Today's action has done little to resolve the question of what the move down from 1129.24 represents.
You'll see on the 60 min counts page that on the bearish counts shown on each of the 5 Options I'm following (each of those represent different ways to count the decline from the April high at 1219.80 - that page puts these shorter term charts in context), I'm looking at that move as 5 waves down.
For Options 1 to 3, it would be 5 waves down within a larger 5 wave decline in a potentially long term bear market move. For Options 4 and 5, it would be 5 waves down within a [c] wave which would likely be the final wave in an intermediate wave (X) correction down from the 1219.80 high prior to a rally to new highs, so, near term bearish, but longer term bullish.
However, for Options 1 to 3, its possible to count the decline from 1129.24 as the [b] wave within single zig zag from 1010.91 and we would now likely be in the [c] wave up which would take us above the high at 1129.24. Also, under Option 4, its possible that we already completed intermediate wave (X) down and have started minor wave A of (Z) up.
Both the bearish and bullish counts mentioned above all remain in play after today.
Both the bearish and bullish counts mentioned above all remain in play after today.
Here's the 1 min chart showing the move down from 1129.24:
SPX 1 min - from the 1129.24 high:
The labelling and degrees on this chart relate to option 2 but applies to the bearish counts on all the Options.
SPX 1 min - from the 1129.24 high:
The labelling and degrees on this chart relate to option 2 but applies to the bearish counts on all the Options.
Essentially, the i-ii-[1]-[2] count remains intact. The move up from the 1063.91 low does look OK as a 3 wave zig zag complete at 1081.58, where wave (C) is 1.236 x wave (A) and wave [2] as labelled came up to the 50% retracement level and is just at the lower end of the resistance areas highlighted in the charts I showed at the weekend. If this count is correct, we're now in wave [3] of iii down. The problem is that we need to see some price action that is consistent with this bearish count. So far, we haven't.
This does raise the possibility that 5 waves down for wave i from 1129.24 only ended at the 1063.91 low - a possibility I mentioned in my post at the weekend when I looked at the MACD histogram on the 60 min chart - see that post here.
If this is what is playing out, we could have another substantial rally to come for wave ii, probably above the high at 1081.58 and probably nearer to the 1100 level.
Taking out the low of 1063.91 would help to reduce the likelihood of this count, but wouldn't rule it out in my view unless we have a substantial decline that clearly marks it out as a 3rd of a 3rd as we are expecting on the bearish count. This is because, referring to the above chart from the high at 1100.14, without such a decline to well below 1063.91, I could label the low at 1085.76 as wave (1) of [5] of i, the high at 1099.77 as wave (2), the low at 1063.91 as wave (3), the high at 1081.58 as wave (4) and any new low below 1063.91 as wave (5) of [5] of i, unless we drop in such a bearish manner that it has to be wave [3] of iii. So, this is something I'll certainly be keeping in mind.
For the moment, here's a close up of the count from today's high at 1081.58. It shows the bearish count assuming we've completed a i-ii-[1]-[2] and we're now in wave [3] of iii down. I'm showing a (1)-(2) down from 1081.58 and we're now in wave (3) of [3] down (I've dropped the (1)-(2)-1-2 given the size of wave 2 compared to wave (2) as mentioned in my earlier post). It also shows the possibility that wave [2] isn't yet complete and the high at 1081.58 was only wave (A) of [2]. So, we still have a rally in (C) of [2] to come. This latter count could also apply if we only completed 5 waves down for wave i at 1063.91 as discussed above, in which case, 1081.58 would be wave [A] of ii:
SPX 1 min close up from 1081.58:
If the bearish counts are playing out, then we really need to see some price action that confirms it quite soon given that in elliott wave terms, a 3rd of a 3rd wave down at any degree is very bearish and should produce clearly impulsive action (I explained the need for us to see this type of action soon in the context of the 60 min charts also on the 60 min counts page).
As long as we don't see this type of action, the bullish counts have to be very much on our minds.
As long as we don't see this type of action, the bullish counts have to be very much on our minds.
As well as the bullish possibility discussed above of more upside to come in wave ii if we only bottomed in wave i at 1063.91, the other bullish counts that I showed in the end of day update on Friday remain in play as mentioned above. They will continue to be possibiities until such time as the low at 1010.91 is taken out as explained in that update.
So, for the bearish counts, the first step would be to take out the 1063.91 low in a manner that is consistent with the bearishness of the count and that gives us a clear 5 wave move down from 1081.58. The decline we saw towards the end of the session may be more encouraging to the bear case, but it really does have to follow through without much more hesitation. If we don't see this the near term bullish counts continue to remain in play and, of course, the longer term ones will also stand until the 1010.91 low gets taken out.
So, for the bearish counts, the first step would be to take out the 1063.91 low in a manner that is consistent with the bearishness of the count and that gives us a clear 5 wave move down from 1081.58. The decline we saw towards the end of the session may be more encouraging to the bear case, but it really does have to follow through without much more hesitation. If we don't see this the near term bullish counts continue to remain in play and, of course, the longer term ones will also stand until the 1010.91 low gets taken out.
