How Support & Resistance Detection Works
This tool scans price data for swing pivot points — local highs and lows where the market reversed direction. A pivot high is a candle whose high is higher than N bars to the left and N bars to the right. A pivot low is the opposite. Nearby pivots are clustered into support zones (below current price) and resistance zones (above current price).
Pivot High: Hᵢ > max(Hᵢ₋ₙ..Hᵢ₋₁, Hᵢ₊₁..Hᵢ₊ₙ)With a 5-bar lookback, the tool checks 5 bars on each side. Higher N values find fewer but more significant pivots. A 3-bar lookback catches short-term swings; a 10-bar lookback finds major structural levels.
Zone Strength = Touches × 15 + Pivot Count × 5Each zone receives a strength score (0–100) based on how many times price bounced off that level and how many pivot points cluster there. Zones scoring 60+ are considered high-confidence. Use the pivot point calculator to compare these price-action zones against mathematically projected daily pivot levels.
Reading the Tables
| Metric | What It Means | Signal |
|---|---|---|
| Level | Price of the S/R zone (avg of clustered pivots) | The line to watch on chart |
| Distance % | How far the zone is from current price | Closer = more relevant |
| Touches | Number of times price bounced off this zone | 3+ = strong, 1–2 = developing |
| Strength | Composite score 0–100 | 60+ = high-confidence level |
Trading with S/R Zones
Support and resistance form the foundation of technical analysis. Buy near support zones with stops below, and sell near resistance with stops above. The nearest support and nearest resistance define the immediate trading range. Price tends to bounce between these levels until one breaks — a breakout above resistance or below support often leads to a strong directional move. Use the volatility analyzer to gauge how far price could run after a breakout.