Continuation patterns
Bear flag
Usually bearish
A sharp decline followed by a tight, slightly upward-sloping consolidation.
What a bear flag tells you
The mirror of the bull flag. The drift higher is short covering and dip buying rather than a genuine change of control.
Why it forms
Sellers pause; buyers step in early and get trapped when the decline resumes.
How traders enter it
Entry on the break of the flag's lower boundary, stop above the flag high, objective the pole projected down.
How it fails
Bear flags fail readily near major support or after a capitulation candle, where the pole itself was the end of the move.
That last section is the one worth rereading. A pattern is only useful because it comes with a level that proves you wrong — without one you have a shape and a hope.
People also ask
Is a bear flag bullish or bearish?
A bear flag is usually read as bearish, but only once it confirms. Before the confirming break it is a shape, and shapes fail. Context decides more than the label does.
How do you trade a bear flag?
Entry on the break of the flag's lower boundary, stop above the flag high, objective the pole projected down.
When does a bear flag fail?
Bear flags fail readily near major support or after a capitulation candle, where the pole itself was the end of the move.
Can ChartLens spot a bear flag for me?
Yes. Photograph or screenshot any chart and ChartLens names the pattern if it is clearly formed, with a confidence level and whether it is forming, confirmed or failed — and says nothing if it is not there.
Last updated .