Technicalbeginner

Candlestick Charts

What It Is

A candlestick draws one period of price action so the open, high, low and close are all visible at a glance. The thick body spans the open and close, while thin wicks above and below mark the high and low. A body is usually colored green when the close is above the open and red when it is below.

Body = open→close Wick = high & low

Illustrative only. The body spans open to close; the wicks mark the high and low.

How to Use It

Traders read candles for clues about the tug-of-war between buyers and sellers:

Body and color: a long green body shows buyers dominated the period and a long red body shows sellers did. The bigger the body, the more decisive the move.
Wicks tell a story: a long lower wick means price fell then was bought back up, hinting at buying pressure, while a long upper wick hints at selling pressure.
Patterns: shapes like the doji (tiny body) or hammer (long lower wick) are watched as possible turning points, especially after a strong trend.
Confirmation: a single candle rarely settles anything. Reading one candle without the surrounding trend is a common beginner mistake.

Four prices in one shape

A candle packs the open, high, low and close into a single symbol. The body shows where the period started and ended; the wicks show how far price ranged in between.

Example

Suppose a stock opens at $50, sells off to $47, then recovers to close at $52. The candle has a green body from $50 to $52 and a long lower wick down to $47, a picture of sellers being overpowered by buyers before the close.

Test Your Knowledge

Question 1 of 4

A candlestick body spans which two prices?

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