20.2%To entry+12.3%expected49.0%Hist. win rate
RCUSLong
Ascending Triangle: The Pattern, Breakout and Trade Rules
An ascending triangle combines repeated highs near one price with rising lows. Follow an example from drawing the boundaries to planning a breakout and reading the historical results.
What Is an Ascending Triangle Pattern?
An ascending triangle forms when rallies stop near the same price while each pullback ends higher. Imagine peaks near $50 and successive lows near $44, $46 and $48. These illustrative prices give you a horizontal upper boundary and an upward-sloping lower boundary.
The upper area is called resistance because earlier rallies stopped there. The rising lows show that later declines ended at higher prices. The support and resistance guide explains these terms.
As the boundaries converge, the range narrows. An ascending triangle can develop without the sharp preceding rally required by a pennant.
How to Spot an Ascending Triangle
Use these features to check the shape:
- Several separate rallies stop near the same price.
- The lows between those rallies rise.
- A line across the highs is roughly horizontal, while the line under the lows slopes upward.
- The boundaries converge while price still has room to move between them.
Peaks rarely match to the cent. Decide how you will judge nearby prices before looking at the outcome, and apply that convention consistently. Redrawing a boundary to fit a later breakout makes the historical pattern easier to find than it was at the time.
Ascending vs Descending vs Symmetrical Triangle
Compare the boundaries and the move preceding the consolidation to distinguish these related patterns.
A descending triangle has a flat lower boundary and falling highs.
A symmetrical triangle has falling highs and rising lows, so neither boundary is horizontal.
A bull pennant is a small consolidation following a sharp rally. The preceding rally is required to identify it.
Is an Ascending Triangle Bullish or Bearish?
The rising lows explain why traders look for an upward break: each decline has stopped closer to the same resistance area. That observation leaves both directions possible.
In the $50 example, a rise through the upper trigger starts the bullish rule. A fall through the rising lower boundary calls for a different trade plan. The historical table separates the two directions.
Entry, Safety Exit and Target
The following steps describe TradingPal’s historical simulation. Choose each step on the diagram to see where the price level sits. The risk/reward guide explains how the distance from entry to the safety exit becomes the planned risk, or 1R.
1.Entry
The simulation places its entry trigger above the flat upper boundary. The pattern must have been established on an earlier daily candle. The first eligible candle to reach the trigger can fill the order. If price gaps past it overnight, the simulation uses the worse opening price.
2.Safety exit
The planned invalidation level sits below the last dip before the breakout. The test closes the trade at the close of a later daily candle beyond that level. Price can overshoot it or gap past it, so the actual loss can exceed the planned 1R.
3.Target and final exit
Measure the pattern’s height at its widest point and project that distance from the entry trigger in the direction of the trade. This is the measured-move target. Reaching the upside target activates a trailing exit based on the 10-day moving average, the average of the last ten daily closing prices. The trade ends on a later close below that average.
The entry trigger sits beyond the breakout boundary. After prior-day establishment, the simulation uses the first eligible fill; a gap can produce a worse opening price.
Checks Before Using the Pattern
- Draw both boundaries from separate turning points and use a consistent convention for nearby prices.
- Check whether price has already reached the intersection of the lines or broken out and returned. Those events change the setup available to trade.
- Recalculate risk and potential reward if the entry price changes. A later entry can leave less distance to the target and more distance to the safety exit.
- Write down the exit rule before entering. The historical result assumes that rule was followed, including exits that lost more than the planned risk.
Historical Results for the Tested Rules
The table summarizes simulated trades using the entry and exit rules above. Check the direction, sample size and measurement period before comparing rows. These results update when a new historical run is published.
Read win rate together with the size of the wins and losses. A strategy can win half its trades and still gain or lose overall. Average R and profit factor help explain which happened; the track-record metrics guide covers the calculation.
The published pattern group includes shapes that passed later confirmation checks. That can affect which historical trades enter the sample, even when the simulated fill uses prices available at the time. The backtesting methodology explains this limitation and the portfolio assumptions.
Win rate
48.9%
Avg return per trade
+2.6%
+0.25R in risk units
Backtested trades
1,753
Profit factor
1.48
gross positive R ÷ absolute gross negative R
Historical results of the simulated strategy described above (2006-09-08 – 2026-09-09), refreshed nightly — not a prediction. How we test →
Winning and Losing Examples
The examples below are selected completed trades from the historical simulation. Compare the entry and exit in each, including the losing trades. Opening a symbol takes you to its current chart.
Selected for learning, with a mix of wins and losses where available. Closed in the 90 days ending Sep 11, 2026. This selection is not a win-rate sample.
TUTelus
Winning trade · +5.7%
Opened Aug 26, 2026
Closed Sep 10, 2026
Open TU’s live chart →
ECLEcolab
Losing trade · −5.7%
Opened Aug 28, 2026
Closed Sep 9, 2026
Open ECL’s live chart →
ACIAlbertsons Companies
Winning trade · +5.8%
Opened Sep 8, 2026
Closed Sep 9, 2026
Open ACI’s live chart →
FISVFiserv
Losing trade · −11.3%
Opened Aug 13, 2026
Closed Sep 9, 2026
Open FISV’s live chart →
DEIDouglas Emmett
Winning trade · +11.6%
Opened Jul 27, 2026
Closed Sep 9, 2026
Open DEI’s live chart →
HSICHenry Schein
Losing trade · −4.4%
Opened Sep 3, 2026
Closed Sep 9, 2026
Open HSIC’s live chart →
Stocks with an Ascending Triangle Pattern Right Now
Our screener re-draws these lines on 2,600+ symbols every night. The current matches appear below.
19 fresh ascending triangles formed in the last 45 days across our growing universe of 2,600+ scanned symbols (21 charts tracked for this pattern in total). Scan updated Sep 11, 2026.
Live · from the latest scan on Sep 11, 2026
19 structures found. See example
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See the full offeringAscending Triangle Pattern FAQ
Is an ascending triangle bullish or bearish?
Traders commonly watch it for an upward break because its lows are rising toward resistance. TradingPal tests both break directions separately.
Can an ascending triangle form after a downtrend?
Yes. An upward breakout would then be a possible reversal of the earlier decline. The trade still requires its entry trigger.
What is the target for an ascending triangle?
Measure the triangle’s widest height and project that distance from the entry trigger in the breakout direction. The bullish rule uses a moving-average exit after reaching that target.
How long does an ascending triangle take to form?
It needs enough time for distinct highs and lows to define both boundaries. On a daily chart that can span weeks or months; duration alone does not identify the pattern.
What happens if an ascending triangle breaks down?
The downward break is evaluated with its own entry, safety exit and target. An existing long position follows its declared safety-exit rule.
Keep Learning
Descending Triangle
A descending triangle combines repeated lows near one price with falling highs.
Read the guide →
Symmetrical Triangle
A symmetrical triangle forms as highs fall and lows rise.
Read the guide →
Bullish Pennant
A bullish pennant forms when a sharp rally pauses in a small, narrowing range.
Read the guide →
Educational content, not investment advice. Backtest statistics are historical results of a simulated strategy, refreshed nightly — they describe the past, not the next trade.