How to Determine Support and Resistance on a Stock Chart

Support and Resistance are an important part ofand that the past five highs that establish the
both swing and day trading strategies. These tworesistance line are at $6.00, $6.50, $7.00, $7.50, $8.00.
trend lines do two things; first, they help you toBy drawing the support and resistance line at the
decide how much you could potentially make on aaforementioned price points you can see that the
trade and secondly, they help you establish an entrydistance between support and resistance as the
and exit strategy. It's vital that you have an exitstock trends up is about $1.00. That tells you that if
strategy before you get in a trade and it is usuallyyou get in at support and got out at resistance you
dependent on where the support and resistance lineshave the chance to make $1.00 per share.
are located.How do we know when to get out? Well, the
A support line is established where the lowest lowsstock's support and resistance tell you that historically
have historically been stopping before rallying back upbetween the last low and the next high you're most
over a certain period of time. And a resistance line islikely only going to get a $1.00 or so before the
the opposite: where the highs have historically hitstock has a pullback down to support. It wouldn't
before pulling back down to support. Support andmake sense to set your exit strategy at $10.00
resistance sort of pass the price point back and forthwhen resistance tells you that in the next few days
like a bouncy ball - they work in tandem if the stockit's only going to hit at about $9.00 before the next
is trending in a regular fashion. If you can't find a clearpullback.
support and resistance line then pass. Do not tradeIn sum, support and resistance outline how much
this stock. If you don't know what it's doing... then itroom the stock has to move (in our example - $1.00).
doesn't know what it's doing!It also tells you what the next estimated high and
If you can trace a nice, neat support line that followslow are going to be which, in turn, should allow you
the lows that have been hitting at higher and higherto determine your exit strategy prior to purchasing.
points and a resistance line that has highs that haveOn an uptrending stock, support is generally your
also been hitting at higher and higher points then youentry point and resistance is your exit point. If you're
can be assured that the stock is in an uptrend. Howshorting a stock, then it's the opposite: resistance is
do we know how much money we're possibly goingyour entry and support is your estimated exit point.
to make in this uptrending stock?Flat support and resistance lines mean that the stock
Let's say that the past five lows that mark theis either a channeling stock or currently consolidating.
support line are at $5.00, $5.50, $6.00, $6.50, $7.00