A chart where each period is a vertical line from low to high, with a left tick for the open and a right tick for the close.
An OHLC bar shows four numbers in one mark. The vertical range spans the period's low to high, a small tick on the left marks the open, and a tick on the right marks the close. Bars are usually coloured green or red depending on whether the close was above or below the open, or above or below the previous close, depending on the platform.
Bar charts carry exactly the same information as candlestick charts but display it with less visual weight, which some traders prefer when charts get crowded with many instruments or long histories.
Because the open and close ticks are small, quick pattern reads such as bullish-engulfing are harder to spot at a glance than on candles. That is a display preference, not an information difference.
Original diagrams for the ideas on this page. Illustrative, not real market data.
The parts of a candlestick. One candle sums up a slice of time: the thick real body runs from the opening price to the closing price, and the thin wicks reach out to the highest and lowest prices traded. Colour tells you which way the body ran.
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