Select Page

A small inside day fits within the Elliott wave count. The candlestick closed green and the balance of volume for the session was upwards. Overall, today may be read as neutral.

Summary: The next wave up to a target at 2,455 may have begun. The invalidation point is at 2,327.58. When a five up for minute wave i is complete, then a three down for minute wave ii may be brief and shallow and may offer a good entry opportunity to join the upwards 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

WEEKLY CHART

S&P 500 Weekly 2017
Click chart to enlarge.

Cycle wave V is an incomplete structure. Within cycle wave V, primary wave 3 may be incomplete or it may be complete (alternate wave count below).

Primary wave 4 may not move into primary wave 1 price territory below 2,111.05.

DAILY CHART

S&P 500 Daily 2017
Click chart to enlarge.

All subdivisions are seen in exactly the same way for both daily wave counts, only here the degree of labelling within intermediate wave (3) is moved down one degree.

This wave count expects the current correction is minor wave 4, which may not move into minor wave 1 price territory below 2,277.53. A new low below this point would confirm the correction could not be minor wave 4 and that would provide confidence it should be primary wave 4.

Minor wave 4 is a little below the fourth wave of one lesser degree. Because it has now clearly breached an Elliott channel drawn using the first technique, the channel is now redrawn using Elliott’s second technique. There is good alternation between the very shallow combination of minor wave 2 and the deeper zigzag of minor wave 4.

If minor wave 4 is over, then a target for minor wave 5 is calculated.

Although price breached the cyan trend line, price has today printed a full daily candlestick back above the trend line. The cyan line may now offer some support.

Minor wave 3 is shorter than minor wave 1. So that the core Elliott wave rule stating a third wave may not be the shortest is met, minor wave 5 is limited to no longer than equality in length with minor wave 3.

HOURLY CHART

S&P 500 hourly 2017
Click chart to enlarge.

The structure of minute wave i may be very close to completion. At the five minute chart level, it looks like minuette wave (v) may possibly be unfolding as an ending contracting diagonal. If this is correct, it would be extremely unlikely to end in a truncation. Minuette wave (v) is extremely likely to make a slight new high above the end of minuette wave (iii) at 2,363.78.

As soon as minuette wave (v) makes a slight new high, then it would be possible that minute wave i could be over. If price then turns downwards, expect that minute wave ii has arrived.

At that stage, draw a Fibonacci retracement alone the length of minute wave i. If either the 0.382 or 0.618 Fibonacci ratios bisect the cyan or pink trend lines, then look out for price to find support there.

Minute wave i may end tomorrow lasting a Fibonacci three days. If that is how it unfolds, then expect minute wave ii to last only two or three days.

Minute wave ii may not move beyond the start of minute wave i below 2,327.58.

ALTERNATE DAILY CHART

S&P 500 Daily 2017
Click chart to enlarge.

The subdivisions of upwards movement from the end of intermediate wave (2) are seen in the same way for both wave counts. The degree of labelling here is moved up one degree, so it is possible that primary wave 3 could be over.

Primary wave 2 was a flat correction lasting 47 days (not a Fibonacci number). Primary wave 4 may be unfolding as a double zigzag. It may total a Fibonacci 34 or 55 sessions.

Within double zigzags, the X wave is almost always brief and shallow. There is no rule stating a maximum for X waves, but they should not make a new price extreme beyond the start of the first zigzag in the double.

X waves within combinations may make new price extremes (they may be equivalent to B waves within expanded flats), but in this instance primary wave 4 would be unlikely to be a combination as it would exhibit poor alternation with the flat correction of primary wave 2.

For this alternate wave count intermediate wave (X) may end very soon. Thereafter, both wave counts would expect downwards movement: this alternate wave count to new lows for a second zigzag, which would be labelled intermediate wave (Y), and the main wave count for a brief shallow pullback labelled minute wave ii. How low the next wave goes should indicate which wave count is correct.

If a new high above 2,400.98 is seen, then this alternate would be discarded.

The correction for primary wave 4 should be a multi week pullback, and it may not move into primary wave 1 price territory below 2,111.05.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

WEEKLY CHART

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

The week before last completed a green weekly candlestick that moved price upwards on some increase in volume. Now last week completes a red weekly candlestick that moves price lower on a slight decline in volume. The volume profile short term looks bullish.

New trend lines are drawn across On Balance Volume, but these do not yet have any reasonable technical significance.

RSI is now back down from overbought.

ADX still indicates an upwards trend that is not yet extreme, but it is nearing extreme.

DAILY CHART

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

Yesterday completed a bullish engulfing candlestick pattern. This is a fairly reliable reversal pattern when coming after a downwards movement.

Volume for a small inside day today is lighter. This is only slightly bearish, but it may also be read as neutral because today was essentially a sideways day.

ADX is neutral. RSI is neutral.

Stochastics suggests a continuation of an upwards swing, so it may be interpreted today as bullish. ATR increasing as price moves higher is bullish.

MACD and On Balance Volume are still bearish. On Balance Volume is now closing back in on resistance at the purple line.

VOLATILITY – INVERTED VIX CHART

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

Normally, volatility should decline as price moves higher and increase as price moves lower. This means that normally inverted VIX should move in the same direction as price.

Bearish divergence and bullish divergence spanning a few short days used to be a fairly reliable indicator of the next one or two days direction for price; normally, bearish divergence would be followed by one or two days of downwards movement and vice versa for bullish divergence.

However, what once worked does not necessarily have to continue to work. Markets and market conditions change. We have to be flexible and change with them.

Recent unusual, and sometimes very strong, single day divergence between price and inverted VIX is noted with arrows on the price chart. Members can see that this is not proving useful in predicting the next direction for price.

Divergence will be continued to be noted, particularly when it is strong, but at this time it will be given little weight in this analysis. If it proves to again begin to work fairly consistently, then it will again be given weight.

Bullish divergence has now been followed by a strong upwards day. It is considered to have proven correct. It may now be resolved.

BREADTH – AD LINE

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

The rise in price has support from a rise in market breadth. Lowry’s OCO AD line also shows new highs along with price. Normally, before the end of a bull market the OCO AD line and the regular AD line should show divergence with price for about 4-6 months. With no divergence, this market has support from breadth.

There is short term bullish divergence between the AD line and price from yesterday’s low to the low of 14th of March (and also back to the 9th of March). Price has not come with a corresponding decline in market breadth while it has made a new low. There is weakness within this downwards movement from price. This supports the main hourly Elliott wave count which sees a low in place.

There is still short term bearish divergence today between today’s high and the high of the 17th of March. This indicates weakness in price and it may be followed by one or two downwards days. So far it has been followed by an upwards day and the divergence is now stronger.

Price moved overall sideways today, but during the session price closed above the open and the balance of volume was upwards. This was accompanied by a normal increase in market breadth; this session has support from market breadth. This may be read as bullish.

DOW THEORY

The DJIA, DJT, S&P500 and Nasdaq continue to make new all time highs. This confirms a bull market continues.

This analysis is published @ 11:49 p.m. EST.