The question I am about to ask has been asked before in an much earlier post on s/r. I have been following apple and have their 1 year, 3 month and many intra-day candle charts with a 50/200 MA with an RSI and volume indicator in my database. However, I dont feel like I know any more about s/r than before, while I can get a sense of where support and resistance are, i'm <b>having trouble</b> drawing them. I did place a few real trades, but I stopped. I dont even paper trade any more because I feel like: 1. If i dont understand s/r, i wont know when to enter/exit 2. S/R will give me a better sense of price movement, although from following apple, price does not seem to go much higher than 72.45 or lower than around 68.00 --------- My family does not support me in this activity and my friends think I am wasting my time taking notes on candlestick patterns instead of going to night clubs. I have no one else to turn to except the experts on this forum. Maybe this stuff is common sense and could be why the only questions of s/r seem to come from me, lol, but NihabaAshi and trader273...if they remember me, can tell you that I'm trying my best here. Here is my chart with a few s/r lines (apple feb/22/06) please tell me what you think, what I did wrong, and where I need improvement. --- <b> if any expert stock traders want to take me under their wing and help me with future T/A questions, please let me know, I'd be most grateful</b> - Nathan
I am far from an expert but S/R in its simplest form can be found by using Pivot Points and Moving Averages. Search the web on these subjects and there is a plethora of informations out there. Here are the PP and 2 main MA for AAPL today: R2-73.63 R1-72.69 PP-72.06 S1-71.12 S2-70.49 50-day MA....73.74 20-day MA....70.80 S/R is not always the definite line in the sand. Sometimes it is like glass to be broken and other times it's like a rubber band to be stretched ;-) Hope this helps.
Suggest if you haven't read it have a look here: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=63618&perpage=6&pagenumber=1 Personally I've never used "S/R" because I started with fibos which is just another way of determining S/R, tho to my mind fibo lines are price targets rather than S/R.
============== Nathan; Looked studied AAPL,your charts & first off, would try to get along with Dad/mom if still living at home. If you have your own home its different but still would try to get along with Mom & DAD, if applicable. Could be some resistance @ about 75 area,[ as noted on your charts]; studied 1,2 year daily weekly also . Pretty fair uptrend; probably wouldn't long swingtrade it soon, stock not staying much above 50 day moving average, nor is QQQQ. Semi confidently , probably wouldn't want to repeat this, if your Dad or MOM disagrees ; banker DAD told me & my brother to ''stay out of night clubs because thats where people go who don't know , how to have any fun,son'' Also my Dad didn't support me in my home business for years, but fortunately DAD, Mom are clients , so kindness pays in long term trend/family relations. These are probabilities , not predictions; CSCO rocketed , uptrend thru sideways slop/chop, against all odds!!!! Believe you could get better in S&R as years go buy; also would ask Mom & Dad for work suggestions, cause they know your personality, if applicable. XLE related sector has excellent uptrends; coolweb noted a stock I found out Carl Icahn invested in .Not a tip. Let us know if applicable ,Dad or moms work suggestions; my Dad doesn't write me like he used to ; but Mom gave me a thick red chinese pencil, good tor tek analysis work.
I get the idea that you are looking for "certainty" in your entries AND are terrified of taking losses. Instead of forecasting and mathematically-guessing where support & resistance are likely to be, let the market show you where they actually are and then adjust your trades accordingly. You'll also learn more from trading a cheaper stock with real money. For now, go out to a club tonight and start with a clear head Monday morning.
i also think that if you are a beginning trader, there are plenty of "small name" stocks to trade on an intraday basis that are superior to big names like AAPL, INTC, etc. if u trade the big name stocks you are competing with the best traders in the world. get a list of a few smaller name stocks, one with decent floats and trading volume, and concentrate on those. study the intraday charts. pull up 30-40. start from the left and draw the S/R where you think they are being established, then see how well those predictions held up. also, imo on an intraday basis, in order to have an edge, S/R is gonna need to be supported/rejected with another measure, such as tape reading, etc. to really get an edge on what levels will hold and what won't.
whitster define a "small stock" in terms of volume? plus, the smaller stocks are more volatile..right? would: starbucks SBUX kraft foods KFT blue nile inc NILE be a better choice?
You are wasting your time. Best advice: jack yourself off thoroughly or at least get out with your friends to night clubs .. to clear your thinking and connect with reality.