The Broadening Wedge Pattern

Updated October 23, 2026

A broadening wedge forms when price swings get wider rather than narrower, with support and resistance lines diverging. It appears when the market has no settled direction, and it has an unusually clear failure condition. Updated September 2026.

The pattern in brief

• Type: reversal pattern, forming at the end of trends

• Structure: support and resistance lines diverge rather than converge

• Minimum requirement: five pivots, three tops and two bottoms, or the inverse

• Ascending version: forms after an uptrend, signals a move down

• Descending version: forms after a downtrend, signals a move up

• Frequency: relatively rare compared with triangles and flags

• Failure condition: a sixth pivot breaking the opposite trend line

The ascending broadening wedge

This forms at the end of an uptrend. Price continues making higher highs and higher lows, but the resistance line rises faster than the support line, so the range widens.

5-minute time frame

Highest bottom and the highest top

Ascending Broadening Wedge pattern

Five pivots are required as a minimum: three tops and two bottoms. The pattern completes when price returns to the support trend line after the third top.

Volume typically increases as each wave forms, reflecting the contest between buyers and sellers at progressively wider extremes.

• Entry: short, after the breakout candle closes below the support trend line

• Confirmation: check candlestick patterns at the breakout, a momentum candle strengthens the case

• Stop loss: above the last top, or tighter above the breakout candle at higher risk

• Target: measured from the distance between the highest top and the support line

The widening range is what makes this pattern demanding. Each successive swing is larger than the last, so a stop placed above the most recent top can be a long way from the entry. Position size has to be calculated from that distance rather than chosen first, otherwise the trade risks far more than intended.

The descending broadening wedge

The mirror image, forming at the end of a downtrend. Price makes lower lows and lower highs, but the support line falls faster than the resistance line.

The same five pivot minimum applies. The pattern completes when the third bottom forms and price returns to the resistance line.

• Entry: long, after the breakout candle closes above the resistance trend line

• Stop loss: below the breakout candle, or below the last bottom for a wider version

• Target: measured from the distance between the lowest bottom and the resistance line

When the pattern fails

The failure case is well defined, which is unusual and useful.

In an ascending broadening wedge, if price reaches the resistance trend line while attempting to form the third bottom, and then breaks through it, the reversal premise has failed.

Two tops to complete the pattern

Failed Ascending Broadening Wedge pattern

This does not mean no trade. The break of the resistance line is itself a signal: enter long above it with a stop below the breakout candle. A failed reversal often produces a strong continuation, because the traders positioned for the reversal must now exit.

Having a defined plan for the failure case is what separates this pattern from most. You are not required to guess which way it resolves, only to react to whichever line breaks first.

What Bulkowski's research found

• Ascending broadening wedges behave as expected in roughly 73% of cases

• Descending broadening wedges reverse as expected in roughly 79% of cases

• Target for the ascending version: approximately 58% of the distance between the highest top and the support line

• Target for the descending version: approximately 79% of the distance between the highest top and the support line

The partial targets are the practical contribution here. Measuring the full pattern height and expecting price to travel all of it is how traders turn a winning setup into a breakeven one. Bulkowski's percentages describe where price actually reached most of the time.

As a correction rather than a reversal

Broadening wedges also appear mid-trend as corrections. In this case the pattern ends the corrective move and the original trend resumes.

In a downtrend, an ascending broadening wedge can form as the correction, and its resolution returns price to the downward direction. Checking the higher timeframe tells you which situation you are in before deciding how long to hold.

In Elliott Wave terms

Broadening formations appear in Elliott Wave analysis as expanding diagonals. In wave 1 the structure is called an expanding leading diagonal, and in wave 5 an expanding ending diagonal.

They appear in corrective sequences too, at wave A as a leading diagonal and at wave C as an ending diagonal. Each contains five sub-waves.

Practical notes

• Count the pivots before treating the pattern as valid, five is the minimum

• Calculate position size from the stop distance, which is wide by the nature of this pattern

• Wait for the breakout candle to close beyond the line rather than entering intrabar

• Use partial targets rather than the full measured move

• Have a plan for the failure case, it produces a tradable setup in the opposite direction

• Check the higher timeframe to distinguish a reversal from a correction

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Broadening wedge: frequently asked questions

What is a broadening wedge?

A reversal pattern where support and resistance lines diverge, producing progressively wider price swings. It forms at the end of trends.

How many pivots are required?

At least five: three tops and two bottoms for the ascending version, or the inverse for the descending version.

Where do I enter?

After the breakout candle closes beyond the trend line, short below support for the ascending version, long above resistance for the descending one.

Expanding ending diagonal patterns

Downward trend after forming that

broadening wedge pattern

Bottom in the pattern

Bulkowski's Research

Lowest bottom and the lowest top

Trade on the Descending Broadening Wedge pattern

What happens if the pattern fails?

A break of the opposite trend line invalidates the reversal and produces a continuation setup in that direction, with a stop beyond the breakout candle.

What targets does the research suggest?

Roughly 58% of the measured distance for the ascending version and around 79% for the descending one, rather than the full pattern height.

Why is position sizing important here?

Because the swings widen as the pattern develops, stops sit far from entry. Size must be calculated from that distance rather than chosen in advance.