Numerical Computing with Python

Candlestick plot in matplotlib.finance

As you have seen in the first part of this chapter, our dataset contains the opening and closing prices as well as the highest and lowest price per trading day. None of the plots we have described thus far are able to describe the trend of all these variables in a single plot.

In the financial world, the candlestick plot is almost the default choice for describing price movements of stocks, currencies, and commodities over a time period. Each candlestick consists of the body, describing the opening and closing prices, and extended wicks illustrating the highest and lowest prices of a particular trading day. If the closing price is higher than the opening price, the candlestick is often colored black. ...