If a security has virtually equal opening and closing prices, this leads to a Doji. The length of the upper and lower shadows of a Doji can vary and consequently the resulting candlestick may look like a cross, inverted cross or a plus sign. Doji, taken alone, is a neutral pattern.

Recognition Criteria:

1. The real body is either a horizontal line or it is significantly small (its length is not more than a few ticks).
2. The upper and lower shadows vary in length.

The open and close should be equal in an ideal Doji. However the real life is unfortunately not that simple. A Doji with an equal open and close may be considered more robust but it is also rare in the real life. Hence it is more important to capture and understand the essence of this important candlestick. Doji is a particular signal showing indecision about the direction of the market and it represents a tug of war between buyers and sellers. Doji simply shows that prices has moved above and below the opening price during the day, but then the security closed either exactly at or very near the opening price. The overall result is a standoff. It shows that neither the bulls nor the bears were able to gain control during the day and it is possible that a turning point can develop soon.

Important Factors:

Doji is an important candlestick. It provides information on its own. It also features in other formations as an important element.

Doji is relatively easy to spot. It has a very small body with the appearance of a thin horizontal line. The very small body relative to other candlesticks is its distinguishing characteristic.

Doji needs to be interpreted in terms of a preceding trend or preceding candlesticks. The appearance of a Doji after an advance or a long white candlestick signals the fact that the buying pressure is getting weaker. The appearance of a Doji after a decline or a long black candlestick signals the fact that the selling pressure is diminishing. Essentially Doji gives the message that the forces of supply and demand are becoming more evenly matched and consequently a change in trend may be near. However Doji alone is not enough to identify a reversal and further confirmation by following signals may be warranted.

The importance of Doji as a signal is somewhat relative and depends on the characteristics of the market. It is actually important only in markets where you do not see many Doji. If there are many Doji on a particular chart, the appearance of a new Doji in that particular market is not very meaningful and its signal value is negligible.