In Forex trading, one of the main instruments are candlestick charts. This instrument is used to monitor market changes and movement, analyze markets and make trading decisions. A lot of other Forex tools and systems are developed on top of these charts, so it is crucial to learn them first things first.
The candlestick charts were invented in ancient Japan, by a smart trader who was tracking the prices of rise. He has developed a method to clearly see hot the prices changes over time, which allowed him to predict the future changes. The charts consist of bars (candles) with a vertical stripe. The bars show the opening and closing price of the time-frame, while the stripes show high and low prices.
The colors of the candles change according to the price – if it was higher on opening than it was on closing, the candle is filled (or often red), otherwise it’s empty (green). The patterns of these candles indicate, among other things, the trends – the dominant color shows the upward or downward trend.
Other important indicators of candlestick charts are the patterns of candles. For example, a doji (opening and closing prices are equal or close to equal, thus forming a figure resembling a cross) can mean a turning point in market – it is likely that the current trend will change.
There are other formations also, but I’ll talks about them next time.