Reading a candlestick
Open, high, low, close in one shape. The body and the wicks tell you who won the period.
What it is
A candlestick summarises one time period. The body runs from the open to the close. The thin wicks show how far price travelled beyond the body. A green (bullish) candle closed above its open; a red (bearish) one closed below it.
Long bodies mean one side dominated. Long wicks mean price was pushed out and then rejected. Tiny bodies mean balance or indecision. Always read a candle in context: where it formed (at a level or in the middle of nothing) matters more than its shape.
How to use it
- Look at the body size relative to the last 10 candles.
- Check wick length: a long wick against the trend is rejection.
- Check where the close is inside the range: near the high is strength, near the low is weakness.
- Judge the candle only when it has closed.
Common mistakes
- Trading a pattern before the candle closes.
- Ignoring the timeframe: a 1-minute hammer is noise compared to a daily one.
- Reading single candles without the level they formed at.
Practise it in TradeDesk X
The Chart screen draws live candles from 1 minute to 1 week. Candle colours are green for up, red for down on every TradeDesk X chart.
Related lessons
Timeframes and multi-timeframe analysis
Higher timeframes give direction; lower timeframes give timing. Use both.
🕯Pin bar (hammer and shooting star)
A long wick shows price was pushed away and rejected. It is a rejection signal at a level.