apple inc AAPL was slightly higher on Wednesday after consolidating with an inside bar on Tuesday amid market digestion the latest consumer price index data.

Inflation eased slightly last month, standing at 6.4% compared to 6.5% in December. The number came in above the 6.2% expected by economists, which weighed on the S&P 500.

An inside bar pattern indicates a consolidation phase, which is usually followed by continuation movement in the direction of the current trend.

See also: Want to use Apple’s Buy Now, Pay Later service? I hope you were a good consumer

An inside bar pattern has more validity on larger time frames (four hour chart or larger). The pattern has at least two candlesticks and consists of a mother bar (the first candlestick in the pattern) followed by one or more subsequent candlesticks. The following candle(s) must be completely within the range of the mother bar and is referred to as the “inside bar”.

A double or triple inside bar can be stronger than a single inside bar. After breaking an inside bar pattern, traders should look for high volume to confirm the pattern has been caught.

• Bullish traders should look for inside bar patterns in stocks that are in an uptrend. Some traders may take a position during the inside bar before the break, while other aggressive traders will take a position after the pattern breaks.
• Finding an inside bar pattern on a stock that is trending down is crucial for bearish traders. Like bullish traders, bears have two options where to take a position to play the pattern break. For bearish traders, the pattern expires when the stock rises above the upper range of the parent candle.

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The Apple chart: Apple broke from a bull flag on Feb. 2, causing the stock to climb above the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) and regained the level as support. Apple the next day…