STAGE 2 · LESSON 1 OF 5

OHLC data and candlesticks

A candlestick compresses trades into four prices for a chosen interval.

THE IDEA~8–12 MINUTES

Understand it

Open is the first traded price in a bar; high and low are the extremes, and close is the last traded price. The same market can look dramatically different on one-minute and daily charts. A candle cannot show the exact sequence of trades inside its interval, and a historical chart is not evidence of executable fills. Read the measurement first and avoid attaching stories to every candle.

WORKED EXAMPLE

A bar opens at 100, reaches 105, trades at 98 and closes at 103. Its body spans 100 to 103, while its wicks extend to 98 and 105. You cannot infer whether 105 preceded 98 from OHLC alone.

Watch for this misconception

Assuming that a long wick proves one group of traders acted with a specific intention.

PRACTICE EXERCISE

Sketch two different intrabar price paths that produce exactly the same OHLC bar.

Chart trainer ↗
KNOWLEDGE CHECK

Can an OHLC candle tell you whether the high occurred before the low?

Select the best answer

Check the sources

Hypothetical educational examples. Verify current product specifications and rules before making decisions.