What Is a Candlestick Pattern?

Candlestick Pattern Explained

Candlestick charts are a technical tool that packs data for multiple time frames into single price bars. This makes them more useful than traditional open, high, low, close (OHLC) bars or simple lines that connect the dots of closing prices. Candlesticks build patterns that may predict price direction once completed. Proper color coding adds depth to this colorful technical tool, which dates back to 18th century Japanese rice traders.1

Traditionally, candlesticks are best used on a daily basis, the idea being that each candle captures a full day’s worth of news, data, and price action. This suggests that candles are more useful to longer-term or swing traders.

Most importantly, each candle tells a story. When looking at a candle, it’s best viewed as a contest between buyers and sellers. A light candle (green or white are typical default displays) means the buyers have won the day, while a dark candle (red or black) means the sellers have dominated. But what happens between the open and the close, and the battle between buyers and sellers, is what makes candlesticks so attractive as a charting tool.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Candlestick patterns are technical trading tools that have been used for centuries to predict price direction.
• There are dozens of different candlestick patterns with intuitive, descriptive names; most also have a corollary pattern between the upside and downside. For instance, an “abandoned baby top” has its corollary in an “abandoned baby bottom;” “tweezer bottoms” have their upside corollary in “tweezer tops.”
• Traders supplement candlestick patterns with additional technical indicators to refine their trading strategy (e.g., entry, exit).
• Candlesticks are based on current and past price movements and are not future indicators.

• Understanding Basic Candlestick Charts

Candlestick Components

Just like a bar chart, a daily candlestick shows the market's open, high, low, and close price for the day. The candlestick has a wide part, which is called the "real body." 

This real body represents the price range between the open and close of that day's trading. When the real body is filled in or black, it means the close was lower than the open. If the real body is empty, it means the close was higher than the open.