Market Reversal Alerts Indicator: The Engulfing Pair

Written by Dominic Walsh · Published 16 Jun 2026 · Last updated 9 Sep 2026

The market reversal alerts indicator marks one candlestick pattern and nothing else. Two adjacent candles of opposite colour, where the second one opens beyond the close of the first and closes beyond its open. That is the strict engulfing definition, and there are no settings to soften it.

This build ships as a compiled .ex4 for MT4 and .ex5 for MT5; the screenshots below come from EURUSD H1.

Platforms	MT4 (.ex4) + MT5 (.ex5)
Chart window	Main price chart
Plots	2: Market Eng Buy, Market Eng Sell
Alerts	popup, push notification, email, sound
Inputs	6

What the Market Reversal Alerts Indicator draws on the chart

Market Eng Buy places a deep pink arrow under a bullish engulfing pair.

Market Eng Sell places a yellow arrow above a bearish one.

Each mark sits half a bar range clear of the candle, so tall bars push it further out.

Nothing else appears, so the tool sits cleanly under other overlays.

• Market Eng Buy: arrow, deep pink, arrow code 233
• Market Eng Sell: arrow, yellow, arrow code 234

How the Market Reversal Alerts Indicator calculates its values

The bullish test

bull needs four things at once. The previous candle closed below its open. The current one closed above its open. Its close cleared the previous open. And its own open sat below the previous close.

The bearish mirror

bear inverts all four comparisons. A rising candle first, then a falling one that opens above the earlier close and finishes below the earlier open. Both tests read open and close only, never the wicks.

Where the mark lands

UpBuf takes low minus half the bar range and DnBuf takes high plus the same. Scaling the offset by the candle keeps the mark readable whether the bar was tiny or huge.

How to read the signals

The pattern is about bodies, so a long wick counts for nothing here.

Engulfing pairs mean more after a run than in the middle of a range.

There is no trend filter, so marks appear in both directions in choppy stretches.

Treat it as a bar-level observation rather than a system.

Alert channels in this build: popup, push notification, email and sound, one message per closed bar.

`EnableAlerts` ships on with `EnablePopup` delivering the text. `EnablePushNotify`, `EnableEmail` and `EnableSound` all start false. `SoundFile` picks the clip. The pattern test reads two completed candles, so one message follows each closed bar.

Every Market Reversal Alerts Indicator input

Alert settings

Setting	What it does	Default
EnableAlerts	Master switch over the engulfing alerts, default `true`.	on
EnablePopup	Terminal dialog when an engulfing pair closes, default `true`.	on
EnablePushNotify	Mobile push on an engulfing pair, default `false`.	off
EnableEmail	Mail delivery on an engulfing pair, default `false`.	off
EnableSound	Sound playback on an engulfing pair, default `false`.	off
SoundFile	Wav file the engulfing alert plays, default `alert.wav`.	alert.wav

Settings that fit your chart

Candlestick patterns need bars with real bodies behind them. EURUSD H1 is the reference chart. On M1 and M5 the pattern appears constantly and means very little, since a two-pip body engulfs a one-pip body. On H4 and daily each pair covers a meaningful stretch of trade.

When the Market Reversal Alerts Indicator fails

A strict engulfing pair appears often, and most of them lead nowhere.

The test ignores size entirely, so two tiny candles qualify the same as two large ones.

With no inputs beyond the alert switches, there is nothing to tune when the chart fills with marks.

Copy the compiled Market Reversal Alerts Indicator file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, and the MT5 build into MQL5/Indicators, then restart the terminal and drag it onto a chart. The step-by-step guide with screenshots is at how to install MT4 and MT5 indicators.

Download the Market Reversal Alerts Indicator for MT4 and MT5

The zip holds the compiled Market Reversal Alerts Indicator build for MT4 and MT5, plus a short README. Compiled files only, no source. Enter your email below and the download link arrives in your inbox.

FAQ

What exactly does EnableAlerts fire on?

A completed engulfing pair. The code checks four comparisons between two adjacent candles, and a message goes out only when all four hold on a closed bar. With `EnableAlerts` off the arrows still print, they simply stay silent.

Why does the Market Eng Buy arrow sit so far below?

Because the offset scales with the candle. The code takes low minus half the bar range, so a tall engulfing candle pushes the mark further down than a short one. That keeps it visible without a point setting to tune.

Does the Market Eng Sell test use wicks?

No. Every comparison reads open and close, which is the strict definition. A candle with a huge wick and a small body will not engulf anything, and a small candle inside a large wick can still qualify.

Should EnablePushNotify be on for H1?

Only if you want a message every few hours. Engulfing pairs form regularly on EURUSD H1, and `EnablePushNotify` ships false for exactly that reason. Turn it on for H4 or daily where the pattern is genuinely rare.

Are results guaranteed?

No. Trading involves risk. Results are not guaranteed; past performance is not indicative of future results. Use the Market Reversal Alerts Indicator as one input. Always backtest before trading live.