Lines
Horizontal lines and rays (support and resistance)
A level line marking a price where the market has turned before and may react again.
The idea in plain words
Traders remember prices. A level where buyers stepped in before (support) or sellers appeared (resistance) often matters again, because people who missed it last time place orders there.
How it is calculated
Click once at the price. A horizontal ray starts at your click and runs to the right.
A single price: support below the market, resistance above itHow to use it
- Mark recent highs and lows, round numbers and earlier breakout levels.
- Place alerts on the line: select it and press "Alert at this price".
Drawing conclusions
- When resistance breaks, it often becomes support (and vice versa).
- The more often a level was tested, the more attention it gets, but each test can weaken it.
Example
GOLD has turned down three times near 2,400. A horizontal line at 2,400 marks resistance; a daily close at 2,420 is a breakout, and the old ceiling then acts as a floor on the pullback.
Prices in examples are illustrative.
Watch out for
- Levels are zones, not exact prices: allow a little room.
A little history
Support and resistance are the foundation of chart reading, described in classic texts such as Edwards and Magee's "Technical Analysis of Stock Trends" (1948).
Educational content only. No indicator or pattern predicts the future, and nothing here is investment advice.