Wide Spread Bar
Volume Spread Analysis glossary · Climaxes, Tests, Springs & Upthrusts
Definition
A price bar whose range (high minus low) is significantly larger than recent average bars. In VSA, a wide spread indicates high activity and strong interest from market participants. Its significance depends on the closing position and volume: a wide spread up bar closing on its highs with high volume suggests genuine buying, while one closing in the middle may indicate hidden selling.
Wide Spread Bar in plain English
A 'bar' just packages one slice of time (say, one day) into its high, low, and closing price, and its 'spread' is simply how far the price traveled — the high minus the low. A wide spread bar is one that traveled much farther than usual, which tells you a lot of people suddenly cared and were trading hard. But a big move alone doesn't tell you who won: you have to check where price finished and how heavy the volume was. If a wide up-bar slams shut right at its highs on heavy volume, real buyers were in control; if it surged up but limped back to close in the middle, sellers were quietly hitting every rally — the strength was a bit of an illusion.
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