The Nuts and Bolts of Japanese Candlesticks

Posted by Mark Deaton on January 13, 2009 under Currency Trading | Be the First to Comment

by Mark Deaton

Japanese Candlesticks have been around for centuries. In use since the early 1700's Japanese candlesticks were first used to trade the rice markets. Over the last 400 years of course they have become popular to many including stock and forex traders.

Japanese candlestick charts display market sentiment like other charts but most would agree you get a little more insight from a candlestick chart. Basically you measure 2 parts of a candlestick, the body, and the wicks. The body can be either full or hallow, and the wick or shadows, can be long or short, or not present at all. All tell a story.

Your highs and lows for the session are marked by the tops (high) and bottoms (low) of the wicks. Likewise a close that is greater than an open is represented by a hallow candlestick the bottom is the open, and the top is the close. A close that is less than the open is represented by a full or black candlestick. The top is the open and the bottom is the close. (See below.)

Candlestick patterns are not only more easy to read, they are also more intuitive once you get the hang of reading them. You see there are patterns with candlesticks you will soon learn to easily recognize, combine this with the intuitiveness and you have yourself a method for assessing price far superior to any other.

All candlesticks have a body and a wick or shadow, unless the open close high and low are equal to each other in which case you would have a little dash and that's it. A white body is an empty body, and a black one is a full body. The empty/white body represents a close greater than the open, and a black/full body represents a close less than the open. The size of the body represents the distance between the open and close.

When you have a body with no shadows its called a Marubozu. I can be black or white in which case its a "black Marubozu or a white Marobozu". In each case the open and close are equal to the high and the low. With the black the open is equal to the high and the close is equal to the low. The white would be the open is equal to the low and the close is equal to the high.

A spinning top is a candlestick with a short body and a long or short wick/shadow. The short body tells us that price opened and closed rather close to one another, while a long shadow/wick tells us that during the session price made its way in that direction but failed to hold its ground. This failure to "hold ground" could be a clue for price direction in the next session.

About the Author:

Candlestick patterns are very telling. Once you start using them you will look at any other chart and wonder how you did it without a candlestick chart. Candlestick charts are easier on the eyes, current market conditions popout at you instantly, and the overall process of reviewing charts becomes 10 times easier. To download our masters course and flash-cards visit us at http://www.candlestickgenius.com