{"format":"alysly-page/1","url":"https://alysly.com/learn/reading-a-chart/","json":"https://alysly.com/json/learn/reading-a-chart/index.json","lang":"en-US","title":"Reading Charts: Line, Bar and Candlestick Charts Explained","description":"Line, bar and candlestick charts: the same data in three forms. Plus timeframes, log scales, adjusted prices – and their blind spots.","published":"2026-08-02T15:41:33+02:00","modified":"2026-11-01T18:26:04+01:00","alternates":[{"lang":"de-DE","url":"https://alysly.com/de/lernen/chart-lesen/","json":"https://alysly.com/json/de/lernen/chart-lesen/index.json"}],"about":"Machine-readable version of the page at url. It contains the text, tables and key figures published there, but not the interactive charts and tools.","breadcrumb":[{"name":"Investing & Trading Basics","url":"https://alysly.com/learn/"},{"name":"Level 1","url":"https://alysly.com/learn/#level-1"},{"name":"How to Read a Chart","url":"https://alysly.com/learn/reading-a-chart/"}],"content":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Level 1 Reading Charts · Part 1/7"},{"type":"heading","level":1,"text":"How to Read a Chart"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"By Alexander Bock, founder and data analyst","links":[{"text":"Alexander Bock","href":"https://alysly.com/about/"}]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"A chart is not a picture of the market. It is a summary of it. Millions of single trades are reduced to a few numbers per period. Once you know which numbers survive that step and which ones disappear, you read the same chart differently."},{"type":"heading","level":2,"id":"four-numbers-per-period","text":"Four Numbers per Period"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Almost every price chart is built on four values per period: open, high, low and close, or OHLC for short. A period can be one minute, one day or one month. The four values stay the same."},{"type":"image","src":"https://alysly.com/img/ta/chart-types.2e433b0f07c476664cfb18264289d8fabe7710aa471b0f159bc67acfcf398b32.webp","alt":"The same eight trading days shown as a line chart, a bar chart and a candlestick chart"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The same eight days, three renderings: (1) the line connects closing prices only, (2) the bar adds high, low and open, (3) the candle shows the same four values but fills the range between open and close."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The line chart shows closing prices only. That is less information, but not automatically worse. The close is the price the market agreed on at the end of the period, so short spikes that nobody wanted to hold drop out. For a view across several years, the line is usually the calmer picture."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The bar chart adds the high, the low and the open. The candlestick chart shows the same four values, but it fills the space between open and close. That makes the direction of the period visible at a glance. Bars and candles hold exactly the same information; the candle is only quicker to read."},{"type":"heading","level":2,"id":"the-timeframe-is-part-of-the-answer","text":"The Timeframe Is Part of the Answer"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The same market looks different in different timeframes, and none of them is the “correct” one. On the hourly chart, a drop can look like a broken trend. On the weekly chart, the same drop can be a single candle with a long lower wick."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"In practice, the timeframe has to match how long you plan to hold. Someone who holds for months does not decide on a 5-minute chart. At that level, most of what they see is noise. A weekly chart, on the other hand, cannot resolve a move that starts and ends within two days."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The common solution is to combine two timeframes: a higher one for direction and structure, a lower one for timing. Three or more rarely add clarity, but they reliably add contradictions."},{"type":"heading","level":2,"id":"linear-and-logarithmic-scales","text":"Linear and Logarithmic Scales"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"On a linear scale, the same distance always means the same amount of money: 10 to 20 covers the same distance as 100 to 110. On a logarithmic scale, the same distance means the same percentage change, so 10 to 20 is as far as 100 to 200."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"For investors, the logarithmic scale is almost always the right choice, because the percentage change is what matters, not the absolute amount. Over several years the difference is dramatic. Drawn linearly, every multiplication looks like an explosion at the right edge, while the early years flatten into a straight line. Trendlines also end up in completely different places depending on the scale. That is one reason why two people can argue about the same “broken trend”."