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Glossary · Chart and price

Wick (shadow)

The thin line above or below a candle's body, marking the highest and lowest prices reached during the period.

By Sky Trade editorial teamUpdated

Wicks, also called shadows or tails, show where price went but couldn't stay. The upper wick runs from the top of the body to the period's high; the lower wick runs from the bottom of the body to the low.

Traders read wicks as traces of rejection. A long upper wick means buyers pushed price up and sellers drove it back before the close; a long lower wick shows the opposite. That is the logic behind single-candle patterns such as the shooting star and the hammer.

A few cautions:

  • Wick length is relative. A 3-pip wick is large on a quiet M1 chart and invisible on H4.
  • Location matters more than shape. A long upper wick at a known resistance level means more than the same wick in the middle of nowhere.
  • In thin markets, a single erratic quote can print a long wick that reflects no real pressure.

Wicks are also a reminder of how fragile a short trade is: price can briefly cross your entry inside a candle and still close on your side. Only the price at expiry counts, not the extremes. More in shooting star and inverted hammer and candlestick chart basics.

Example

An M5 candle on GBP/USD has a body from 1.2650 to 1.2655 and a high of 1.2672: a 17-pip upper wick, more than three times the body, at a level where price was rejected yesterday.

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