Technical Analysis 101

[4Godnwv]

Susie, I think you have it figured out -

In order to create a candlestick chart, you must have a data set that contains open, high, low and close values for each time period you want to display.

The hollow or filled portion of the candlestick is called "the body" (also referred to as "the real body"). The long thin lines above and below the body represent the high/low range and are called "shadows" (also referred to as "wicks" and "tails").

The high is marked by the top of the upper shadow and the low by the bottom of the lower shadow. If the stock closes higher than its opening price, a hollow candlestick is drawn with the bottom of the body representing the opening price and the top of the body representing the closing price. If the stock closes lower than its opening price, a filled candlestick is drawn with the top of the body representing the opening price and the bottom of the body representing the closing price.

In the example you sited, the candle closed higher than it opened - hence it was hollow - BUT it closed lower than the close of the previous day, therefore it was red.



http://stockcharts.com/education/ChartAnalysis/candlesticks.html