Wicks: The Market’s Rambling Story (and Brief Adventures)

Alright, look at any candlestick on your chart. You’ve got the fat part (that’s the “body,” where the price actually hung out for most of the time), and then you see those skinny little lines sticking out the top and bottom. Those, my friends, are Wicks!

Think of them as the market’s “I was almost there!” moments, or perhaps its brief, indecisive adventures.

• Upper Wick: “I zoomed up here for a second! Look at me go! …Oh, wait, never mind, sellers smacked me back down.” It’s the market briefly trying to fly, but getting pulled back to earth.

• Lower Wick: “I plunged down to the abyss! It was dark! …But then buyers swooped in and dragged me back up, thankfully.” It’s the market briefly face-planting, then getting a sudden boost.

Wicks tell you where the price tried to go, but ultimately couldn’t stay. They’re like little breadcrumbs of volatility, showing you the extreme highs and lows of that period, even if the market decided to settle somewhere more… reasonable. They’re the market’s fleeting thoughts, its brief moments of insanity, before it got back to business.