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Candlestick Analysis
Candlesticks have become one of the most popular methods for reading stock prices. When evaluating
stock, commodity, option, or market values, the Japanese Candlestick not only provides all price data, but
it also gives you a visual identification of buyer and seller demand.
This document is a beginners explanation to reading Japanese Candlesticks.
For any trader/investor who wishes to evaluate and make decisions using charts, the Candlestick will
become your closest ally.
Contents
Contents ................................................................................................................................... 1
Sources for Beginners: ............................................................................................................... 1
History ..................................................................................................................................... 2
Price......................................................................................................................................... 2
Makeup of a Candlestick ............................................................................................................ 3
Candlestick Body .................................................................................................................... 3
Candlestick Shadows............................................................................................................... 4
Resistance Levels....................................................................................................................... 6
Support Levels........................................................................................................................... 7
The Doji.................................................................................................................................... 7
Other Patterns ........................................................................................................................... 8
Volume..................................................................................................................................... 8
Case Study.............................................................................................................................. 10
Summary................................................................................................................................ 11
Disclaimer............................................................................................................................... 11
Sources for Beginners:
Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques by Steve Nison
This book is considered the pinnacle of information on Candlesticks. Steve Nison literally brought this
technique out of Japan and into the western world.
The Secret of Candlestick Charting by Louise Bedford
An Australian author who has simplified the learning of candlesticks. This book suits the beginner and
should give sufficient knowledge to begin using this technique.
© Copyright FMRAnalysts, 2007. All rights reserved.
Page 2 of 11
History
Needless to say, Japanese Candlesticks originate from Japan. Somewhere around the 1600’s in Fuedal
Japan, Rice Traders began plotting the price of rice. At the time, rice was the predominant method of
currency, and a Rice Exchange actually formed.
As one can imagine, without the help of computers, plotting prices was quite painstakingly difficult, and so
the method of Candlesticks were developed.
To put this into perspective, while the Candlestick was being used to plot the changing prices of rise in
Japan, Europe was in the midst of Tulipmania, which subsequently resulted in an economic crash. Whilst
both the Japanese and the Dutch were using a crude form of Futures contracts to purchase rice and tulip
bulbs respectively, only the Japanese were using a visual aid to analyze and plot the price changes.
Up until the early 1990’s, however, Candlesticks were still not predominant in the western world.
Renowned author Steve Nison translated much of the material available in Japan on the subject,
producing one of the most widely read books today: Japanese Candlestick Charting.
Westerners had been using a cruder technique of price plotting called Bar Charts. They depict the same
information, however, the Candlestick offers far greater benefits as a visual aid. This is due to the depth
of its body (see further sections for explanation).
Today, Japanese Candlesticks are one of the most predominant methods for evaluating price, with nearly
all software packages providing this technique. For the trader/investor who is able to proficiently read
candlesticks, a great insight is provided into the balance between buyers and sellers.
Price
The daily movement of a stock price consists of 5 pieces of data:
· Open price
· Close price
· High price
· Low price
· Volume
Candlesticks represent all of this information except Volume (Equivolume candlesticks are not discussed in
this paper). Therefore, by using the candlestick as our price evaluation technique, we are able to visualize
whether the day was dominated by buyers or sellers, whether there was weakness in buyers or sellers,
and the relationship of the days’ movements compared to previous days.
Other methods to evaluate price movement include:
· Line Chart – only one price is represented (typically the closing price), but is a simple method to
view price activity.
· Bar Chart – similar to a Candlestick, but does not have a body.
· Point and Figure Charting – one of the first methods of analyzing price movement, they evaluate
price movement by marking an X for an upward movement, and an O for a downward movement.
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Analysis of price is the base to where most traders/investors begin. To put it simply, by analyzing the
price, we are attempting to determine whether or not that price is “overvalued” or “undervalued”. Other
factors will also apply in this determination, but analysis of the price is the starting point in an effort to
follow the golden rule:
Buy Low … Sell High
Makeup of a Candlestick
There are two sections to a candlestick:
q The body
q The shadow
Candlestick Body
The body represents where the open and closing prices are.
