Rising wedge and falling wedge

Breakout, textbook direction against the slopeAlso called: Wedge

Both lines slope the same way and converge. A rising wedge climbs but each push gains less; the textbook expects a break down. A falling wedge is the mirror image and expects a break up.

What it shows

In a rising wedge, new highs come with less and less progress. Momentum fades even while prices still rise, and the lower line eventually gives way.

How the scanner finds it

Both lines move at least 0.6 ATR in the same direction across the pattern, and the gap between them narrows.
Every swing touches its line and every close stays inside.
Both breaks are armed; the label says whether the break went the textbook way.

An idealized drawing. The numbers are the alert stages; the shaded boxes are the textbook stop and target.

How the alerts work for this pattern

1
Forming
Four swings fit two converging lines that slope the same way.
2
Complete
A fifth swing still fits.
3
Close to signaling
A close comes near either line.
4
Time to act
A candle closes beyond a line.
x
Cancelled
The lines meet, or one more pattern length passes.

The textbook trade

Trigger: A close beyond either line.
Stop: Beyond the last swing on the other side.
Target: The height of the wedge at its start, projected from the break.

Things to watch

A wedge that breaks with its slope (up out of a rising wedge) is a different situation; the scanner still reports it, labelled against the textbook.
Wedges on the 15-minute chart are often parts of larger moves on the hourly chart.

Where it comes from

Edwards and Magee, Technical Analysis of Stock Trends (1948), describe rising and falling wedges and their usual direction. Bulkowski (2000) lists them separately.

On our charts

Real detections by the scanner on our own price data (2026-08-01 to 2026-10-19), with the alerts it sent. Times are New York time. Some worked and some did not.

GER3015-minute chart2026-10-19Rising wedge, broke downReached the target

The alerts it sent

1Forming2026-10-19 01:45 NY4 swings fit between 25561.2 and 25592.9; watching for a close beyond either line
4Time to act2026-10-19 02:15 NYclosed through 25566.0: entry 25534.9, stop 25591.3, target 25461.5
5Result2026-10-19 03:15 NYtarget (+1.30R)

XAGUSD15-minute chart2026-10-19Falling wedge, broke downNeither in 8 hours

The alerts it sent

1Forming2026-10-19 15:15 NY4 swings fit between 56.99 and 57.37; watching for a close beyond either line
4Time to act2026-10-19 18:45 NYclosed through 56.91: entry 56.89, stop 57.44, target 56.33
5Result2026-10-19 23:00 NYtime (-0.82R)

Education, not advice. A pattern describes what many traders watch for; it does not predict what price will do. The textbook stop and target are reference levels, not instructions. Trading involves risk.

Put it to work

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Trading involves risk. This page is education, not advice; examples come from past data.