What a marubozu is
A marubozu is a candle with a full body and no shadows. The shadows (also called wicks) are the thin lines above and below the body that show the high and low of the period. The name comes from Japanese and means "close-cropped." A marubozu has nothing to crop.
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Drawn pattern
There is no line above or below either body. The whole range of the period is body.
Formation rules
| Rule | Bullish marubozu | Bearish marubozu |
|---|---|---|
| Open | At the low of the period | At the high of the period |
| Close | At the high of the period | At the low of the period |
| Upper shadow | None | None |
| Lower shadow | None | None |
| Body size | Clearly larger than recent candles | Clearly larger than recent candles |
Traders also use partial versions:
- Opening marubozu: no shadow on the open side, a small shadow on the close side.
- Closing marubozu: no shadow on the close side, a small shadow on the open side. Many traders weight this version more, because price finished at the extreme.
In practice, most traders accept very small shadows. Price feeds differ between data providers, so a candle that is a clean marubozu on one chart may show a tiny wick on another. Daily candles in forex also depend on when the chart's day starts, which changes the shape of the candle.
Marubozu candle meaning: buyers and sellers
A bullish marubozu shows that buyers controlled the whole period. Price opened, never traded below the open, and closed at the top. Sellers did not push price back at any point that the candle records.
A bearish marubozu shows the reverse. Sellers controlled the period from open to close, and buyers never lifted price above the open.
What the candle does not show is why. A large one-sided move can come from real demand, from stop-loss orders being triggered, from a news release, or from thin liquidity. The candle records the result, not the cause.
Where it matters: context
Trend. A bullish marubozu inside an existing uptrend is read as continuation. After a long decline, it may mark a shift, but on its own it is weak evidence.
Level. A marubozu that closes through a support or resistance level gets more attention than one in the middle of a range. A marubozu that stops right at a level may simply have run into opposing orders.
Timeframe. On a daily or weekly chart, a marubozu reflects a lot of trading activity. On a minute chart, it may be a few seconds of fast price movement. Lower timeframes produce many marubozu-like candles that mean little.
Size. A marubozu that is much larger than recent candles stands out. A small one in a quiet market is just a small candle.
Drawn example chart
Here a range of small candles is followed by a bullish marubozu that closes above resistance. The candles that follow stay above the old level. That follow-through is what traders look for, not the marubozu alone.
Why it fails in isolation
- Exhaustion. A large candle at the end of a long move can be the final burst before the move stalls.
- Retracement. After a strong candle, price often pulls back into the body. A trader who reads the marubozu as an instant signal may be caught in that pullback.
- News spikes. A data release can print a marubozu that reverses in the next period.
- Feed and session effects. The shape depends on the data source and the candle start time, as noted above.
- No location. A marubozu in the middle of a range, away from any level, carries little information.
How traders seek confirmation
Traders who use this pattern usually look for:
- The next candle or candles holding beyond the marubozu's close, rather than reversing into the body.
- The broken level acting from the other side on a retest.
- Agreement with the trend on a higher timeframe.
- Volume or volatility readings that support the move, where available.
Related single-candle patterns with full bodies include the Belt Hold. Marubozu bodies also appear inside the Kicker Pattern and the Bullish Engulfing and Bearish Engulfing patterns. For the wider picture, see Candlestick Patterns and Technical analysis.
No candle pattern predicts price. Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money fast, and a strong-looking candle does not change that. Read Risk management before using any pattern, and practise reading charts on a Demo account first.
Frequent questions
What is a marubozu candlestick?
A candle with a full body and no upper or lower shadow. It opens at one extreme of the period and closes at the other.
What does a bullish marubozu mean?
Buyers controlled the whole period. Price opened at the low and closed at the high. It describes what happened, not what will happen next.
Does a marubozu need to have zero shadows?
Strictly, yes. In practice, many traders accept very small shadows because data feeds differ.
Is the marubozu a reversal or continuation pattern?
It can appear in either role. Trend, nearby levels and the candles that follow decide how traders read it.
Which timeframe works for the marubozu pattern?
Higher timeframes, such as daily or weekly charts, reflect more trading activity. On very low timeframes, marubozu-like candles are common and less meaningful.