Support, resistance and key levels
The prices the market remembers, and why they make the best places for entries and stops.
5 min read
Support is a price where buyers have stepped in before, so falls tend to pause there. Resistance is a price where sellers have stepped in, so rallies tend to stall. They're zones, not exact lines.
Levels traders watch
- Yesterday's high and low
- The premarket high and low
- The opening range (the first 5–30 minutes of the session)
- Round numbers like $100 or $500
- Prices where the chart turned sharply before
How to use them
- Breakouts: price pushes through resistance and holds above it.
- Bounces: price tests support and buyers defend it.
- Stops: a level gives your stop a logical home. If price breaks the level you were relying on, your idea was wrong.
Key takeaways
- ✓Support = where falls pause; resistance = where rallies stall.
- ✓Yesterday's high/low and the opening range are the levels everyone watches.
- ✓Levels give stops a logical place.
Quick check
Where is the most logical place for a stop on a long trade that bounced off support at $48?
Put it into practice
Our Opening Range Breakout indicator marks the opening range, premarket and previous-day levels for you.
Education only, not financial advice. Trading involves substantial risk of loss.