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Support and Resistance - Technical Analysis

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Markets have a tendency to move in troughs and peaks or, more appropriately, "Support and Resistance."

Support

These Troughs are called support, indicating that support is level. This shows that buying interest is strong enough to overcome selling pressure. A decrease in price is reversed and prices rise once again. Typically, a support level is identified by a previous set of lows.

Resistance

Resistance is essentially the opposite of support. Resistance is defined as a horizontal ceiling where the pressure to sell is greater than the pressure to buy. An increase in price is reversed and prices revert downward. Typically, support can be located on a chart by a previous set of highs.