Courses
Candlestick Basics
How to read the open, high, low, and close packed into a single candlestick, with a side-by-side bullish vs. bearish worked example.
Every candle on a chart packs four prices into one shape — once you can read it, you can read the whole chart.
How to read a candle
A candlestick has two parts. The body is a rectangle spanning the open and close price. If the close is above the open, the body is usually one color (often green or white); if the close is below the open, it's the other color (often red or black). The wicks are thin lines above and below the body, marking the highest and lowest prices the stock touched during that period — even if it didn't stay there.
A long wick with a small body means price got pushed hard one way, then pulled back before the close. A body with barely any wick means price moved mostly in one direction with little pushback.
A worked comparison
Two candles on the same stock, each representing one trading day:
| Bullish candle | Bearish candle | |
|---|---|---|
| Open | $48.00 | $52.00 |
| High | $51.50 | $52.50 |
| Low | $47.80 | $47.20 |
| Close | $51.00 | $47.50 |
| Body | Spans $48.00 to $51.00, colored to show close above open | Spans $47.50 to $52.00, colored to show close below open |
| Upper wick | Short — barely above the close at $51.00, up to the $51.50 high | Short — barely above the open at $52.00, up to the $52.50 high |
| Lower wick | Short — from the $48.00 open down to the $47.80 low | Short — barely below the close at $47.50, down to the $47.20 low |
The bullish candle opened low, dipped only slightly, and pushed higher all day to close near its high. The bearish candle did the opposite: opened near its high and sold off, closing near its low. Both have small wicks relative to their range — most of the day's action happened between the open and close.
Key takeaway: A candle's body shows the fight between open and close; its wicks show how far price wandered before settling there. A candle shows what already happened — it doesn't predict what happens next.
Swing traders read sequences of candles, not just one, to judge whether pressure is building — next up, moving averages, a tool for seeing that trend more clearly.
This lesson is educational content explaining standard chart-reading concepts, not personalized investment or trading advice.
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