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A little upwards movement invalidated the hourly Elliott wave count.

Summary: Some downwards movement to find support at the lilac / purple trend line is expected, about 2,211. If this target is wrong, it may be a little too low. Use the trend line as a preference. If this correction ends in a total Fibonacci 34 sessions, it may end on the 2nd of February. Thereafter, the bull market should resume.

This bull market is strong and healthy. Use this correction as another opportunity to join the trend.

New updates to this analysis are in bold.

Last monthly and weekly charts are here. Last historic analysis video is here.

MAIN ELLIOTT WAVE COUNT

DAILY CHART

S&P 500 Daily 2017
Click chart to enlarge.

Intermediate wave (4) is exhibiting alternation with intermediate wave (2). Intermediate wave (2) is a double zigzag and intermediate wave (4) is an incomplete expanded flat.

Along the way up to the final target at 2,500 a more time consuming fourth wave correction for primary wave 4 would be expected for this wave count.

The purple trend line is the most important piece of technical analysis on all charts. Draw it carefully from prior all time highs of 2,134.28 on the 21st of May, 2015, to 2,193.81 on the 15th of August, 2016. Extend it out. Daily charts are on a semi log scale.

The correction for intermediate wave (4) should end if price comes down to touch the purple trend line.

Intermediate wave (4) may not move into intermediate wave (1) price territory below 2,193.81.

At this stage, intermediate wave (4) has lasted 25 sessions. With the very slow rate of this correction it may now be possible for it to continue for another 9 sessions to total a Fibonacci 34. This would see it end on the 2nd of February.

HOURLY CHART

S&P 500 hourly 2017
Click chart to enlarge.

If the target calculated is wrong, it may be too low. Price may find strong support just above the target at the purple trend line.

Minor wave C must complete as a five wave structure. It is extremely likely to make at least a slight new low below the end of minor wave A at 2,233.62 to avoid a truncation and a very rare running flat.

Within minute wave iii, minuette waves (i) and (ii) may now be complete. Minuette wave (ii) may not move beyond the start of minuette wave (i) above 2,278.05.

When minute wave iii is over, then minute wave iv should unfold sideways and may not move into minute wave i price territory.

Minuette wave (ii) is very deep. For this hourly wave count, it is concerning that minor wave C is taking too long to get underway because it should have begun by now to move price lower with an increase in downwards momentum.

This wave count remains viable.

For this wave count, minor wave B is a 1.10 length of minor wave A. This is longer than the requirement for an expanded flat. So if this hourly wave count is correct, then that is what intermediate wave (4) may be.

ALTERNATE HOURLY CHART

S&P 500 hourly 2017
Click chart to enlarge.

Sideways movement this week may have been a continuation of minor wave B. This would explain the choppy overlapping nature of price action for the week.

Minor wave B may be a complete regular contracting triangle. This movement meets all Elliott wave rules for this structure. Within the triangle, minute wave a is very long but this does not look too abnormal. The triangle is supported by MACD hovering about zero this week.

Minor wave B at its end would be only a 0.99 length of minor wave A. This is longer than the minimum requirement for minor wave B within a flat of 0.90, and less than the requirement of 1.05 for an expanded flat. A regular flat may be unfolding for intermediate wave (4).

No target is given here for minor wave C, as using the 1.618 Fibonacci ratio to minor wave A results in a target which is too far below the purple trend line. For this wave count, the trend line should be used rather than a price target.

ALTERNATE ELLIOTT WAVE COUNT

WEEKLY CHART

S&P 500 Weekly 2017
Click chart to enlarge.

What if the main wave count is wrong? What if cycle wave V is complete already? Does that fit?

Yes, it does. But this wave count has very little support from classic technical analysis.

If price makes a new low below 2,193.81, then a variation of this wave count would be the new main wave count. At that stage, the degree of labelling within cycle wave V would be moved all down one degree. >Only primary wave 1 of cycle wave V may be over.

I am discarding the idea that primary wave 5 may continue much further. It cannot because the core Elliott wave rule stating a third wave may not be the shortest within an impulse must be met. Here, primary wave 3 is shorter than primary wave 1 by 60.94 points. Primary wave 3 may not be the shortest wave, so primary wave 5 is limited to no longer than equality in length with primary wave 3 at 2,286.92. So far primary wave 5 is 4.82 points shorter than primary wave 3, so thus far the rule is met.

Only a new low below 1,810.10 could finally confirm this wave count. At that stage, downwards movement could not be a second wave correction within cycle wave V, so cycle wave V would then have to be over. Only at that point would price indicate a multi generational trend change has arrived. Dow Theory would also need confirmation from DJIA and DJT to confirm such a large trend change.

