What it is
The Thrusting Line is a two-candle bearish continuation pattern. After a bearish candle in a downtrend, a bullish candle opens below the prior low and closes into the prior candle's body — but below the midpoint. It 'thrusts' into the body without reaching halfway.
The Thrusting Line sits between the In Neck Line (which barely reaches the close) and the Piercing Line (which closes above the midpoint). The bullish candle makes a stronger recovery than the neck patterns but still fails to threaten a real reversal.
The psychology
The Thrusting Line shows a moderate but insufficient buying attempt. Candle 1 is bearish in a downtrend. Candle 2 opens below the low (gap down) then rallies — better than On Neck or In Neck, but still not enough.
The close enters the prior candle's body but stays below the midpoint. Buyers showed more fight than in the neck patterns, but they still couldn't push past the 50% level. This halfway mark is critical — a close above it would be a Piercing Line, which is actually bullish.
The failure to reach the midpoint confirms that bears maintain control. The rally was 'thrusting' into the body but didn't have enough force to break through. The downtrend typically resumes.
Identification
- 01Prior downtrend — Bearish continuation context
- 02Candle 1 — Bearish candle with a meaningful body
- 03Candle 2 — Bullish candle opening below Candle 1's low
- 04Close into the body — Candle 2 closes above Candle 1's close but below its midpoint
- 05Below the midpoint — This is what distinguishes it from a Piercing Line
- 01Low volume on Candle 2 — Rally lacks conviction
- 02Close well below midpoint — Further from 50% = more bearish
- 03In a strong downtrend — Bearish context supports continuation
- 04Below broken support — Overhead resistance limits recovery
- 01Close above midpoint — That's a Piercing Line (bullish signal)
- 02Close at or below prior close — That's an In Neck Line instead
- 03No prior downtrend — Needs bearish context
- 04High volume bullish candle — May overpower the pattern
Execution framework
Conservative: Enter short on a break below Day 2's low.
Aggressive: Enter short at Day 2's close - the thrust wasn't strong enough.
Above the high of the second (bullish) candle. If buyers push above this level, the bearish continuation thesis weakens significantly.
T1: The low of the first candle. T2: Previous swing low. Thrusting Line is a weak bearish continuation - the bounce was shallow, suggesting sellers remain dominant.
Minimum 1:1.5. This is a mild continuation signal, not an aggressive entry. Use with trend confirmation.
Context matters
The Thrusting Line is more bearish than a Piercing Line but less bearish than In Neck or On Neck. The hierarchy: On Neck (most bearish continuation) > In Neck > Thrusting > Piercing Line (actually bullish). The 50% midpoint of Candle 1's body is the dividing line.
- 01In a strong, established downtrend
- 02Low volume on the bullish candle
- 03Close stays well below the midpoint
- 04Below recently broken support levels
- 05On daily charts
- 06With bearish momentum on higher timeframes
- 01Near major support
- 02High volume on the bullish candle
- 03Close approaching the midpoint
- 04On very low timeframes
- 05In a sideways market
- 06Against a higher-timeframe uptrend
Often confused with piercing line, but the close must be below the midpoint. This is bearish continuation, not reversal.
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