Reading Candlestick Charts
How to read a candlestick chart at a glance -- open, high, low, close, and what candle patterns actually communicate.
Chapter 1 of 2
BEGINNERThe anatomy of a single candle
A candlestick summarizes price action over one time period (a 'timeframe') using four numbers: the open, high, low, and close. The thick part of the candle -- the body -- spans from the open to the close. The thin lines above and below -- the wicks, or shadows -- mark the highest and lowest prices reached during that period.
A green (or unfilled) candle means the close was higher than the open over that period; a red (or filled) candle means the close was lower than the open. Nothing more, nothing less -- a single candle color says nothing about what happens next.
Real, unmodified public market data, shown for educational purposes only. This is not personalized investment advice and is not a signal to act.
Quick Check
What does a single green candle, on its own, tell you about what happens next?