Tweezer Top Pattern: When Two Equal Highs Signal the Rally Is Capped

The first candle reaches a high. The second candle reaches the same high — and both fail to close there. The market tried twice to push beyond a level and couldn't.

The tweezer top is the bearish mirror of the tweezer bottom: matching highs at the top of a rally, showing you where the market has found sellers willing to defend a ceiling.

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What Is the Tweezer Top?

Candle 1: A bullish (green) candle reaching a high but failing to close at the high of the session (upper wick).

Candle 2: A candle (often bearish/red) that tests the same high again and also fails to close above it.

Formation rules:

• Two consecutive candles with matching or near-matching highs
• Context: After an uptrend or sustained rally
• Second candle closes lower than its high, ideally bearish

Strength rating: 60/100.

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The Psychology

Day 1: Buyers push price to a new high. But they can't sustain it — the session closes below the high (upper wick). Sellers emerged at that level.

Day 2: Buyers try again. Another push to the exact same high. Sellers are there again, at the same price. The second attempt also fails. Price closes lower again.

Two tests at the same resistance, two rejections. The market is showing you the ceiling clearly. This is especially powerful when it happens at a technical level — a Fibonacci extension, a prior swing high, or a round number — because the level is meaningful to market participants.

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Position-Based Interpretation

At the Top of an Uptrend — Primary Context

After a sustained rally, the tweezer top says: "price has found a ceiling here, twice." The two failed tests at the same level indicate that sellers are positioned there with size — enough to absorb two separate buying attempts.

This pattern often precedes a more significant pullback or reversal. The double rejection at the same high is a clear signal that the resistance is real.

At a Known Resistance Level

The most actionable tweezer top: forms at a historically significant resistance — a prior all-time high, the top of a long trading range, a 1.618 Fibonacci extension. The technical level and the pattern align. Sellers were expected there; the tweezer confirms they showed up.

Mid-Uptrend Pullback

A tweezer top mid-uptrend may indicate a temporary pullback, not a full reversal. Look at the broader context: is the uptrend still intact on higher timeframes? If so, the tweezer is a "take profits" signal rather than "go short."

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How to Trade the Tweezer Top

Entry: Close of the second (bearish) candle, or the open of the following session.

Stop loss: Above the high of the tweezer — the matched highs. If price breaks and closes above that level, the resistance has failed.

Take profit: Prior support below, a key moving average, or a measured move equal to the height of the recent rally from the base.

Precision matters: Matching highs within 0.1–0.3% are a stronger signal than highs 1–2% apart.

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