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Charting
Spinning Tops & Marubozu
Two candles at opposite ends of the conviction scale: one all hesitation, one all force. Reading them is reading who controlled the session.
NoVo Options Trading · 2026
Two candles sit at opposite ends of the conviction spectrum. A spinning top has a small body with long wicks on both sides — price ranged widely but closed near the open, a picture of indecision. A marubozu is nearly all body with little or no wick — price opened at one extreme and closed at the other, total one-sided control.
The spinning top: balance
A spinning top means buyers and sellers fought hard and neither won — the long wicks show the range, the small body shows the standoff. Like a doji, it signals indecision; at the end of a trend, it can warn that momentum is stalling. Mid-range, it's just chop.
The marubozu: conviction
A marubozu is the opposite — no wicks means one side controlled the entire session with no pushback. A bullish marubozu (open at the low, close at the high) shows relentless buying; a bearish one, relentless selling. It's among the strongest single-candle expressions of momentum, especially on high volume breaking a level.
A spinning top is a tug-of-war with no winner. A marubozu is a rout. Same chart, opposite stories.
Reading them together
These candles are most useful as context within a sequence: a marubozu confirms a breakout has force; a spinning top after a run warns the force is fading. Neither is a standalone trigger — they describe the character of a session, one input alongside structure and regime.
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NoVo is a software tool for market analysis and for executing trades you initiate, not financial advice. This article is general education, not investment advice. Options trading involves substantial risk of loss, up to and including your entire capital. NoVo makes no guarantee of profit, win rate, or performance, and past results do not predict future outcomes. You are responsible for your own broker account, configuration, and trading decisions.