Continuation patterns
Descending triangle
Usually bearish
A flat support level with a falling sequence of highs above it.
What a descending triangle tells you
Sellers accept less each time while buyers defend one fixed price. The level usually gives way, but not always.
Why it forms
A visible buyer holds the level until their order is filled; sellers grow more urgent with every lower high.
How traders enter it
Entry on a close below the flat support, stop above the most recent lower high, objective the triangle height projected down.
How it fails
In an uptrend this shape often resolves upward — the flat level was accumulation. The break-and-reclaim is a common trap.
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 descending triangle bullish or bearish?
A descending triangle 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 descending triangle?
Entry on a close below the flat support, stop above the most recent lower high, objective the triangle height projected down.
When does a descending triangle fail?
In an uptrend this shape often resolves upward — the flat level was accumulation. The break-and-reclaim is a common trap.
Can ChartLens spot a descending triangle 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 .