Patterns › Stochastic bullish cross vs Stochastic bearish cross
Look-alikes
Stochastic bullish cross vs Stochastic bearish cross
They look alike, so beginners mix them up. Here is what each one means, and how often each one worked on real charts.
Stochastic bullish cross
Below 20, the fast stochastic line crossed above the slow one.
The stochastic shows where the close sits inside the high-to-low range of the last 14 candles, from 0 at the bottom to 100 at the top. Our version smooths this line, called %K, over 3 candles, and draws a slower line, called %D, as the 3-candle average of %K. A bullish cross is when %K crosses above %D right after being below 20, the oversold zone. It hints that selling may be tiring, but price can stay low for a long time.
Thinking a low stochastic means price must bounce right away.
Stochastic bearish cross
Above 80, the fast stochastic line crossed below the slow one.
The stochastic shows where the close sits inside the high-to-low range of the last 14 candles, from 0 to 100. Our version smooths %K over 3 candles and draws %D as the 3-candle average of %K. A bearish cross is when %K crosses below %D right after being above 80, the overbought zone. It hints that buying may be tiring, but in a strong rise the stochastic can stay high for a long time.
Thinking a high stochastic means price must fall right away.
Real odds side by side
| Pattern | Found | Target first | Stop first | Went nowhere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stochastic bullish cross | 98,041 | 35% | 57% | 8% |
| Stochastic bearish cross | 108,296 | 36% | 58% | 7% |
Counted by the Trading Class research engine on real past candles: entry at the signal candle's close, target 1.5 × ATR(14), stop 1 × ATR(14), 12 candles to decide, a candle that touches both counts as the stop. How we count. Past data, not a forecast and not advice.