and a body (the distance between open and close). Their ratio says a lot:

Body as share of range	Typical name	What it suggests
About 90% or more	Marubozu	Strong one-sided control
Roughly 50–80%	Ordinary strong candle	Clear direction with some pushback
Roughly 15–35%	Spinning top	Indecision, both sides active
Under about 10%	Doji	Open and close nearly equal

The cut-offs are conventions; different authors draw them differently. The point is the spectrum, not the exact numbers.

Marubozu

"Marubozu" roughly means "shaved" or "bald" in Japanese: a candle with its wicks shaved off.

A bullish marubozu opens at or near its low and closes at or near its high. Buyers were in control for the entire period.
A bearish marubozu opens at or near its high and closes at or near its low.

Some traders distinguish an "open marubozu" (no wick at the open) from a "close marubozu" (no wick at the close). The closing end matters more: a candle that closes at its extreme shows the pressure was still on when the period ended. The marubozu glossary entry has a short definition.

A marubozu can start a move, continue one or, at the end of a long run, mark exhaustion. Three of them in a row are a strong form of three white soldiers or three black crows.

Spinning top

A spinning top has a small body roughly in the middle of its range, with upper and lower wicks of similar length. During the period buyers and sellers each pushed price away from the open, and neither held the ground. It is a milder cousin of the long-legged doji.

After a strong trend, a spinning top can be the first sign of hesitation. In a range, spinning tops are just what quiet trading looks like.

A worked example

GBP/USD on M15 has been drifting sideways between 1.27000 and 1.27150. Then a candle opens at 1.27140, never trades below 1.27138, and closes at 1.27230, with a high of 1.27232. Range: 9.4 pips. Body: 9 pips. That is a bullish marubozu breaking the top of the range.

The next candle opens at 1.27230, rises to 1.27270, drops to 1.27190 and closes at 1.27240. Range: 8 pips. Body: 1 pip, sitting in the middle. A spinning top.

How to read the pair: the marubozu showed buyers decisively pushing through the range high. The spinning top shows that, right after, there was a contest. That is normal after a breakout and not by itself a warning. If the next candles hold above the old range top at 1.27150, the breakout looks healthy. If price falls back into the range, the marubozu turns out to have been a false breakout. The candles describe the fight; they do not announce the winner in advance.

Why context still decides

A marubozu at the end of a long, stretched move can be the last burst rather than a fresh start.
A marubozu on a news release often reflects a single fast repricing.
A spinning top in a range is noise; the same candle at a major level after a strong move is worth a second look.
On very quiet charts, a "marubozu" may be a two-pip candle. Compare its size with recent candles, for example using ATR.

Short expiries and OTC

On S5–M1 charts, a five-second marubozu can be a single burst of ticks, and spinning tops are everywhere. For short expiries, these shapes are more informative on M5 or M15, where a full-bodied candle represents sustained pressure rather than a momentary burst.

On Sky Trade's OTC instruments, prices are generated by Sky Trade's server and do not follow any real market. The model makes the next move unpredictable, so a marubozu there shows that the random series moved one way for a while, with no implication for the following candle.

How to use it in the Sky Trade terminal

Use the Candles chart type; Heikin Ashi candles are averaged and produce many wickless candles that are not marubozu in the classic sense. Adding ATR helps you judge whether a full-bodied candle is actually large or just looks large on a quiet chart.

Conviction in one candle is not conviction in the next. With payouts below 100%, being right only about half the time still loses money over many trades.

Key terms

Frequently asked questions

What is a marubozu candle?

It is a candle with a large body and little or no wick, meaning price opened near one extreme and closed near the other. It shows strong control by one side during that period.

What does a spinning top candle mean?

It shows indecision: price moved both ways during the period but closed near where it opened, with a small body in the middle of the range.

What is the difference between a spinning top and a doji?

Both show indecision. A spinning top has a small but visible body; a doji has almost no body because open and close are nearly equal.

Is a bullish marubozu a buy signal?

Not by itself. It shows strong buying during one period, which can begin a move, continue one or mark exhaustion at the end of a long rally.

Why do Heikin Ashi charts show so many marubozu-like candles?

Heikin Ashi uses averaged values for open and close, so trending stretches often show candles without one of the wicks. They are not the same as marubozu on a standard candlestick chart.