Select Page

Price continues higher as expected.

Today, monthly charts are analysed and a new target is added.

Summary: The next target is at 2,858, and at about that point a correction to last about two weeks is expected. The trend remains upwards.

The long term target is still at 2,926. A new target is now at 3,616.

The biggest picture, Grand Super Cycle analysis, is here.

MAIN ELLIOTT WAVE COUNT

MONTHLY CHART

S&P 500 Monthly 2018
Click chart to enlarge.

The large expanded flat labelled Super Cycle wave (IV) completed a 8.5 year correction. Thereafter, the bull market continues for Super Cycle wave (V). The structure of Super Cycle wave (V) is incomplete. At this stage, it is subdividing as an impulse.

There is no Fibonacci ratio between cycle waves I and III within Super Cycle wave (V). This makes it more likely that cycle wave V will exhibit a Fibonacci ratio to either of cycle waves I or III. Cycle wave V has passed equality in length with cycle wave I. The next two Fibonacci ratios in the sequence are used for two possible targets for it to end.

The teal channel is drawn using Elliott’s first technique about an impulse. Draw the first trend line from the ends of cycle waves I to III (from the months of July 2011 to December 2014), then place a parallel copy on the low of cycle wave II. Cycle wave IV has found support very close to the lower edge of this channel, so the channel looks about right. The lower edge should continue to provide support, and the upper edge may provide resistance if price gets up that high.

Copy this large channel over to weekly and daily charts, all on a semi log scale. The lower edge will be important.

Cycle wave II was a shallow 0.41 zigzag lasting three months. Cycle wave IV is now seen as a more shallow 0.28 double combination lasting 14 months. With cycle wave IV nearly five times the duration of cycle wave II, it should be over there.

Cycle wave I lasted 28 months (not a Fibonacci number), cycle wave II lasted a Fibonacci 3 months, cycle wave III lasted 38 months (not a Fibonacci number), and cycle wave IV lasted 14 months (one more than a Fibonacci 13).

Cycle wave V has begun its 23rd month. The structure needs several more months to complete. It may last another 11 months to total a Fibonacci 34, but that may not be long enough. The next Fibonacci number in the sequence is 55, which would see it continue from now for another 32 months, just under three years. That looks entirely possible.

It is also possible that cycle wave V may not exhibit a Fibonacci duration.

Within cycle wave V, the upcoming correction for intermediate wave (4) may not move back down into intermediate wave (1) price territory below 2,193.81.

WEEKLY CHART

S&P 500 Weekly 2018
Click chart to enlarge.

Cycle wave V must complete as a five structure, which should look clear at the weekly chart level. It may only be an impulse or ending diagonal. At this stage, it is clear it is an impulse.

Within cycle wave V, the third waves at all degrees may only subdivide as impulses.

Within cycle wave V, the corrections for primary wave 2 and intermediate wave (2) both show up clearly, both lasting several weeks. The respective corrections for intermediate wave (4) and primary wave 4 should also last several weeks, so that they show up at weekly and monthly time frames. The right proportions between second and fourth wave corrections give a wave count the right look. This wave count expects to see two large multi week corrections coming up.

Cycle wave V has passed equality in length with cycle wave I, which would be the most common Fibonacci ratio for it to have exhibited. The next most common Fibonacci ratio would be 1.618 the length of cycle wave I.

Intermediate wave (3) has passed equality in length with intermediate wave (1). It has also now passed both 1.618 and 2.618 the length of intermediate wave (1), so it may not exhibit a Fibonacci ratio to intermediate wave (1). The target calculation for intermediate wave (3) to end may have to be done at minor degree; when minor waves 3 and 4 are complete, then a target may be calculated for intermediate wave (3) to end. That cannot be done yet.

When minor wave 3 is complete, then the following multi week correction for minor wave 4 may not move into minor wave 1 price territory below 2,400.98. Minor wave 4 should last about four weeks to be in proportion to minor wave 2. It may last about a Fibonacci three, five or even eight weeks if it is a time consuming sideways correction like a triangle or combination. It may now find support about the mid line of the yellow best fit channel. If it does find support there, it may be very shallow. Next support would be about the lower edge of the channel.

A third wave up at four degrees may be completing. This should be expected to show some internal strength and extreme indicators, which is exactly what is happening.

DAILY CHART

S&P 500 Daily 2018
Click chart to enlarge.

