What is a candlestick in trading?

A candlestick is a type of price chart used in technical analysis that displays the high, low, open, and closing prices of a security for a specific period. It originated from Japanese rice merchants and traders to track market prices and daily momentum hundreds of years before becoming popularized in the United States.

What does the color of a candlestick mean?

The color of a candlestick is used to indicate the way in which a market has previously moved or is currently moving. From the above example, you can see that the chart will be green if the close price is higher than the open price, and will be red if the close price is lower than the open price.

What is a daily Candlestick?

Just like a bar chart, a daily candlestick shows the market's open, high, low, and close prices for the day. The candlestick has a wide part called the "real body." This real body represents the price range between the open and close of that day's trading.

What does the top Wick of a candlestick mean?

As shown in the graphic below, the top wick of a candlestick indicates the highest price reached during the time period (eg, a day). The bottom wick shows the lowest price. The “candle” part of the chart shows the opening and closing prices for the time period. Learn more about technical analysis indicators, concepts, and strategies including: