Body, Wick, Range & Close
Range is the full battlefield
Range = High − Low. A wide-range day means both buyers and sellers were active with large price swings. A narrow range means very little disagreement — or very little participation.
Body-to-range ratio
Divide body size by range. Ratio above 0.5 (50%) = one side won convincingly = exciting candle. Ratio at or below 0.5 = contested = base candle. A ratio of 0.8 or higher is a very strong, almost pure directional candle.
Wick as rejection evidence
A long upper wick means price reached that high, sellers rejected it, and the close came back down. A long lower wick means buyers rejected low prices. The wick length relative to the body shows how hard the rejection was.
The close is the verdict
Where a candle closes matters more than where it traveled. A wide-range candle closing near its low means sellers dominated despite buyers' effort. A wide-range candle closing near its high means buyers finished in full control. The close is the final score of the session's battle.
Practice checklist
- Calculate Range = High − Low
- Calculate body-to-range ratio and compare to the 50% threshold
- Measure wick length — long wicks indicate rejection zones
- Check where the close sits: top third = buyers in control, bottom third = sellers
Mistakes to avoid
- Judging a candle only by its high or low instead of its closing position
- Treating a long wick as strength rather than as rejection of that price level
- Ignoring narrow-range candles — clusters of them are often the most important zones