Keep redrawing the acceleration channel as price continues higher: draw the first line from the end of minute wave i to the last high, then place a parallel copy on the end of minute wave ii. When minute wave iii is complete, this would be an Elliott channel and the lower edge may provide support for minute wave iv.

Minute wave iii has passed 1.618 the length of minute wave i. The next Fibonacci ratio in the sequence is used to calculate a target for it to end.

Minute wave iii may only subdivide as an impulse, and within it minuette wave (i) only may have recently ended as a long extension.

Within the impulse of minute wave iii, the upcoming correction for minuette wave (iv) may not move back into minuette wave (i) price territory below 2,694.97.

Because minuette wave (i) with this wave count is a long extension, it is reasonable to expect minuette wave (iii) may only reach equality in length with minuette wave (i). This target fits with the higher target for minute wave iii one degree higher.

HOURLY CHART

S&P 500 Hourly 2018
Click chart to enlarge.

Always assume that the trend remains the same until proven otherwise. At this stage, there is no technical evidence for a trend change; we should assume the trend remains upwards.

The adjusted base channel is drawn in the same way. Look for the lower edge to provide support for corrections along the way up.

Momentum is increasing. This wave count expects that a third wave at six degrees is coming to an end (four degrees at the weekly chart level, and six at the hourly chart level now). Momentum may increase further.

Micro wave 2 may not move beyond the start of micro wave 1 below 2,736.06. However, it should find support at the lower edge of the adjusted base channel. If that channel is breached by downwards movement, then this analysis must consider the possibility that subminuette wave iii may be over.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

MONTHLY CHART

S&P 500 Monthly 2018
Click chart to enlarge. Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com.

Volume continues to decline as this bull market continues. This has been a persistent feature of this bull market. It seems that price is drifting higher due to a lack of resistance. With thin trading volume, there will be very little support below to halt falling price when this bull market ends.

ADX is extreme but not very extreme. If the black ADX line crosses above both directional lines, then it would be very extreme. The last time that happened price continued to drift higher for over a year before the trend was interrupted at the monthly chart level. If ADX becomes very extreme again, then price may still continue higher for another year or more.

RSI is now very extreme. This may need to be relieved by a multi month correction which may be coming up sooner rather than later.

WEEKLY CHART

S&P 500 weekly 2018
Click chart to enlarge. Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com.

Indicators should be expected to be extreme as a third wave at four degrees comes to an end.

When third waves are ending they fairly often will show weakness at the weekly chart level. There is still no evidence of weakness at this time. When intermediate wave (3) is close to or at its end, then we may expect to see some weakness.

DAILY CHART

S&P 500 daily 2018
Click chart to enlarge. Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com.

A new target calculated using the new measuring gap is at 2,801. This is the same as the Elliott wave target for subminuette wave iii on the hourly chart, so it seems reasonable to expect a small correction about this point.

RSI is very extreme but can continue for longer. Stochastics exhibits slight weak divergence, but not enough to indicate a correction should begin here.

This chart is very bullish indeed.

VOLATILITY – INVERTED VIX CHART

VIX daily 2018
Click chart to enlarge. Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com.

So that colour blind members are included, bearish signals will be noted with blue and bullish signals with yellow.

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.

Price moved higher for the last two sessions, but inverted VIX moved lower. The rise in price has not come with a normal corresponding decline in market volatility; volatility has increased. This is interpreted as bearish.

This bearish divergence may need one or two downwards days to resolve it.

BREADTH – AD LINE

AD Line daily 2018
Click chart to enlarge. Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com.

There is normally 4-6 months divergence between price and market breadth prior to a full fledged bear market. This has been so for all major bear markets within the last 90 odd years. With no longer term divergence yet at this point, any decline in price should be expected to be a pullback within an ongoing bull market and not necessarily the start of a bear market.

All of small, mid and large caps this week made new all time highs. This market has good support from rising breadth.

Breadth should be read as a leading indicator.

Both price and the AD line have made new all time highs again for Friday. The rise in price has support from rising market breadth. This is bullish.

DOW THEORY

The S&P500, DJIA, DJT and Nasdaq this week all made new all time highs. The ongoing bull market is confirmed.

The following lows need to be exceeded for Dow Theory to confirm the end of the bull market and a change to a bear market:

DJIA: 17,883.56.

DJT: 7,029.41.

S&P500: 2,083.79.

Nasdaq: 5,034.41.

Charts showing each prior major swing low used for Dow Theory are here.

Published @ 04:37 p.m. EST on 13th January, 2018.