A candlestick is a common chart shape that shows an asset’s opening, closing, high and low prices for a set period, such as an hour or a day. The body shows the open and close, and the thin wicks show the high and low.

How it is used

Traders read patterns formed by many candlesticks as part of technical analysis, looking for clues about momentum. Like all chart reading, it reflects past behaviour rather than certainty about the future.