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Support is a price level where a downtrend has repeatedly paused or reversed because buying pressure stepped in. Resistance is the mirror image — a level where an uptrend has repeatedly stalled because selling pressure took over.
These levels aren't exact lines so much as zones — price often reacts a little above or below the "exact" level rather than at the pixel-perfect price. The more times a level has been tested and held, the more traders tend to watch it.
When a support or resistance level finally breaks, it often flips roles — old resistance can become new support, and vice versa. This is one of the most widely used concepts in all of technical analysis because it applies across every timeframe and every market.
Real-World Example
A stock has bounced higher off $45 three separate times over two months, each time, buyers stepped in right around that level and pushed price back up, turning $45 into a well-watched support zone. A trader who missed the first two bounces places a buy order near $45 ahead of the third test, using the level's repeated history as the basis for a lower-risk entry rather than guessing blindly where the stock might turn.
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