Support and Resistance Explained
Support is a price where buyers have repeatedly stepped in; resistance is where sellers have. They are the most basic map of where a chart tends to react.
What are support and resistance?
Support is a level where falling price has previously stalled and turned up, because demand exceeds supply there. Resistance is the opposite — a level where rising price has stalled and turned down. The more times a level has produced a clean reaction, the more traders watch it, which is part of why it keeps working.
Levels are zones, not exact prices. Draw them across the bodies and wicks where price has reacted, and expect a band rather than a single line.
The role flip
When price breaks through resistance, that old resistance often becomes new support on the retest — and broken support becomes resistance. This 'polarity flip' is one of the most reliable behaviours around levels.
Combine levels with market structure and a liquidity sweep read: the highest-probability reactions come where a level, a sweep of stops, and the trend all line up.
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How do I draw support and resistance correctly?
Mark the zones where price has clearly reacted more than once, using both wicks and bodies. Treat them as bands, and prioritise higher-timeframe levels over intraday noise.
Why does support become resistance?
Once price breaks below support, traders who bought there are now underwater and tend to sell on a return to breakeven, turning the old support into resistance (and vice versa).
Are round numbers support and resistance?
Often, yes. Round numbers attract resting orders and psychological attention, so they frequently act as support or resistance even without prior price history there.