},{"type":"heading","level":2,"id":"adjusted-prices","text":"Adjusted Prices"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"A price chart often does not show the price that actually traded. Splits and dividends are calculated back into the older data so that the series stays continuous. Without this adjustment, every split would create an artificial gap, and every dividend an artificial drop on the ex-date."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The adjustment is the right choice, but it has consequences. Old prices in an adjusted chart match no price that was ever tradable. If you draw support “at 50 from 2018”, you are using a number that never existed on the exchange. Commodity futures add a second problem: contracts expire and have to be rolled. Without a correction, this also creates jumps that were never a market event."},{"type":"heading","level":2,"id":"what-a-chart-leaves-out","text":"What a Chart Leaves Out"},{"type":"list","ordered":false,"items":["The order of events inside the period. A daily candle does not tell you whether the high or the low came first. Two completely different trading days can produce identical candles.","Whether you could trade there. A price on the chart does not mean that a meaningful amount could have traded at that price. In thin instruments the gap between bid and ask is wide, and the drawn price sits somewhere in between.",{"text":"The reason. A chart shows the result, never the cause. This is why price data and the economic calendar work well together: one shows that something happened, the other often shows why.","links":[{"text":"economic calendar","href":"https://alysly.com/economic-calendar/"}]}]},{"type":"heading","level":2,"id":"next","text":"Next"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The next article takes the candle apart and explains why the ratio of body to wick says more than the color does. To see the real price series of each market, start with the markets overview.","links":[{"text":"markets overview","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/"}]},{"type":"list","ordered":false,"items":[{"text":"Back Investing & Trading Basics","href":"https://alysly.com/learn/"},{"text":"Next Reading Candles: Body, Wick, Color","href":"https://alysly.com/learn/reading-candles/"}]},{"type":"heading","level":2,"text":"Indices"},{"type":"table","caption":"Indices, performance over the selected period","columns":["Index","1M"],"rows":[[{"text":"Dow Jones","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/indices/dow-jones/"},{"text":"+1.0%","data":{"m1":"+1.0%","m3":"-4.3%","m6":"+4.9%","ytd":"+7.6%","max":"+30.0%"}}],[{"text":"S&P 500","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/indices/sp500/"},{"text":"-2.6%","data":{"m1":"-2.6%","m3":"-2.2%","m6":"+4.2%","ytd":"+10.6%","max":"+35.6%"}}],[{"text":"MSCI World","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/indices/msci-world/"},{"text":"-2.0%","data":{"m1":"-2.0%","m3":"-2.4%","m6":"+3.7%","ytd":"+10.0%","max":"+35.0%"}}],[{"text":"MSCI ACWI","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/indices/msci-acwi/"},{"text":"-3.3%","data":{"m1":"-3.3%","m3":"-3.0%","m6":"+2.3%","ytd":"+10.2%","max":"+41.5%"}}]]},{"type":"heading","level":2,"text":"ETFs"},{"type":"table","caption":"ETFs, performance over the selected period","columns":["Fund","1M"],"rows":[[{"text":"SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY","links":[{"text":"SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/etfs/us/spy/"}]},{"text":"-2.6%","data":{"m1":"-2.6%","m3":"-2.2%","m6":"+4.2%","ytd":"+10.6%","max":"+35.6%"}}],[{"text":"Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO","links":[{"text":"Vanguard S&P 500 ETF","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/etfs/us/voo/"}]},{"text":"-2.6%","data":{"m1":"-2.6%","m3":"-2.2%","m6":"+4.2%","ytd":"+10.6%","max":"+34.1%"}}],[{"text":"iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF USD (Acc) EUNL","links":[{"text":"iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF USD (Acc)","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/etfs/ishares-core-msci-world-ucits-etf-usd-acc/"}]},{"text":"-2.0%","data":{"m1":"-2.0%","m3":"-2.3%","m6":"+4.3%","ytd":"+10.6%","max":"+487.5%"}}],[{"text":"Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF 1c XMME","links":[{"text":"Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF 1c","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/etfs/xtrackers-msci-emerging-markets-ucits-etf-1c/"}]},{"text":"-9.4%","data":{"m1":"-9.4%","m3":"-4.1%","m6":"-3.3%","ytd":"+14.0%","max":"+93.0%"}}]]},{"type":"heading","level":2,"text":"Stocks"},{"type":"table","caption":"Stocks, performance over the selected period","columns":["Stock","1M"],"rows":[[{"text":"NVIDIA Corporation NVDA","links":[{"text":"NVIDIA Corporation","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/stocks/nvidia-corporation/"},{"text":"United States","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/stocks/browse/?country=United%20States"}]},{"text":"-13.5%","data":{"m1":"-13.5%","m3":"-2.5%","m6":"+5.2%","ytd":"+10.8%","max":"+62.2%"}}],[{"text":"Apple