Inverted Cup with Handle
An upside-down cup (a rounded top between two similar lows) with a small bounce; completes on a close below the rim.
The bearish mirror of the cup with handle: a dome-shaped rise and fall back to the old low, a brief bounce (the handle), then a breakdown below the rim.
Bulkowski counts it among the better bearish patterns, but it is rare.
How we define it
- Rim: two swing lows within 3% of each other, nothing below the rim in between
- Dome at least 4 ATR and 8% tall; the high in the middle 20-80%; closes fit a dome-shaped curve (R² ≥ 0.65)
- Handle: a bounce of at least 1 ATR that stays in the lower half of the dome
- Prior trend not up
- Breakout (up) / breakdown (down): the first candle close beyond the boundary by at least 3% on 1D and 1W (1.5% on 4H)
- Failed breaks: a breakout or breakdown that closes back inside the boundary within 6 candles on 4H, 5 on 1D or 3 on 1W is removed from the list
- Trend filter: breakouts only above the 200-period EMA (40-week EMA on 1W), breakdowns only below it
- Watchlist: the pattern is complete but unbroken and price is within 3% (or 1 ATR, at most 6%) of the boundary
No recent breakout or breakdown
No inverted cup with handle has completed recently. See all patterns.
Nothing on the watchlist
No mature inverted cup with handle is close to its breakout or breakdown level right now.