Candlestick Chart
A price chart that draws each period as a candle — body between open and close, wicks to the high and low — showing the session's battle at a glance.
A candlestick chart plots each time period as a "candle." The body spans the open and close; the thin wicks (or shadows) reach to the high and low. A close above the open is an up candle (typically green or hollow); a close below is a down candle (typically red or filled).
Candles pack four prices — open, high, low, close — into one glyph, so a glance reveals not just direction but the character of the move: a long body is decisive, a long wick is rejection, a tiny body is indecision. This is why candlesticks underpin almost all price-action and pattern analysis.
Originating with 18th-century Japanese rice traders and popularized in the West by Steve Nison, the candlestick chart is now the default view on virtually every trading platform.
Related Terms
Marubozu
A full-bodied candle with no wicks — open equals low (or high) and close equals high (or low) — pure, uninterrupted directional conviction.
BeginnerOHLC (Open-High-Low-Close)
The four prices that summarize a trading period — open, high, low, and close — the raw data behind every candlestick and bar chart.
BeginnerPrice Action
The study of raw price movement — candlestick patterns, swings, and structure — without relying on lagging indicators.
BeginnerWindow (gap)
A gap between two consecutive candles where no trading occurred — in Japanese candlestick theory, windows act as support/resistance the market tends to return to.
Beginner