How to Read Stock Charts
Stock charts are the foundation of technical analysis. Learn to read price action, identify trends, and use key indicators.
Types of Stock Charts
The three most common chart types are line charts, bar charts (OHLC), and candlestick charts. Candlestick charts are the most popular among traders because they show the open, high, low, and close (OHLC) prices for each time period in an intuitive visual format.
Reading Candlestick Charts
Each candlestick represents one time period (1 minute, 1 hour, 1 day, etc.). The "body" shows the range between open and close prices. The "wicks" (thin lines above and below) show the high and low prices reached during that period.
- Green/bullish candle: Close is higher than open (price went up).
- Red/bearish candle: Close is lower than open (price went down).
- Doji: Open and close are nearly equal, indicating indecision.
- Long wicks: Indicate price was rejected at those levels (support/resistance).
Volume
Volume bars at the bottom of a chart show how many shares were traded during each period. High volume confirms price movements — a breakout on high volume is more significant than one on low volume. On GainBot.ai, you can see real-time volume data on every stock chart.
Key Technical Indicators
GainBot.ai provides several key technical indicators on every stock page under the "Technicals" tab:
- SMA 50 & SMA 200: Simple Moving Averages smooth out price data. When SMA 50 crosses above SMA 200, it's a "golden cross" (bullish). The reverse is a "death cross" (bearish).
- EMA 20: Exponential Moving Average reacts faster to recent prices, useful for short-term trend identification.
- MACD: Moving Average Convergence Divergence shows momentum shifts. Crossovers between the MACD line and signal line indicate potential buy/sell signals.
- RSI: Relative Strength Index measures overbought (above 70) and oversold (below 30) conditions.
Support and Resistance
Support is a price level where a stock tends to stop falling and bounce back up. Resistance is where it tends to stop rising. These levels are identified by looking at historical price points where the stock repeatedly reversed direction.
Chart Timeframes
On GainBot.ai, you can view charts across multiple timeframes: 1 Day (intraday), 5 Days, 1 Month, 3 Months, 6 Months, 1 Year, 5 Years, and Max. Shorter timeframes are useful for day trading, while longer timeframes help identify long-term trends.
Try it out on any stock page — for example, AAPL, TSLA, or NVDA. Use the timeframe buttons above the chart to switch between views.