IG MarketsLosses on leveraged products are not limited to what you expected to put at stake.
If you are looking at price charts, you have probably seen support and resistance zones drawn everywhere. These are the levels where price tends to pause or reverse, and they form the backbone of many trading styles. For Australian traders using IG Markets, putting these levels to work depends on the platform's charting tools and your own discipline.
Support and resistance is about identifying areas of potential interest, not guarantees. IG Markets has been around since 1974 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
What Exactly Are These Levels?
Support is a price area where buying interest tends to step in and slow a downtrend. Resistance is the opposite angle, a zone where selling pressure often appears and caps an uptrend. You will find these by looking for spots where price has bounced multiple times or where the market reversed sharply.
On IG Markets, you have access to over 17,000 markets, including FX, indices, shares, and commodities. That means you can apply this approach to just about anything, from the ASX 200 to GBP/USD. The trick is that a level is rarely a single thin line, it is usually a zone.
In practice, you will see price react around a certain price point a few times, then that area becomes a reference for future moves. A break above resistance could signal a continuation higher, while a rejection at the same level might be your cue to stand aside or look for a short.
Reading Levels Like a Local
Traders in Australia often track the ASX 200 and major FX pairs during Sydney hours. The first thing you will notice is that volume and volatility shift across the global sessions. A support level formed during the Australian afternoon might not hold the same weight during the London open.
- Look for at least two touches on a level before treating it as valid.
- Watch for fake breakouts, where price pokes through a level and snaps back.
- Combine levels with trend direction, a breakout with momentum is more reliable.
The IG web platform and mobile app include drawing tools for horizontal lines and trend lines. You can set price alerts at these key levels, which is handy if you do not want to stare at the chart all day. ProRealTime and TradingView charts are also available through IG, in case you prefer their marking tools.
Where It Works and Where It Gets Messy
Support and resistance works beautifully in ranging markets. Price moves from the bottom of a range to the top, and back again. You can trade these bounces with tight risk, as long as you respect the zone boundaries.
It gets messy during strong trends or high-impact news events. A support level can be broken in a few minutes when a central bank changes its policy stance. If you have placed a stop loss right below that level, you are going to get hit, and price may not return for weeks.
You also need to think about spreads and costs. IG Markets advertises FX spreads from 0.6 pips on GBP/USD, and zero commission on over 10,000 shares. If you are day trading support and resistance on a 5-minute chart, those costs still add up over dozens of trades.
The Setup Process for Australian Traders
Opening an account with IG Markets for this style of trading is straightforward. You will need to choose between a CFD account or a share dealing account. The minimum deposit is around $0 for a bank transfer and about $300 if you pay by card.
| Account Feature | CFD Account | Share Dealing Account |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Speculate on price moves | Own physical shares |
| Leverage available | Yes, up to 1:30 for retail AU clients | No, standard brokerage |
| Markets available | 17,000+ markets | 10,000+ global shares |
| Platform access | Web, mobile, MT4, ProRealTime | Web, mobile, ProRealTime |
| Trade Type | Pair | Spread/Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Forex | GBP/USD | From 0.6 pips |
| Equities | US shares | Zero commission on many |
| Indices | ASX 200, US 500 | Variable spread |
| Commodities | Gold, oil | Variable spread |
The Practical Reality of Support and Resistance
You have likely watched a YouTube video where someone takes a clean chart, draws two straight lines, and points at a perfect reaction. Real charts are messier. Price often overshoots a level slightly before reversing, or it stalls just before reaching your line.
The longer a level has held, the more significant it becomes. A weekly support level on the ASX 200 is far stronger than a 15-minute floor. When you trade these bigger levels, you are trading a story of market participants who have been watching the same price action.
On IG Markets, you will use the same chart for multiple timeframes. Mark the daily levels, then switch to a lower timeframe to find an entry pattern. This combination works well, the higher timeframe gives you the zone and the lower timeframe provides the trigger.
What You Should Really Worry About
Let us talk about the restrictions that actually matter. IG Markets is not regulated by ASIC for Australian retail clients under a local licence. Instead, the entity operating here may fall under a different regulator depending on which entity you sign up with, for example, FSCA in South Africa or the FCA in the UK.
This is a real point to consider. If you sign up with an entity regulated by a weaker or non-local authority, you do not have the same level of ombudsman protection that an ASIC-regulated broker might offer. That does not mean the broker is a scam, but it does mean you should read the client agreement carefully.
Another issue is the lack of deposit bonuses at IG Markets. Some brokers use bonuses to entice you, but IG does not. Bonuses distort your risk management, so a no-bonus model keeps your decisions cleaner.
You also need to factor in tax. In Australia, CFD trading profits are generally treated as ordinary income and taxed at your marginal rate. You will need to track your trades and declare them to the ATO. This is your responsibility, not the broker's.
| Regulatory Entity | Regulator | What It Means for You |
|---|---|---|
| IG Australia | None (not ASIC licensed) | No ASIC ombudsman route |
| IG UK | FCA | Strong investor protection |
| IG South Africa | FSCA | Local recourse in ZA only |
Is It Worth Your Time?
Support and resistance is one of the most accessible ways to understand market structure. You do not need an advanced indicator or a degree in finance. You just need a chart, a clean marking tool, and the patience to wait for price to come to you.
| Scenario | Who it fits |
|---|---|
| Beginner looking to learn chart reading | Yes, the platform is well organised |
| Trader needing zero commission on shares | Yes, on many markets |
| Trader focused on FX index levels | Yes, spreads and tools are good |
| Trader wanting explicit local ASIC protection | Look at other international brokers first |
The tools are solid, the market range is huge, and the educational content helps you get started.
If local regulatory oversight is your top priority, take your time and compare entities before committing.
What the Marketing Never Tells You
Every broker will show you the clean chart with the perfect bounce. What you will not hear is that your psychological discipline is the real backup to your support and resistance system. You will be wrong often, the key is whether your wins are bigger than your losses.
The other silent factor is data quality. On IG Markets, you get L2 Dealer for depth-of-market data, but standard charts use end-of-day or tick data depending on your subscription. If you are a scalper using support and resistance on 1-minute charts, your level placement may differ from someone using a continuous tick feed.
Time zone also plays a part. You are trading Sydney hours, but your levels are set on London or New York coordinates. That means your daily candles will not match the official daily candles of your trading style unless you set your chart timezone correctly.
The last thing to consider is what happens when your support or resistance level breaks. You need a plan. Do you reverse your position, or do you wait for a retest? Most beginners reverse too early and get stopped out twice. The professional approach is to wait for the retest and only then decide.
This is the reality of the approach. You can make support and resistance work, but you are responsible for the execution, the risk, and the mental game.
