How to Read a Candlestick: Body, Wick and Color

A candlestick summarizes price action over a chosen time period — a minute, an hour, a day — using a simple shape that shows four key prices at once.

The four prices

Every candlestick reflects the open (price at the start of the period), close (price at the end), high (highest price reached), and low (lowest price reached) for that period.

The body

The thick rectangular part of the candle is the “body,” spanning from the open to the close. A bullish (typically green or white) body means the close was higher than the open — price rose during that period. A bearish (typically red or black) body means the opposite.

The wicks

The thin lines extending above and below the body are the “wicks” (or shadows), showing the highest and lowest prices reached during the period, even if price didn’t close there. Long wicks often indicate the price was rejected at that level.

Why shape matters

A candle with a small body and long wicks suggests indecision — price moved a lot but ended up near where it started. A candle with a large body and small wicks suggests strong, decisive movement in one direction.

Key takeaway

Learning to read a single candlestick is the foundation for recognizing the multi-candle patterns covered in our other guides — every pattern is just a specific sequence of these basic shapes.