Reading Price Charts

Charts Tell the Story

A price chart shows how the price of an asset moves over time. Learning to read charts is the #1 skill every trader needs.

Candlestick Basics

Each candle shows 4 prices for a time period:

• Open — Where price started
• High — The highest price reached
• Low — The lowest price reached
• Close — Where price ended

Green candle = Close above Open (buyers won)
Red candle = Close below Open (sellers won)

Timeframes

Charts can show different time periods per candle:

• 1-minute — Very fast, for scalpers
• 5-minute — The sweet spot for day trading futures
• 15-minute / 1-hour — For swing context and trend direction
• Daily — The big picture trend

Support & Resistance

Support = A price level where buyers step in (floor).
Resistance = A price level where sellers step in (ceiling).
These levels form because traders remember where price bounced before.