> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.invoca.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Candlestick Charts

> The candlestick chart describes price movements of a financial instrument using open, high, low, and close values for each interval.

A candlestick chart describes price movements of financial instruments, such as stocks, derivatives, currencies, and commodities. Candlestick charts enable fast decision-making in stock, foreign exchange, commodity, and option trading because they describe price movements over time using four Measures: open, high, low, and close price (OHLC).

Each "candlestick" represents one trading day, so a monthly chart typically shows 21–23 candlesticks — one for each trading day in that month. The date is on the horizontal (x) axis and accounts for non-trading days. This chart type can accommodate intervals shorter or longer than one day, provided each interval clearly identifies the four Measures.

## How candlestick charts represent data

* The high and low values plot at the top and bottom of the candlestick.
* The open and close positions vary depending on the relative values of the price at the opening and closing of the trading day.
* The height of the rectangle (the "body") depends on the difference between the open and close prices — it doesn't indicate trade volume.
* The "wick" extending upward from the body shows the difference between the higher of the open or close price and the highest traded value (high). The wick extending downward shows the difference between the lower of the open or close price and the lowest traded value (low).

A longer body generally correlates with more significant price movement during that period, though the chart doesn't show trade volume directly.

## Interpreting candlestick charts

* The body represents the open-to-close range; color indicates direction (green = price rose, red = price fell).
* The wicks show the high and low points reached during that period — longer wicks indicate larger price swings.
* Body and wick size and shape can suggest market sentiment, such as strong momentum, indecision, or a potential reversal.
* Looking at sequences of candles, rather than a single candle, helps reveal broader trends, often alongside volume and support/resistance levels.
* Patterns describe what already happened. They suggest probabilities, not guarantees, about what may come next.

## Building the search

To build a candlestick chart, your search must compute four Measures (open, high, low, close) and specify a "for each" value for the horizontal axis. Most commonly, this value is a periodicity, such as daily. The search question takes the form:

```text theme={null}
open high low close daily
```

## Color customization

There are two color choices for this chart type: Up Color and Down Color. Invoca uses green and red as defaults — each candlestick renders in one of these two colors depending on the relative values of the `open` and `close` Measures.

## Adapting candlestick charts for other data

You can use this chart to display other statistical data, as long as you provide four Measures in addition to specifying the horizontal axis.

## Where to go next

* [Understand charts](/s/article/understand-charts)