Wick
The thin lines above and below a candle's real body, marking the session's high and low extremes beyond the open/close range.
Wicks (also called shadows or tails) extend from the real body to the session high (upper wick) and low (lower wick). They record prices that were visited but rejected — areas where the opposing side pushed back.
A long lower wick shows sellers drove price down but buyers recovered it — bullish pressure. A long upper wick shows buyers pushed high but were rejected — bearish pressure. Wick length relative to body size is the defining feature of hammers, shooting stars, and pin bars.
Related Terms
Bullish Candle
A candle where the close is higher than the open, indicating net buying pressure during the period.
BeginnerHammer
A single candle with a small body near the top and a long lower wick — buyers rejected a sharp intra-session sell-off — a bullish reversal signal.
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.
BeginnerPin Bar
A candle with a small body and a long wick on one side — a sharp price-rejection signal widely used in price-action trading.
BeginnerReal Body
The rectangular portion of a candle between the open and close prices — the core visual measure of session conviction.
BeginnerShooting Star
A small body near the bottom with a long upper wick at the top of an uptrend — buyers were rejected at the high — a bearish reversal warning.
BeginnerSpinning Top
A small real body with long wicks on both sides — buyers and sellers battled but neither gained ground — an indecision candle.
Beginner