We use cookies to run essential site features, understand how visitors use AutoEdges, and — if you allow it — show relevant ads. See our Cookie Policy for details.
Each candlestick represents price movement over a fixed period — a minute, an hour, a day — and shows four values: the open, close, high, and low. The thick "body" shows the range between open and close; the thin "wicks" show the high and low reached during that period.
A green (or unfilled) candle usually means the close was higher than the open — buyers were in control. A red (or filled) candle means the close was lower than the open — sellers were in control.
Individual candle shapes carry information too: a long wick often shows a price rejection, while a small body suggests indecision. Reading a handful of candles together — not just one in isolation — is where most of the useful signal comes from.
Real-World Example
A trader glances at a daily EUR/USD candle and instantly reads three things at once: it opened near its low and closed near its high with almost no upper wick, meaning buyers were in control the entire session, unlike a bar chart showing the same data as thin vertical lines that take much longer to interpret at a glance. That instant visual read, bullish body, minimal wick, is exactly why candlestick charts became the default across nearly every retail trading platform.
This lesson is free — no purchase needed to keep learning.