What is support (in technical analysis)?
Support is a price level where the price has previously stopped and turned on the way down — a kind of floor. It exists because many buyers saw the stock as cheap there before and expect to do so again. If the price breaks down through support, the floor is gone and the fall can continue.
The price has stopped at the same level three times — that is a floor.
Why the floor exists
Imagine a stock has fallen to 100 three times and risen again each time. Now the market remembers. Next time it approaches 100, buyers stand ready because "that is where it turned last time". Their buying makes it turn again. Support is not a law of nature — it is memory and expectation turning into self-fulfilling behaviour.
How it is used
- The price approaches support: Many see it as a place where the fall may stop. Not a guarantee — a place to watch.
- The price breaks down through it: The floor did not hold. That is read as weakness, and old support often becomes new resistance.
- The price turns at support again: The floor is confirmed — once more.
What it cannot do
Support says nothing about the company. A bad earnings report takes the price straight through every floor. Technical analysis describes how the price has behaved — it cannot see what happens inside the business tomorrow.
The typical beginner's mistake
Buying exactly at support "because it holds". It holds until it does not. Always have a plan for what you do if the price breaks through — that is where the losses get big.
How you see it in Kiggo
Kiggo shows the stock's 52-week range — the year's low and high — as the simplest form of support and resistance: how far from the bottom and the top is the price right now? A professional chart with drawn support and resistance lines is on the wish list for Kiggo Plus.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
How do I find the support level?
Look at a 6–12 month chart and find the levels where the price has turned up several times. The more times, the stronger the floor. Round numbers (100, 500, 1,000) often act as support simply because people think in round numbers.
Can support become resistance?
Yes, often. If the price breaks down through 100, then 100 often becomes the ceiling next time it tries to rise — those who bought at 100 sell with relief when they can get out without a loss.
Kiggo explains — Kiggo does not advise. We never tell you what to buy or sell, and key figures can only be compared between companies in the same industry. The decision is yours. Last updated 2026-09-07.
Written by Claus Frisch, founder of Kiggo. Not an adviser, not a bank — Kiggo explains, you decide.
