How to trade Four-price Doji Candlesticks with Example: FKnol.com

The four-price doji is a candlestick pattern which has the same value of open, high, low and close prices over the period of observation. In reality, having exactly the same price for all four values may not be possible. Therefore, if the four prices are in nearby range to each other, then the candlestick is assumed to be a four-price doji candlestick. Such a pattern forms very-very infrequently on the price charts of stocks, ETFs and stock market indexes. The figure that gets generated on the price charts represents a dot or a small-sized flat line indicating all four price parameters to be very close to each other - hence the name. The formation of a four-price doji candle indicates a lack of interest/determination among the buyers and sellers. It essentially means that there is very little market activity and the asset may be very illiquid to trade on. The four prices will remain the same if there is only one-two trade at the same price. Due to this nature, the significance of four-price doji is very limited. It is difficult to deduce any concrete evidence from it, and its low occurences also make it difficult to make any emphirical studies on this pattern. Four-Price Doji usually can be seen during the pre-market and after hours trading. They can be observed at lower-timeframe candlesticks, like 1-minute candles, instead of those in the larger timeframes. When such candles begin to appear on a larger timespan chart (like daily chart) it may mean that the trading volume is likely to be extremely low, and the trading interest in the security is diminishing. This may be a typical feature of penny stocks. Active traders may take its formation as a sign of declining interest and declining liquidity, and may like to close their open positions.

Construction of the Four-price Doji Candlestick

The four-price doji candlestick is formed by any standard doji candle which has all four price parameters as same, or in a very similar price range, during the period of candlestick observation. Volume is usually very low, and the same is reflected in the price values being in the tight range. Ideally, the upper and lower shadow or wick should not exist at all.

This is how a typical four-price doji candlestick appears:

Trading the Four-price Doji Candlestick

Though the four-price doji forms rarely on the price charts of all kinds of assets - be it stocks, indexes or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), it signals that complete indecision and above all a big lack of interest among the market participants for trading a particular stock. While some traders believe that its formation indicates indecision and may lead to a price reversal, other traders disagree and suggest that it is best to avoid taking any position in a stock which is forming the four-price doji. Results from studying past data on the occurences of four-price doji remains inconclusive. Its formation remains inconclusive about what will happen to the future price moves. Only one special case that comes to the fore is if a four-price doji is formed on considerable trading volume, then it can be considered the standard doji.

Trading Scenario for Four-price Doji

It is usually advised to avoid the stocks which are forming the four-price doji as it will lead to lack of liquidity in future. That results in challenges of fair price discovery, leading to large spreads in bid and ask prices.

Example of Four-price Doji Candlestick

The following chart shows an instance of four-price doji candlesticks and the uptrend that followed shortly after:

The above chart for NRG Energy stock for the year 2003 indicates that the formation of the four-price doji candle.

Latest Four-price Doji Formations

FKnol.com has a dedicated section on candlesticks where the list of stocks, ETFs and indexes forming four-price doji candles is updated on a daily basis. At present, the following stocks have formed the four-price dojis as of the mentioned date (in reverse chronological order):
▶ Full list of stocks which most recently formed the Four-price Doji Pattern

2) On Monday, May 18, 2020, the price of Multi-Cap based Global X MLP ETF (MLPA) ETF formed the following Four-price Doji Candlestick pattern:

Open	High	Low	Close
$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Body-Length	Candle Length	Body-to-Candle Factor
0.00	0.00	0.00


		$0.00 ~= $0.00 ~= $0.00 ~= $0.00

See full details and past history of Four-price Doji Candlesticks for Global X MLP ETF (MLPA)

▶ Full list of ETFs which most recently formed the Four-price Doji Pattern

▶ Full list of Market Indexes which most recently formed the Four-price Doji Pattern

...and there's more. FKnol.com everyday checks the stock price and candlestick formation across hundreds of stocks, ETFs and indexes to look for four-price doji formations. Please see the full list of recent four-price doji formations for:
▶ Full list of recent Four-price Doji Stocks
▶ Full list of recent Four-price Doji ETFs
▶ Full list of recent Four-price Doji Indexes

The Bottom Line

Trading candlesticks like the four-price doji needs strict discipline and emotion-free trading. Candlestick trading is a part of technical analysis and success rate may vary depending upon the type of stock selected and the overall market conditions. Use of proper stop-loss, profit level and capital management is advised.
One can also explore the similar candlestick formations on various dates using the below screener:

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