Two green candles can tell completely different stories.
One green candle might show explosive bullish momentum — buyers completely dominating with no opposition.
Another green candle might show weak, uncertain buying — barely closing higher than it opened with massive wicks showing rejection in both directions.
Learning to judge candle strength separates traders who read charts from traders who truly understand them.
A strong bullish candle has these characteristics:
Large green body
Close significantly higher than open.
Buyers dominated the entire period with little opposition.
Small or no upper wick
Buyers pushed price up and it stayed there.
No significant selling at the high.
Small or no lower wick
Sellers barely got a chance — buyers stepped in immediately.
What it means:
Buyers were completely in control. Strong momentum. Trend likely to continue upward.
On higher timeframes — a strong bullish daily candle signals serious institutional buying.
A weak bullish candle:
Small green body
Close only slightly higher than open.
Buyers barely won — sellers fought hard.
Long upper wick
Buyers pushed price up but sellers pushed it back down strongly before close.
Rejection of higher prices.
Long lower wick
Sellers pushed price down before buyers recovered.
Battle in both directions.
What it means:
Indecision. Buyers technically won but the battle was close. Potential reversal signal — especially after a strong uptrend.
A strong bearish candle:
Large red body
Open significantly higher than close.
Sellers dominated completely.
Small or no lower wick
Sellers pushed price down and it stayed there.
Small or no upper wick
Buyers barely got a chance to push back.
What it means:
Sellers completely in control. Strong bearish momentum. Likely to continue lower.
A weak bearish candle:
Small red body
Close only slightly lower than open.
Long lower wick
Sellers pushed price down but buyers fought back strongly.
Potential support found.
Long upper wick
Buyers pushed price up before sellers took over.
What it means:
Sellers technically won but buyers showed strength. Potential reversal — especially after a strong downtrend.
The strongest candle in either direction is the Marubozu — a candle with no wicks at all.
Bullish Marubozu:
Opens at the low, closes at the high.
Buyers controlled 100% of the period. No selling at any point.
Extremely bullish signal.
Bearish Marubozu:
Opens at the high, closes at the low.
Sellers controlled 100% of the period. No buying at any point.
Extremely bearish signal.
A Marubozu on high volume on a daily chart is one of the strongest signals in technical analysis.
Individual candles matter — but sequences tell even better stories.
Three consecutive large bullish candles:
Strong upward momentum. Buyers completely in control. Trend is strong.
Three consecutive large bearish candles:
Strong downward momentum. Sellers completely in control.
Alternating small candles:
Indecision. Market is consolidating. A big move is building.
The direction of the breakout from this consolidation will be significant.
A candle’s story is only complete when combined with volume.
Large bullish candle + high volume:
Confirmed buying pressure. Institutions involved. Very reliable signal.
Large bullish candle + low volume:
Suspicious. Big move without participation. Could be manipulation. Less reliable.
Always check volume when analyzing candle strength. Volume is the truth behind the price.
In the next topic we will learn about candle wicks and what they reveal about market psychology.