8.7%To entry--Typical win48.9%Won
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Descending triangle: support, breakdowns and trade rules
A descending triangle combines repeated lows near one price with falling highs. Learn what those boundaries show, how a downside trade is defined and what its historical record measures.
What is a descending triangle pattern?
A descending triangle forms when declines stop near the same price while the rallies between them peak lower. Imagine lows near $40 and successive highs near $46, $44 and $42. These illustrative prices form a horizontal lower boundary and a falling upper boundary.
The lower area is called support because earlier declines stopped there. Each later rally covers less distance before turning down. See support and resistance for how these areas are identified.
The narrowing range can form during a decline or after a rally. Its boundaries describe the current consolidation; the trade begins when price reaches a defined trigger.
How to spot a descending triangle
Use these features to check the shape:
- Several separate declines stop near the same price.
- The highs between those declines fall.
- The lower boundary is roughly horizontal and the upper boundary slopes downward.
- The lines converge while there is still space between them.
Use one convention for deciding whether nearby lows belong to the same support area. A low at $40.10 and another at $39.70 require judgment; moving the line after seeing the next move changes the test.
Descending vs ascending vs symmetrical triangle
Compare the boundaries and the move preceding the consolidation to distinguish these related patterns.
Descending triangle
Ascending triangle ↗
Symmetrical triangle ↗
Bear pennant ↗
Illustrative shapes. Compare the move before the pause and the direction of the two boundaries.
Is a descending triangle pattern bullish or bearish?
Traders watch for a downward break because each rally stops closer to the same support area. The stock can also recover through the falling upper boundary.
For the illustrative $40 support area, a downward trigger defines the bearish entry. The historical results separate that trade from an upward breakout, which uses different exit rules.
Entry, safety exit and target
A short trade sells borrowed shares and later buys them back. It gains from a decline and loses from a rise; borrow availability and costs also affect whether a real trade is possible.
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.
Read the full entry, exit and target rules
Entry
The simulation places its entry trigger below the flat lower 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.
Safety exit
The planned invalidation level sits above the last bounce before the breakdown. 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.
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. The bearish rule closes at the projected downside target.
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.
KVUEKenvue
Winning trade · +4.2%
Opened Sep 8, 2026
Closed Sep 9, 2026
Open KVUE’s live chart →
AMDDDaily Amd Bear 1X
Losing trade · −6.5%
Opened Sep 1, 2026
Closed Sep 8, 2026
Open AMDD’s live chart →
TOLToll Brothers
Winning trade · +7.3%
Opened Aug 17, 2026
Closed Sep 9, 2026
Open TOL’s live chart →
WGMIValkyrie Bitcoin Miners
Losing trade · −12.2%
Opened Aug 21, 2026
Closed Sep 8, 2026
Open WGMI’s live chart →
VFLOVictoryshares Free Cash Flow
Winning trade · +19.0%
Opened Jun 29, 2026
Closed Sep 4, 2026
Open VFLO’s live chart →
KMBKimberly-Clark
Losing trade · −3.8%
Opened Aug 20, 2026
Closed Sep 4, 2026
Open KMB’s live chart →
Stocks with a descending triangle pattern right now
Our screener re-draws these lines on 2,600+ symbols every night. The current matches appear below.
6 fresh descending triangles formed in the last 45 days across our growing universe of 2,600+ scanned symbols. Scan updated Sep 11, 2026.
Live · from the latest scan on Sep 11, 2026
6 structures found. See example
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See the full offeringDescending triangle pattern FAQ
Is a descending triangle bullish or bearish?
It is commonly watched for a downward break because the rallies are getting smaller. Both directions remain possible, and TradingPal reports them separately.
What does a descending triangle in a downtrend mean?
It describes a consolidation during the decline. A downward break would continue that move under the stated entry rule.
What does a descending triangle in an uptrend mean?
It shows repeated support tests and falling highs after a rally. A subsequent break determines whether the bullish or bearish rule becomes eligible.
What is the target for a descending triangle?
Project the triangle’s widest height downward from the entry trigger. The tested bearish trade exits at that target unless its safety-exit rule ends it first.
What happens if a descending triangle breaks upward?
The bullish rule uses an upward trigger and, after reaching its target, a 10-day moving-average exit. A trader already short follows the short position’s safety-exit rule.
Keep learning
Ascending triangle
An ascending triangle combines repeated highs near one price with rising lows.
Read the guide →
Symmetrical triangle
The swings get smaller, but the next move can go either way.
Read the guide →
Bearish pennant
A bearish pennant is a narrowing pause after a sharp decline.
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.