The four prices
A candlestick summarizes an interval of price activity: the opening price, highest price, lowest price and closing price. The body connects the open and close; the wicks show the remaining range. Chart colours are configurable, so check your platform legend.
Read the surrounding structure
A long wick shows that price moved away from its closing area during that interval. It does not, by itself, prove who traded or predict the next candle. Compare the candle with nearby levels, previous candles and the selected timeframe.
Practice without risking money
- Open a historical chart and identify open, high, low and close.
- Compare the same interval on two timeframes.
- Write down what the candle shows, and separately what you are assuming.
Learning checkpoint: explain why the same candle shape can mean different things in a range and in a trend.