Wedge (rising / falling)

Both trendlines slope the same way but converge, signalling exhaustion. Rising wedge → bearish -1; falling wedge → bullish +1.

Quick reference

Item	Value
Family	Chart Patterns
Input type	Candle (uses high, low)
Output type	f64 (+1 / -1 / 0)
Output range	{-1.0, 0.0, +1.0}
Default parameters	none (swing threshold 5%, baked)
Warmup period	5
Interpretation	Reversal — converging same-direction trendlines

Formula

from the last four pivots derive (high_old, high_new, low_old, low_new):
  high_slope = high_new - high_old ; low_slope = low_new - low_old
  rising wedge  : both slopes > 0 and low_slope  > high_slope → -1 (bearish)
  falling wedge : both slopes < 0 and high_slope < low_slope  → +1 (bullish)
otherwise → 0

Convergence is the key: in a rising wedge the lower line climbs faster than the upper; in a falling wedge the upper line drops faster than the lower. See crates/wickra-core/src/indicators/wedge.rs.

Parameters

None. Swing threshold 0.05 is a baked-in family constant (pattern_swing.rs). Wedge::new is infallible.

Inputs / Outputs

const _: fn(&mut wickra::Wedge, wickra::Candle) -> Option<f64> =
    <wickra::Wedge as wickra::Indicator>::update;

• Python. update((o,h,l,c,v,ts)) → float (never None); batch(open, high, low, close) → 1-D ndarray.
• Node. update(open, high, low, close) → number; batch(open, high, low, close) → number[].
• WASM. update(open, high, low, close) → number.

Warmup

warmup_period() == 5. Four confirmed pivots are required; the earliest bar that can confirm a fourth pivot is the fifth. Pinned by test accessors_and_metadata.

Edge cases

• Rising wedge reports -1 (test rising_wedge_is_minus_one).
• Falling wedge reports +1 (test falling_wedge_is_plus_one).
• Diverging (broadening) swings report 0.0 (test diverging_swings_are_not_a_wedge).
• reset clears state (test reset_clears_state).
• Streaming equals batch (test batch_equals_streaming).

Examples

Rust

use wickra::{Candle, Indicator, Wedge};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    // Highs 100 → 103 (+3), lows 90 → 94 (+4, steeper) → rising wedge.
    let bars = [
        (109.89, 110.0, 109.89, 109.89),
        (90.0, 108.9, 90.0, 90.0),
        (90.9, 100.0, 90.9, 90.9),
        (94.0, 99.0, 94.0, 94.0),
        (94.94, 103.0, 94.94, 94.94),
        (92.7, 101.97, 92.7, 92.7),
    ];
    let mut pat = Wedge::new();
    let mut last = 0.0;
    for (ts, (o, h, l, c)) in bars.iter().enumerate() {
        last = pat.update(Candle::new(*o, *h, *l, *c, 1.0, ts as i64)?).unwrap();
    }
    println!("{last}"); // -1
    Ok(())
}

Python

import wickra as ta

bars = [
    (109.89, 110.0, 109.89, 109.89, 1.0, 0),
    (90.0, 108.9, 90.0, 90.0, 1.0, 1),
    (90.9, 100.0, 90.9, 90.9, 1.0, 2),
    (94.0, 99.0, 94.0, 94.0, 1.0, 3),
    (94.94, 103.0, 94.94, 94.94, 1.0, 4),
    (92.7, 101.97, 92.7, 92.7, 1.0, 5),
]
pat = ta.Wedge()
print([pat.update(b) for b in bars][-1])  # -1.0

Node

const wickra = require('wickra');
const bars = [
  [109.89, 110.0, 109.89, 109.89], [90.0, 108.9, 90.0, 90.0],
  [90.9, 100.0, 90.9, 90.9], [94.0, 99.0, 94.0, 94.0],
  [94.94, 103.0, 94.94, 94.94], [92.7, 101.97, 92.7, 92.7],
];
const pat = new wickra.Wedge();
let last = 0;
for (const [o, h, l, c] of bars) last = pat.update(o, h, l, c);
console.log(last); // -1

Streaming

pat = ta.Wedge()
for o, h, l, c, v, ts in candle_feed:
    signal = pat.update((o, h, l, c, v, ts))
    if signal < 0:
        pass  # rising wedge — momentum fading despite higher highs (bearish)
    elif signal > 0:
        pass  # falling wedge — selling exhausting despite lower lows (bullish)

Interpretation

1. Exhaustion, not trend. A rising wedge makes higher highs yet warns of a downside reversal because the lows rise faster (buyers stretching). The falling wedge is the mirror.
2. Counter-trend by nature. The signal often opposes the prevailing slope, so confirm with a trendline break before acting.

Common pitfalls

• Wedge vs triangle. A wedge needs both lines sloping the same way; a triangle has at least one flat line. The detectors are distinct — check both.
• Slope, not level. The verdict is purely about the relative slopes of the last two highs and lows, not absolute price levels.

See also

• Triangle — converging with at least one flat line.
• Indicators-Overview — full taxonomy.