Price continues to move higher towards the target, which is currently the same for both the main and alternate Elliott wave counts.

Summary: The bounce may end about 2,934 next week. If this target is wrong, it may not be high enough; the first major bounce within a new bear market does tend to be fairly deep. A normal range would be from 3,069 to 3,261.

Thereafter, the downwards trend may resume with strength.

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

Last monthly charts are here. Video is here. Members are encouraged to view all three monthly charts. The third is much more bearish than this main wave count and remains a valid possibility.

ELLIOTT WAVE COUNTS

WEEKLY CHART

Click chart to enlarge.

The channel is now breached by a full weekly candlestick below and not touching the lower edge. Further confidence in this wave count may be had. Price has closed above the lower edge of this channel.

Price has reached below the 0.382 Fibonacci ratio of cycle wave I at 2,352 on the last downwards movement. The structure of cycle wave II may need further to go to complete. The next Fibonacci ratio at 0.618 is now a preferred target for cycle wave II to end.

Cycle wave II would most likely subdivide as a zigzag; thus far that looks like what is unfolding. When primary waves A and B may both be complete, then the target may be calculated using a Fibonacci ratio between primary waves A and C. At that stage, the final target may change or widen to a zone.

Cycle wave II may not move beyond the start of cycle wave I below 666.79.

DAILY CHART

Click chart to enlarge.

Draw the wide maroon trend channel carefully: draw the first trend line from the end of primary wave 1 at 2,093.55 (December 26, 2014), to the end of primary wave 3 at 2,940.91 (September 21, 2018), then place a parallel copy on the end of primary wave 2 at 1,810.10 (February 11, 2016). The channel is fully breached indicating a trend change from the multi-year bull trend to a new bear trend. Resistance at the lower edge has been overcome; price has closed above this trend line. Primary wave B may now end closer to the 0.618 Fibonacci ratio of primary wave A at 2,924.

Cycle wave II may subdivide as any Elliott wave corrective structure except a triangle. It would most likely be a zigzag. Primary wave A may be a complete five wave impulse. Primary wave B may not move beyond the start of primary wave A above 3,393.52.

HOURLY CHART – ZIGZAG

Click chart to enlarge.

At this stage, it looks now most likely that primary wave B may be subdividing as a zigzag.

Within the zigzag: intermediate wave (A) subdivides as a five wave impulse, intermediate wave (B) may be a complete regular flat correction, and intermediate wave (C) may only subdivide as a five wave motive structure, most likely an impulse.

Within an impulse for intermediate wave (C): minor waves 1 through to 4 may be complete. Minor wave 5 may be completing as an impulse. Within minor wave 5: minute waves i through to iv may be complete. If minute wave iv continues any lower, then it may not move into minute wave i price territory below 2,696.23. 

There is perfect alternation now between the deep 0.85 expanded flat of minor wave 2 and a shallow 0.33 zigzag of minor wave 4.

Redraw the channel about primary wave B to contain all of this bounce. This redrawn channel is more conservative. Assume primary wave B may continue higher while price remains within the channel. If the channel is breached by downwards movement, that may be taken as earliest indication that primary wave B may be over and primary wave C downwards may have begun.

ALTERNATE DAILY CHART

Click chart to enlarge.

This alternate daily chart follows the Second Alternate Monthly chart published here. Video is here.

By simply moving the degree of labelling in the bull market beginning March 2009 up one degree, it is possible that a Grand Super Cycle trend change occurred on February 19, 2020.

A correction at Grand Super Cycle degree may be expected to last at least a decade, possibly longer. Corrections for this market tend to be much quicker than bullish moves, and so a fair amount of flexibility is required in expectations for duration of the different degrees.

Grand Super Cycle II would most likely subdivide as a zigzag, although it may be any corrective structure except a triangle. It should begin with a five down at the weekly chart time frame, which would be incomplete.

The first wave down on the daily chart is labelled cycle wave I. If this degree of labelling is wrong, it may be too high; it may need to be moved down one degree.

Following cycle wave I, cycle wave II may be continuing higher as a zigzag. Cycle wave II may not move beyond the start of cycle wave I above 3,393.52.

When cycle wave II may again be complete, then a target for cycle wave III may be calculated.

ALTERNATE HOURLY CHART

Click chart to enlarge.

Cycle wave II may be a continuing higher as a single zigzag.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

WEEKLY CHART

Click chart to enlarge. Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com.

The bounce has further relieved RSI. ADX is still not extreme; there is room for this trend to continue. Watch On Balance Volume carefully for a breakout, which may now happen next week.

DAILY CHART

Click chart to enlarge. Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com.

Price has closed above a small consolidation. A target calculated from the width of the consolidation is at 2,839. A gap today gives a new target calculation at 2,948.

Stochastics is now overbought; this bounce may end soon.

In the bear market from October 2000 to March 2009, the first multi-day bounce retraced 0.73 of the first wave down. In the bear market from March 2000 to October 2002, the first multi-day bounce retraced 0.89 of the first wave down. So far this current bounce has retraced 0.52 of the first wave down, so it seems reasonable that it could continue higher.

To see what signals may be looked for to identify a high, the two previous large bear markets were analysed in end of week analysis. The DotCom crash was analysed here with video here. The Global Financial Crisis was also analysed here with video here.

With another 90% up day this week, there is now a great amount of strength off the low of 23rd of March. There are now three 90% up days and two back to back 80% up days. It looks technically possible that the 23rd of March may be a sustainable low and that price could be moving up to new all time highs in a sustainable bull market.

However, as compelling as that technical picture looks at this time, it would mean that the US stock market would be bullish while a pandemic unfolds in the country and the economy suffers greatly as a result. While this analysis is focussed on technical data, it would be rather obtuse to ignore the reality of a global pandemic that has shut borders and locked down economies world wide, and may still be in its early days.

If either price or the AD line make new all time highs, then a bull market would be seriously considered.

BREADTH – AD LINE

WEEKLY CHART

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.

Bear markets from the Great Depression and onwards have been preceded by an average minimum of 4 months divergence between price and the AD line with only two exceptions in 1946 and 1976. With no divergence between the AD line and price at the last all time high, this current bear market now makes a third exception.

In all bear markets in the last 90 years there is some positive correlation (0.6022) between the length of bearish divergence and the depth of the following bear market. No to little divergence is correlated with more shallow bear markets. Longer divergence is correlated with deeper bear markets.

This bear market comes after no bearish divergence. It would more likely be shallow, but this is a statement of probability and not certainty. So far it is slightly more than the 0.382 Fibonacci ratio of the bull market it is correcting (beginning March 2009).

This week both price and the AD line have moved higher. The AD line has made a new high above the prior week beginning 9th of March, but price has not. Breadth is now rising faster than price. This divergence is bullish.

Large caps all time high: 3,393.52 on 19th February 2020.

Mid caps all time high: 2,109.43 on 20th February 2020.

Small caps all time high: 1,100.58 on 27th August 2018.

DAILY CHART

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.

Breadth should be read as a leading indicator.

Today both price and the AD line have moved higher. The AD line has made a new high above the prior high of the 10th of March, but price has not by a small margin. This divergence is bullish for the short term.

VOLATILITY – INVERTED VIX CHART

WEEKLY CHART

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.

This week both price and inverted VIX have moved higher. Inverted VIX has made a new high above the prior high of the 9th of March, but price has not. This divergence is bullish.

DAILY CHART

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.

Today inverted VIX has made a new high slightly above the prior high of the 10th of March but price has not. This divergence is bullish for the short term.

DOW THEORY

Dow Theory has confirmed a bear market with the following lows made on a closing basis:

DJIA: 21,712.53 – a close below this point has been made on the March 12, 2020.

DJT: 8,636.79 – a close below this point has been made on March 9, 2020.

Adding in the S&P and Nasdaq for an extended Dow Theory, a bear market has now been confirmed:

S&P500: 2,346.58 – a close below this point has now been made on March 20, 2020.

Nasdaq: 7,292.22 – a close below this point was made on the March 12, 2020.

Published @ 07:58 p.m. EST.

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Careful risk management protects your trading account(s).

Follow my two Golden Rules:

1. Always trade with stops.

2. Risk only 1-5% of equity on any one trade.

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New updates to this analysis are in bold.