Upper Wick Ratio 14Microstructure

Timeframe M1 · unit ratio

What it measures

Average fraction of each bar's total range that sits above the real body (upper wick) over the last 14 bars. Quantifies how consistently the market sold off from intrabar highs.

How Janira reads it (bullish vs bearish)

High values (above 0.4) mean each bar on average spent significant time above where it closed - sellers drove price back from highs. Low values mean closes were near highs - buyers held.

In plain language

Think of the upper wick as the market's failed attempt to go higher. A big upper wick means it tried hard to rise but got pushed back down. When most bars do this, sellers are habitually reclaiming the highs.

Scenarios

• Upper wick ratio above 0.5: sellers are systematically rejecting rallies - each push higher is being met with distribution.
• Upper wick ratio below 0.15: bars are consistently closing near their highs - buyers are absorbing and retaining those upper levels.
• Upper wick ratio rising after a runup: the market is starting to struggle to hold gains - exhaustion signature at the top.
• Upper wick ratio stable around 0.25: normal bar structure with moderate overhead rejection - no clear one-sided behaviour.

More microstructure indicators

Janira computes Upper Wick Ratio 14 deterministically from live price action, the same way for every reading - no discretion, no hidden weighting. This page explains the method; it is not a live reading and not advice.