Inc. AAPL","links":[{"text":"Apple Inc.","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/stocks/apple-inc/"},{"text":"United States","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/stocks/browse/?country=United%20States"}]},{"text":"-0.3%","data":{"m1":"-0.3%","m3":"+7.3%","m6":"+16.8%","ytd":"+22.1%","max":"+45.8%"}}],[{"text":"Tesla Inc. TSLA","links":[{"text":"Tesla Inc.","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/stocks/tesla-inc/"},{"text":"United States","href":"https://alysly.com/markets/stocks/browse/?country=United%20States"}]},{"text":"+5.2%","data":{"m1":"+5.2%","m3":"+21.7%","m6":"+2.3%","ytd":"-11.4%","max":"+65.3%"}}]]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Data note 1","href":"#dn-1"},{"type":"heading","level":2,"text":"More Studies"},{"type":"list","ordered":false,"items":[{"text":"Jul 21, 2026 Collectibles ×5.4 for the same cards, matched-model index, Mar 2022 – Aug 2026 Is the Pokémon Card Market in a Bubble? 4,159 Sales Analyzed Prices for PSA-graded cards multiplied. Measured on the same cards they rose 438%, while the raw median shows 786% because pricier cards came up for sale later.","href":"https://alysly.com/analysis/pokemon-card-market-bubble/"},{"text":"May 19, 2026 Crypto 45.6% Bitcoin’s annualized volatility, Jul 2024 – Sep 2026 Bitcoin in Investment Portfolios: The Real Numbers Bitcoin is calmer than it was and still about three times as volatile as the stock market. It moves with stocks, not with gold.","href":"https://alysly.com/analysis/bitcoin-investment-portfolios/"},{"text":"Mar 17, 2026 Wealth €1.2m needed for €3,000 a month indefinitely at a 3% real return Living Off Your Returns: What It Really Takes The capital you need is arithmetic. The return you assume is a guess, and it can triple the answer.","href":"https://alysly.com/analysis/living-off-returns/"}]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"View all studies","href":"https://alysly.com/analysis/#studies"},{"type":"heading","level":2,"text":"Learn"},{"type":"list","ordered":false,"items":[{"text":"Reading Candles: Body, Wick, Color How a candle is built, the body-to-wick ratio – and what gets lost.","href":"https://alysly.com/learn/reading-candles/"},{"text":"Trend, Trendline, Channel Higher highs, higher lows – and why trendlines bend more easily than they look.","href":"https://alysly.com/learn/trend-and-trendlines/"}]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Course overview","href":"https://alysly.com/learn/"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Updated Nov 1, 2026 · Content and figures checked Oct 19, 2026"},{"type":"heading","level":2,"id":"note-legend-h","text":"Data Notes"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"All calculations run automatically and are not investment advice."},{"type":"list","ordered":true,"items":[{"id":"dn-1","text":"Returns computed automatically from the price series, excluding dividends, taxes and costs."}]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Data and methodology: Alysly · Responsible for content: Alexander Bock","links":[{"text":"Alysly","href":"https://alysly.com/methodology/"},{"text":"Alexander Bock","href":"https://alysly.com/about/"}]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"View all data notes","href":"https://alysly.com/notes/"}],"structured_data":[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://alysly.com/#org","name":"Alysly","url":"https://alysly.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://alysly.com/img/icon-512.png","width":512,"height":512},"description":"Data-driven insights, transparent analysis and powerful tools for long-term investors.","email":"mail@alysly.com","contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","email":"mail@alysly.com","availableLanguage":["de","en"]},"address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"Haltern am See","postalCode":"45721","addressCountry":"DE"},"founder":{"@id":"https://alysly.com/#founder"},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/company/alyslycom/","https://www.youtube.com/@alyslycom","https://x.com/alyslycom"],"publishingPrinciples":"https://alysly.com/methodology/"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://alysly.com/#founder","name":"Alexander Bock","jobTitle":"Founder and data analyst","url":"https://alysly.com/about/","sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/abxk/"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://alysly.com/#site","url":"https://alysly.com/","name":"Alysly","alternateName":"Alysly Investment Analysis","inLanguage":"en-US","publisher":{"@id":"https://alysly.com/#org"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://alysly.com/markets/stocks/browse/?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://alysly.com/learn/reading-a-chart/#webpage","url":"https://alysly.com/learn/reading-a-chart/","name":"How to Read a Chart – Alysly","description":"Line, bar and candlestick charts: the same data in three forms. 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