Support and resistance are the most basic concepts in technical analysis. Learning these levels is important to find identified entry & exit points with higher probability and work on risk in trading with stocks. Whether you are new to trading or an experienced trader, understanding these price action zones will greatly enhance your stock trading.
This guide will show you how to correctly identify, draw, and trade using the support and resistance levels.
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Understanding Support and Resistance Levels
Support and resistance (S&R) is simply the battle between buyers (demand) and sellers (supply) in the stock market. S&R levels are not exact lines, but rather price action zones where we expect the balance of power to change.
What is a Support Level?
Support level is a price action zone where demand (interest in buying) is strong enough to prevent the price of a stock from going lower. It is a price floor. As the price falls to a significant support level, the traders who previously missed buying the stock before will generally jump in to buy once it reaches the support level or below, along with short sellers covering their positions, creating some upward pressure for the price to move.
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What is a Resistance Level?
The resistance level is a price area in which supply (selling interest) is strong enough to reverse the price progression upward. Think of it as a price ceiling. When the price rises to a strong resistance zone, many traders take profits, while new sellers (bears) enter the zone, creating downward pressure.
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Key takeaway: The more times a price level holds as support or resistance, the more significant that level is in your trading approach.
How to Identify and Draw Support & Resistance
Being able to identify and draw these technical analysis levels correctly comes first towards achieving success in trading stocks.
1. Historical Peaks and Troughs
The simplest and most reliable is seeing what the historical price action was.
Support: You want to connect the lows (troughs) when the price has reversed multiple times and moved up.
Resistance: You want to connect the highs (peaks) when the price has reversed multiple times and moved down.
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2. Drawing S&R Zones, Not Lines
Professional stock traders cannot come close to using just a single line in drawing S&R levels. They will identify the Support and Resistance zones. This is more realistic to market noise, and so you do not miss a good trade looking for only a point, exact price.
3. Using Trend Lines for Dynamic S&R
Trend lines offer dynamic support and resistance that shift along with the market.
Uptrend: Draw a line connecting two or more ascending lows. The line serves as dynamic support.
Downtrend: Draw a line connecting two or more descending highs. The line serves as dynamic resistance.
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4. Other Confluence Points
Often, stronger S&R occurs when multiple technical indicators line up with each other.
Moving Averages: Long-term Moving Averages (such as the 50-day Moving Average or 200-day Moving Average) typically serve as dynamic S&R.
Psychological Round Numbers: Prices such as ?100, ?500, ?1,000 often serve as S&R because traders tend to place their orders at psychological round numbers.
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Core Support and Resistance Trading Strategies
The good news about Support and Resistance is that it will help you define high-probability areas you can enter and set up risk.
1. The Bounce Strategy (Reversal Trading) (Reversal Trading)
This is the standard trading strategy used in range-bound markets.
Entry: Buy when the price tests a strong Support area and shows signs of reversing (i.e., as in a bullish candlestick, such as a Doji or Hammer). Sell or Short when the price tests a strong Resistance area and shows signs of reversing.
Risk Management: Your stop-loss order can be placed just outside the S&R zone.
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2. The Breakout Trading Strategy
This strategy involves trading a confirmed move out of the defined S&R zone. The breakout confirms that the Supply/Demand dynamics have changed.
Bullish Breakout: The price closes decisively above the Resistance. This is a buy signal.
Bearish Breakout: The price closes below Support decisively. This is a sell/short signal.
3. The "S&R Flip" (Retest Strategy)
This method may be the most reliable trading strategy one can use with S&R.
Concept: Once a Resistance level has been broken, it will now (in theory) act as new Support. Once a Support level has been broken, it will act as new Resistance.
Action: After a breakout, wait for the price to retest the broken level. The trader enters when the price bounces off the new S&R level. It then becomes much more likely that the breakout is valid - and the price will continue in the direction of the breakout.
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Effective S&R Trading Strategies
To execute an S&R Trading Strategy with greater accuracy, implement these best practices:
Look for Confluence: Don't rely on S&R solely. The most robust trade setups have your Support and Resistance zone making sense with other indicators, such as coverage with Fibonacci or coinciding with a key Moving Average.
Volume Confirmation: Confirm a breakout with volume. A breakout on lower volume is often a false breakout.
Multi-Timeframe Analysis: Determine the significant Support and Resistance levels using a higher time frame (e.g., weekly or daily chart), and this will give you the strongest support and resistance. Once you have identified a major support level or zone, you switch to a lower time frame (e.g., 1-hour chart or 15-minute chart) to establish your exact entry and exit levels.
Risk Management is Important: You always want to know your risk before entering a trade. This is a perfect scenario for using support and resistance for your stop-loss placement.
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Conclusion
Support and Resistance are the basis of your stock trading success, and by understanding the correct identification of these price zones with bounce and breakout strategies, you will get a significant advantage in your ability to read the market's pulse. Consistent trading and risk management will make this fundamental stock technical analysis a well-used tool to help you navigate the craziness of the stock market.