Candlestick Anatomy

One candle, four prices

A candlestick summarizes price action over a chosen time period (a minute, an hour, a day — whatever the chart's "timeframe" is set to) using four numbers: the Open, High, Low, and Close (often abbreviated OHLC). The thick part is the "body" (the range between open and close); the thin lines above and below are "wicks" or "shadows" (the full high/low range reached during that period).

Bullish vs. bearish

If the close is higher than the open, the candle is bullish (price rose during that period) — typically shown green or white, hollow/unfilled. If the close is lower than the open, it's bearish (price fell) — typically shown red or black, filled solid. The color convention can be customized on most platforms, but green=up / red=down is the most common default.

• •Open: the first traded price of the period
• •High: the highest traded price of the period
• •Low: the lowest traded price of the period
• •Close: the last traded price of the period
• •Body: the box between Open and Close
• •Wick/Shadow: the thin line(s) showing the High and Low beyond the body