Reading a price chart
A price chart plots an instrument's traded price on the vertical axis against time on the horizontal axis. The chart above is an interactive TradingView widget: you can change the symbol by clicking the ticker in the top-left, switch timeframes from intraday to monthly, choose between candlestick, bar, line, and area styles, and layer indicators and drawing tools on top of the price.
Candlesticks, at a glance
Each candle represents one period — one minute, one day, one week — and encodes four numbers: open, high, low, close. The body of the candle runs between open and close; the wicks extend to the high and low. A green (up) candle closes above its open; a red (down) candle closes below. The shape of successive candles is the basic grammar of technical analysis.
The indicators traders use most
- Moving averages (SMA, EMA). Smooth out price into a trend. The 50- and 200-day moving averages are the most commonly referenced in financial media.
- Relative Strength Index (RSI). A 0–100 oscillator that measures the ratio of up moves to down moves over a period — classically 14 bars. Readings above 70 are often flagged as overbought, below 30 as oversold.
- MACD. The difference between two exponential moving averages, plotted alongside a signal line. Used to spot changes in momentum.
- Bollinger Bands. A moving average flanked by bands set at a fixed number of standard deviations. Useful for visualising volatility regimes.
- Volume. Plotted as a histogram below the price. Unusual volume often marks the beginning or end of a meaningful move.
Drawing tools that earn their keep
Most charting platforms, including this one, offer dozens of drawing tools. A handful cover most practical needs:
- Horizontal lines. Mark support and resistance levels you want to watch.
- Trendlines. Diagonal lines connecting successive lows (uptrend) or highs (downtrend).
- Fibonacci retracements. A preset set of horizontal levels at 23.6%, 38.2%, 50%, 61.8%, and 78.6% of a prior swing, used to anticipate where a pullback might find support.
- Measure tool. Quickly read off how many points and percent a move has covered, and over how many bars.
Timeframes and why they matter
The same chart looks very different at different timeframes. A 1-minute chart shows the fine structure inside a single trading day; a daily chart shows the multi-month trend; a weekly chart shows the macro cycle. A common workflow is to identify the broader trend on a higher timeframe and then drill in to execute or study detail on a lower timeframe.
Technical analysis has limits
Indicators and patterns describe price history; they do not predict it. They are useful because they compress a lot of information into visually scannable signals, and because so many participants watch the same levels that those levels can become self-fulfilling in the short term. They are not a replacement for understanding what you are actually looking at — an overbought RSI on a company that just posted blowout earnings is a different thing from the same reading on a fading stock.
How to use this page
Type any supported ticker into the symbol search to load it. Try adding an indicator — click the "fx" icon on the top bar — and experiment with timeframes. For lighter, purpose-built views see the Stocks, Crypto, Forex, Commodities, ETFs, and Bonds pages. The Screener is useful for finding instruments to chart.
Last reviewed on April 24, 2026. Information on this page is general and educational. Nothing here is a recommendation to trade. See our Disclaimer.