For a candle that has an open body, the opening price is at the bottom of the body and the closing price is
at the top of the body
For a candle that is solid, the opening price is at the top of the body and the closing price is at the
bottom.
Close Open
Open Close
Color is used to determine whether today’s close is higher or lower then the previous days close. For
example:
Note: in the above examples, the Green candle is open and the Red candle is solid. This means the Green
candle has a closing price at the top of the body. While the Red candle has a close at the bottom of the
body.
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Page 4 of 11
A series of Green (open) candles suggests that the share price is rising. Each days’ close is higher then
the last, defining an upwards trending movement.
A series of Red (solid) candles, suggests that the share price is falling. Each days’ close is lower then the
previous day, defining a downwards trending movement.
With candles grouped, we can identify the difference between trends. A trend is the primary method to
evaluate the potential direction of a share price. A series of candles trading in the one direction will help
us identify when a trend is forming.
Candlestick Shadows
Shadows represent the high and low price for the day. They are lines moving above and below the body of
the candlestick:
High
Close Open
For the Green candle, the opening price was at the bottom of the body. We would assume the low price
was in the morning session of trading as it is close to the open. During the day the share price has been
driven up to the high. Later towards the end of the day there was a little selling activity to force the close
down a little off the high. This is a positive day where buyers were predominantly in the market.
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Page 5 of 11
For the Red candle, the open is at the top of the body. There was a little buying activity early in the day to
force the price to the high, but shortly thereafter sellers came to the market and the share price traded
down all day to the low. Late in the day, towards the end of trading, there was a little buying pressure
that forced the price up off the low. This is a day that is predominantly dominated by sellers – a negative
trading day.
Typical price movement during the life of the candle may be represented with the following diagrams:
· Share price opens at bottom of candlestick body
· Dips slightly to form a lower point than at the open
· Rallies through the day, reaching a high point
· Retracing slightly to close just below the high of the day
· Share price opens at top of candlestick body
· A slight rise in the share price forms a higher point than the open
· Share price retraces throughout the day, reaching a low point
· A slight rally and the share price closes just above the low of the day
Shadows can offer signs of possible reversal situations:
Shadow represents
reversal point
In this example, as the price has risen due to buying pressure, the shadow shows us signs of afternoon
selling activity that has been a pivot point to the reversal of the price direction.
This candle is called a Shooting Star. It shows buyers dominating the first half of the trading day. At a
certain point, sellers see the share price to be overvalued and begin selling. This selling pressure drives
the share for the remainder of the day. The reason why this is seen as a direction reversal pattern is
because owners of the share see a large fall in the price by the end of the day and many decide to sell the
next morning, which drives the share price further down.
Afternoon selling pressure pulls
the share price down from the
high to close near the open.
Sellers have dominated the later
session of the trading day. This
could reflect a continuation of
selling activity the next
morning.
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Page 6 of 11
Shadows at the bottom of candles that are found at the bottom of a trend can represent buying pressure:
As sellers are forcing this share down in value, the buyers come back to the market following a shadow at
the bottom of the movement. This candle has been the Pivot Point in the change of direction.
This candle is called a Hammer. Sellers have started the trading and dominated for the majority of the
day. In the later session of trading, the price has reached a level that the buyers then perceive to be of
good value. Buyers come to the market in force and push the price up to close near the open. Many
traders would see this as being a positive move by the market and would enter the following morning.
Buyers come to the market later
in the day. This can be seen as
a possible reversal from a
downward trend, with buyers
forcing the price up and away
from the low of the day.
Resistance Levels
Shadows can help identify resistance levels:
Here we see sellers in the later sessions of each day selling the share once it meets a certain price
(resistance). This means buyers are not willing to push the price up higher then on previous days.
Multiple candles with long shadows on top, finding resistance at similar prices, suggests buyers do not
have the demand to push the price higher.
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Support Levels
Shadows can also help identify support levels:
Here we find buyers entering the market as the share reaches a certain price (support).
The Doji
At times candles can show us that there is indecision in the market. This candle is known as the Doji:
This “Star” Doji has no body. The Open and
Close price for the day were at the same
level. The price fluctuated between the high
and low, but failed to find direction.
