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How traders read price action — one candle at a time.
A candlestick is a visual snapshot of price movement during a specific time period — could be 1 minute, 15 minutes, 1 day, or even 1 week. Every candle on a chart tells you exactly four things about what happened in that period.
Japanese rice traders invented candlestick charts in the 1700s. Today, every trading platform — from Zerodha Kite to NSE goBID — uses them by default. If you want to do technical analysis, candlesticks are your starting point.
Price when period started
Price when period ended
Highest price in period
Lowest price in period
The thick rectangular part of the candle. It shows the range between the open and close price. A longer body means stronger buyer or seller conviction. A short body means indecision.
The thin lines extending above and below the body. Upper wick shows the high; lower wick shows the low. Long wicks show strong rejection — the market tried to go there but got pushed back.
Close price is higher than open price. Buyers dominated during this period. In Zerodha Kite, these show up green.
Close price is lower than open price. Sellers dominated during this period. In Zerodha Kite, these show up red.
A hammer near a strong support zone is powerful. The same hammer in the middle of nowhere is meaningless. Always combine candlestick patterns with support/resistance levels, trend direction, and volume for confirmation.