When cycle wave V is over, it would complete a Grand Super Cycle wave. A trend change from bull to bear would be expected, a once in a multi generational bear market. This wave count expects to see a huge market crash, bigger than the Great Depression. The size of this trend change absolutely requires price confirmation and technical indication before any confidence at all could be had in a wave count such as this.

This wave count does not have support from Lowry’s. They see an increase in market breadth is currently supporting the rise in price. Normally, market breadth begins to diverge from price 4-6 months prior to a final high and a change from a bull to a bear market. There is no divergence at all at this point in time.

ADX at the monthly chart level does not support this wave count. This trend is not extreme: ADX is below 20 and increasing at the monthly chart level. At market highs ADX is most often extreme (not always, it wasn’t in September 2007).

The only piece of technical analysis I can see at this stage, which supports this wave count, is strong multi month divergence with RSI at the monthly chart level. This is common before a turn from a bull to bear market. However, this divergence can persist for very long periods of time. RSI and price exhibited divergence, for 45 months, prior to the high of March 2000 going back to June 1996. This is a warning of a coming bear market, but it is not particularly useful for timing.

At this time, price and RSI at the monthly chart level exhibit divergence back to November 2013, a period now of 37 months.

This wave count is just one possibility in the world of many possibilities. It does not have a good probability, I would judge it to be as low as 5-10%. However, low probability does not mean it cannot happen. Sometimes low probability outcomes do occur; when they do, they are never what was expected. This wave count is published in the spirit of always considering possibilities, with the knowledge that nothing is impossible.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

WEEKLY CHART

S&P 500 weekly 2017
Click chart to enlarge. Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com.

A very small range inside week completes a small green doji candlestick. Price is consolidating.

A decline in volume this week supports the idea that price is consolidating. This supports the main Elliott wave count that sees a correction unfolding for intermediate wave (4).

On Balance Volume this week has come down to the long held yellow support line. This line goes back to September 2015 and it has been tested four times so far. This would be the fifth test. This line has good technical significance. It looks like OBV may be breaking below this line, but there is a little leeway in exactly how this line is drawn, so a clearer break is required before it may be read as a bearish signal.

A break below the long yellow support line by OBV would be a good bearish signal supporting the main Elliott wave count.

RSI is not extreme. There is room for the upwards trend to continue.

ADX is still increasing and is above 15 indicating the market may be in the early stages of an upwards trend.

DAILY CHART

S&P 500 daily 2017
Click chart to enlarge. Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com.

A small real body is almost a doji candlestick for Friday, which moved price higher. There was some increase in volume to support the rise in price. It still looks though like a bull flag pattern is unfolding. The flag pole is short, only 48.48 points, so a target using the measured rule would be about 2,323.

This consolidation is bringing ADX back down from extreme (it reached just above 40). ADX is declining as price moves sideways, indicating a consolidating market here. ATR agrees as it is flat to declining.

On Balance Volume is tightly constrained; it has not broken out yet. The upper purple trend line may halt the rise in price for Friday here.

RSI exhibited divergence with price at the last high. This supports the Elliott wave count that sees the last high as part of a B wave. B waves often exhibit weakness.

Stochastics is just returning from overbought. Some downwards movement to support while Stochastics moves towards oversold would be a reasonable expectation.

After a break above the purple line (see the weekly chart), it would be typical behaviour of price to turn slowly and retest the line for support then to move up and away.

Bollinger Bands remain very tightly contracted for a reasonable time here. The lower edge may provide some support for price if it moves lower. Look out for volatility to return to the market (it may be explosive) after a long period like this of tight contraction.

VOLATILITY – INVERTED VIX CHART

VIX daily 2017
Click chart to enlarge. Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com.

There are a few instances of multi day divergence between price and inverted VIX noted here. Bearish divergence is blue. Bullish divergence is yellow. It appears so far that divergence between inverted VIX and price is mostly working to indicate short term movements spanning one or two days. While this seems to be working more often than not, it is not always working. As with everything in technical analysis, there is nothing that is certain. This is an exercise in probability.

Short term bullish divergence noted in yesterday’s analysis has now been followed by one day of upwards movement. The divergence may be resolved here, or it may require one more day of upwards movement to resolve it.

BREADTH – AD LINE

AD Line daily 2017
Click chart to enlarge. Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com.

Hidden bullish divergence noted in last analysis has been followed by one upwards day. The divergence may now be resolved, or it may require one more upwards day to resolve it.

Lowry’s analysis at the end of this week sees continued health in terms of market breadth. This bull market is ageing but still most likely has some months to run.

DOW THEORY

The DJIA, DJT, S&P500 and Nasdaq have made new all time highs in December of 2016. This confirms a bull market continues.

This analysis is published @ 01:16 a.m. EST on 21st January, 2017.