Cup & Handle
BullishA rounded teacup base followed by a small handle-shaped rest — textbooks read it as gearing up to move higher
Textbook shape
How to read it
A rounded 'cup' that returns to the prior high, followed by a short, shallow 'handle' just below it. The slow rounded base — not a sharp V — is read as evidence that supply was absorbed over time.
The handle is where late profit-taking gets digested. The pattern completes when the close clears the cup rim above the handle.
Watch for volume drying up in the handle and expanding on the breakout.
Real example
US stockUALWeekly
Completed 2025-09-26
CryptoBTC-USDDaily
Completed 2020-05-11
A window SQMATE's detectors actually flagged in past bars. It records a day that worked out — the same shape doesn't always resolve the same way.
On SQMATE
No more eyeballing charts
You don't have to flip through charts hunting for shapes. Signal watch pings your browser the moment a condition is met, patterns on your watchlist arrive by email, and the screener lists every symbol that matched today.
SQMATE draws the lines
Support lines, trendlines, channels — the lines you need to read a pattern are drawn for you, so no time goes into drawing.
Patterns aren't the whole story
The same shape doesn't always resolve the same way. It's safer to read it together with candles, volume, and market context — news, catalysts, flows.