MailBag

What’s the Difference between Equivolume and CandleVolume charts?

 | 
Both Equivolume and CandleVolume charts incorporate volume directly into the price plot. Volume is used to set the width of the boxes in Equivolume charts and the width for candlesticks in CandleVolume charts. There are, however, two main differences. The chart below shows IBM using Equivolume boxes. These boxes are always hollow and only show the high-low range. Equivolume charts are good for gauging volume, defining the overall trend and identifying chart patterns.

120914ibmequivol

120914ibmcandlevol
Click this image for a live chart.

The second chart shows CandleVolume charts. Notice that some of the candlestick bodies are filled, which means the close was below the open. The other candlestick bodies are hollow, which means the close was above the open. Also notice that candlesticks show the high and low as thin lines above the body. CandleVolume charts offer more detail on the intraday price changes and the relationship between the open, high, low and close.
Arthur Hill
About the author: , CMT, is a Senior Technical Analyst at StockCharts.com. He has written articles for numerous financial publications including Barrons and Stocks & Commodities magazine. Focusing predominantly on US equities and ETFs, his systematic approach of identifying trend, finding signals within the trend, and setting key price levels has made him an esteemed technician. In addition to his CMT designation, Arthur holds an MBA from the Cass Business School at City University in London. Learn More
Subscribe to MailBag to be notified whenever a new post is added to this blog!
comments powered by Disqus