Foundation course in discretionary trading
How to Read Stock Charts: Candles, Volume and Levels
How to read stock charts the way a careful trader does: what each candle records, how timeframes change the picture, what volume adds, where support and resistance come from, and which chart claims fail when tested.
How to read stock charts is the first practical skill most traders learn, and often the one they learn worst. A chart is a record of prices and volume, nothing more. It can show where buyers and sellers met; it cannot show you what they will do next. Reading it well means knowing the difference.
What does a candlestick actually show?
Four prices for a period, the open, high, low and close, and usually the volume traded. Everything else, from patterns to trend lines, is interpretation. The course starts with the record itself and builds up to interpretation one step at a time, with a rule for each mark you make.
How do you know if a chart pattern works?
By counting. Pick a pattern, define it so two people would mark the same candles, find every instance on a chart, and record what happened next. The course has you do this by hand on real charts, and it changes how most students read every chart afterwards.
Who is this course for?
New traders, and experienced traders who learned chart reading from videos and want a sound basis. No programming is needed.
What you will be able to do
- Read open, high, low, close and volume from any bar or candle chart.
- Mark trends, ranges, support and resistance consistently across timeframes.
- Describe the common candlestick patterns and what the evidence says about each.
- Explain how adjusted and unadjusted price data change what a chart shows.
Syllabus, module by module
Bars, candles and lines
What each chart type records and what it hides; log and linear scales.
Timeframes
Monthly to one-minute charts, and why the same move looks different on each.
Volume
Volume bars, relative volume and what high-volume days mean.
Trends and ranges
Highs, lows, trend lines and ranges, marked by a rule so two people mark them the same way.
Support and resistance
Prior highs and lows, round numbers and gaps, and why some levels hold.
Candlestick patterns, tested
Engulfing, doji, hammer and others, and how to count their record by hand.
How the certificate is earned
Weekly chart-reading exercises and two graded problem sets: a marked-up chart book of ten instruments, and a hand count of how often one pattern was followed by the move it predicts. On a pass you receive the Course certificate in Reading Stock Charts, issued by the Institute with a verification code. Read how certification works.
This course counts toward
- Foundation Certificate in TradingThe first semester of the trader path: a trading course for beginners in eight parts, from how markets and orders work to costs, charts, risk, edge, psychology and the trading journal, with a simulated-account capstone. No previous knowledge and no programming.
- Diploma in Professional TradingThe top credential on the trader path and the Institute's trading certification for people who do not write code. Three semesters, 24 courses and a 160-hour capstone, from a first lesson on how markets work to a six-month simulated trading business reviewed like a desk.
Questions applicants ask
Do candlestick patterns work?
Published tests find most single candlestick patterns, on their own and after costs, close to chance in liquid markets. Some do better in context. The course teaches you to count a pattern’s record yourself rather than take anyone’s word for it, including ours.
Which charting platform do I need?
Any free charting platform will do. The exercises use daily and intraday charts that every common platform shows.