Rejection candle
A candle with a long wick and a small body, showing price was pushed into an area and then forced straight back out.
Full explanation
A rejection candle has a long wick on one side and a small body. Price traded well beyond a level during that candle, but by the time it closed, most of that ground had been given back. The wick is the evidence: the market went there and was not accepted.
Location decides whether it means anything. A rejection candle at the top of a range, at a key level, or at a session high is information. The same candle in the middle of nowhere is just a candle.
It is a signal about that moment, not a forecast. A rejection tells you the level held on this attempt; it does not promise the level holds on the next one.
Why traders watch it
It is one of the clearest single-candle signs that a level is being defended, and it gives a natural place to hide a stop loss — beyond the wick.
Trading considerations
- Only read rejection candles at levels that mattered beforehand.
- The longer the wick relative to the body, the stronger the message.
- Wait for the candle to close — a long wick can vanish before the close.
- Place the stop beyond the wick, not beyond the body.
Educational guidance only — never a trading signal or recommendation.
A wick into the session high
The hourly candle pushes 9 pips above the London high, then closes 2 pips below it, leaving a long upper wick. Buyers who paid the higher price could not hold it. The level survived this attempt, and a stop above the wick now has a defined, logical place to sit.
Related indicators
Rejection
Price reaching a level and being pushed straight back, usually leaving a long wick behind.
Key level
A price area the market has clearly reacted to before, and is therefore likely to be watched again.
Wick
The thin line above or below a candle body showing a price that was reached but not held.