Candlestick (แท่งเทียน)

A candlestick packs four prices into one shape for a single time period. You choose the period yourself, for example 1 minute, 1 hour or 1 day.

The four prices

• Open: the first price in the period.
• High: the highest price reached.
• Low: the lowest price reached.
• Close: the last price in the period.

How to read the shape

The wide part is called the body. It spans from the open to the close. The thin lines above and below are called wicks (or shadows). They reach up to the high and down to the low.

Most charts colour the body to show direction. A common setup is green for a candle that closed higher than it opened, and red for one that closed lower. Colours can differ between platforms, so check your own chart settings.

Simple example

On a 1-hour EURUSD candle:

• Open: 1.1000
• High: 1.1050
• Low: 1.0980
• Close: 1.1030

The close is above the open, so this is a rising candle. The body runs from 1.1000 to 1.1030. The upper wick reaches 1.1050, and the lower wick reaches 1.0980.

Why it matters

A candlestick shows more than a simple line chart, which usually shows only closing prices. You can see how far price moved and where it ended up.

A common beginner mistake is to treat one candle as a sure signal. A single candle is only a summary of one period, and it does not tell you what the next one will do.

Also remember that the same market looks different on different time frames.