What is Technical Resistance Level?

Within the context of technical analysis, a resistance level is a specific price point at which a stock or security has exhibited difficulty maintaining or surpassing in the past. As a result, once the price of a security reaches or nears an established resistance level once again, price movement can often stall or reverse. Different traders use different forms of technical analysis and different time frames to determine specific resistance levels. In many cases, commonly recognized technical indicators that suggest that a stock has neared its resistance level can trigger a self-fulfilling prophecy whereby traders attempt to front-run the market by selling the security in anticipation of a trend reversal.