Candlestick Charting Candlestick charting is an art form that has been passed down from the 1600s when it was used to trade Japanese rice futures. The name "candlestick" is used because the data in the charts are plotted to resemble what looks like a series of candles with wicks. Candlestick charting places a great deal of importance on the relationship between the open and closing prices for each bar. The candlestick chart uses the same price data as a bar chart, with each candlestick representing the open, high, low and closing price. The "thick" part of the candlestick is known as the "real body" and represents the range between the open and closing prices. A hollow real body represents a bullish market-the close price was higher than the open price. A filled real body represents a bearish market-the close was lower than the opening price. The thin line above the body represents the high, and the thin line below the body represents the low.