What is a bar chart?

A lot can happen to a security in one day of trading, but thankfully, the bar chart exists to summarise all the important info.

One vertical bar can represent one day of trading, or it can be set up according to your preferences. It typically shows a security's lowest price of the day, opening price, closing price and highest price of the day.

Where have you heard about a bar chart?

This is the most-used technical analysis tool there is. If you're ever looking for the key figures for a security in one day, the bar chart is likely to be the first thing you see.

What you need to know about a bar chart...

The key thing is to know how to read the chart. At the bottom of the vertical line is the lowest price for the day, with the highest price for the day at the top.

There are two horizontal lines branching out from the vertical. The line on the left is the security's opening price, with the line on the right representing its closing price.

These 4 figures give an immediate visual representation of a security's day of trading, and are a great base for further technical analysis.