This “Dragonfly” Doji has no body. The Open
and Close price are at the same level, though
there was some selling pressure during the
day to form the tail of the candle.
This “Gravestone” Doji has no body. The
Open and Close price are at the same level,
however, there was some buying pressure
during the day to form the wick of the candle.
In the above 3 examples, there is equilibrium between buyers and sellers. The open and close prices are
the same, and there has been some buying and selling activity during the day, but neither the buyers nor
sellers have been predominantly in control.
If these are seen at the tops or bottoms of trends, they could be points of possible reversal.
Trading Tip: Never trade directly after identifying a candlestick pattern. Wait for one day of confirmation
that the buyers or sellers are now in the market.
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Page 8 of 11
Other Patterns
This report does not provide an exhaustive list of the candlestick patterns that are available for use in
your charting. Following are brief descriptions of the basic single candle patterns not already mentioned:
Marubozu: long candles Spinning Top: small
with no shadows candles with small
shadows either side
Volume
Although not part of the Candlestick, Volume is an extremely important factor when analyzing a chart.
Along with analysis of buyer/seller demand from the candle, volume helps confirm strength or weakness
in a movement.
Increasing volume suggests more activity. When this is coupled with a directional movement in the price,
we can assume there is either buyer or seller strength.
Vice versa when volume is decreasing. If volume is decreasing and there is a directional movement, there
is not as much trading activity, and we can assume there is some weakness in either buyers or sellers.
In this example, increasing price with
increasing volume suggests increasing In this example, volume is decreasing
Buyer Demand. while the share price is rising. This
suggests there is weakening buyer
There is a higher potential that the demand, and could result in the share
share price will continue to rise while price stalling, or reversing.
there is strength behind the buyers.
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Page 9 of 11
In this example, a decreasing price with In this example, volume is decreasing
increasing volume suggests increasing as the share price falls. This suggests
Selling pressure, or Supply. weakening selling pressure, and could
result in the share price stabilizing,
There is a higher potential that the possibly even reversing.
share price will continue to fall while
there is strength behind the sellers.
© Copyright FMRAnalysts, 2007. All rights reserved.
Page 10 of 11
Case Study
Chart A
C
A
B
From the above chart, we are viewing the price activity from January 2007, through to the end of June
2007. Each candle represents 1 day of price activity.
An upwards trend begins from lows in March, through to the right hand side of the chart.
Point A – Here we have 2 Doji candlesticks. They represent uncertainty between buyers and sellers,
shortly after the market has rallied for 5 days. Subsequently, some mild selling pressure pulls the stock
price down.
Point B – A Hammer candlestick represents weakness from sellers. The long shadow at the bottom of the
small open green body shows sellers were not able to hold the share price at the lows. Subsequently,
buyers lifted the stock, and this triggered an upwards price move the following day.
Point C – A Spinning Top pattern has formed at the top of the trend. It represents weakness, and with a
Solid Red candle, with a large shadow on top, the following day, a confirmation that sellers have taken
control after a few weeks of buyer dominance.
Point D – This is a Solid Green candlestick. The closing price of this candle is higher then the previous
day (denoting green colour), however, the body is solid. This suggests the share price gapped up to open
at the top of the body, but retraced through the day to close at the bottom of the body. This close is still
higher then the previous day. It is a sign of weakness from the buyers, with similar psychology as a
Shooting Star pattern.
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Page 11 of 11
Summary
In this article, you have learnt:
· The background of the Japanese Candlestick
· The makeup of a Japanese Candlestick
· How to read a Japanese Candlestick
· The basic single candle patterns
· How volume supports strength or weakness in the candlestick movement
· That Candlesticks are one of the most effective, and popular, methods to read the balance
between buyers and sellers – Supply and Demand.
If you have any further questions, or if you have a topic you would FMR Analysts to explain, please
contact us on info@fmranalysts.com
Web: www.fmranalysts.com
Email: info@fmranalysts.com
Phone: +61 7 55030534
Postal: PO Box 1036, Runaway Bay. QLD 4216
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