The direction prices actually move reveals who has won the battle. Remember when a trade takes place, a buyer and seller agreed to a price. There was a buyer and a seller involved in the transaction. The buyer feels the stock will go up. The seller wants to move on to another stock that he may feel will appreciate faster.
Support levels are the price where the majority of traders feel the value is a good buy.
Resistance is the level in which the majority of traders feel prices will move lower. When the majority of traders and investors change their expectations, these support and resistance areas get violated and a new trend may be beginning. This can occur due to changes in expectation of earnings, new product development, change of personnel, cut backs or expansions. After another upward thrust, IGT moved sharply up from 44 to 52. During the past 3 days, IGT has struggled at this level of 51 to 52.