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Trading Glossary

Support

Technical Analysis

What it means

A price level where buying tends to appear and stop a decline. Price has bounced there before, so traders expect it to hold again.

Example

A stock drops to $50 three times over six months and bounces each time. $50 is support; traders place buy orders there expecting another bounce.

Mistake beginners make

Beginners treat support as a hard floor and buy with no stop. When support breaks, it often breaks hard -- the buyers are gone and price falls through fast.

Related terms

  • Resistance — A price level where selling tends to appear and stop a rally. Price has stalled there befo…
  • Trend — The overall direction price is moving over a period. Up trends make higher highs and highe…

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