What Is Ascending Triangle?
An ascending triangle forms when price makes higher lows while repeatedly testing the same horizontal resistance level. Visually it looks like a right triangle pointing up: a flat top and a rising bottom trendline. The convergence suggests buyers are getting more aggressive even as sellers hold their line.
The conventional break is upward through the flat resistance, often on a volume spike, with a target equal to the height of the triangle's base added to the breakout point. About 70% of ascending triangles in textbooks break to the upside — but in real-time, the false-break rate is higher than backtest data suggests.
Best confirmation: increasing volume on the touches of the rising support line, then a decisive breakout on volume. Failed breakouts that reverse back into the triangle often produce sharp moves the other way, so a stop just below the rising trendline is essential.
Related terms
- Breakout — A price move beyond an established support, resistance, or chart pattern boundary.
- Support and Resistance — Price levels where buying or selling pressure historically halts price movement.
- Volume
- Descending Triangle — Bearish continuation pattern with falling resistance and flat support.