For both bullish and bearish counts, I was looking for 5 waves up from the 31 August low at 1040.88.
If you look at the update I posted on Friday on the bullish counts (you can read it by clicking here), you'll see that for the count shown in chart 1 in that update, it would be wave iii of (i) of [c] in a zig zag. For the count shown in chart 2, it would be wave (i) of [iii] up and for the count shown in chart 3, it would be wave [i] of C up. I did a further update on the bullish counts yesterday, which you can read here.
On the bearish counts, 5 waves up from 1040.88 would complete a 2nd wave correction in an overall downtrend.
For the bigger picture on those bullish counts and the bearish counts set out below, please refer to the 60 min counts page.
If you look at the update I posted on Friday on the bullish counts (you can read it by clicking here), you'll see that for the count shown in chart 1 in that update, it would be wave iii of (i) of [c] in a zig zag. For the count shown in chart 2, it would be wave (i) of [iii] up and for the count shown in chart 3, it would be wave [i] of C up. I did a further update on the bullish counts yesterday, which you can read here.
On the bearish counts, 5 waves up from 1040.88 would complete a 2nd wave correction in an overall downtrend.
For the bigger picture on those bullish counts and the bearish counts set out below, please refer to the 60 min counts page.
We're still really no further forward than we were yesterday on the question whether we've completed those 5 waves up or whether there is still another leg to go.
You can see the possibilities on the bullish and bearish counts below, starting with the bearish count:
Bearish case
Chart 1: SPX 1 min - i-ii down from the 1129.24 high:
I've labelled 5 waves up from 1040.88 as complete at 1104.58, but, its perfectly possible that yesterday's low at 1091.15 was the 4th wave of the final 5 up so today's move would be the start of the final 5th wave up within wave ii. That possibility would be eliminated if we take out that low.
For this count to regain the focus, we now need to stay below 1103.26 and take out the low at 1091.15 in a clear impulsive downside move that isn't immediately reversed. Otherwise, the risk of further upside remains.
You can see the possibilities on the bullish and bearish counts below, starting with the bearish count:
Bearish case
Chart 1: SPX 1 min - i-ii down from the 1129.24 high:
I've labelled 5 waves up from 1040.88 as complete at 1104.58, but, its perfectly possible that yesterday's low at 1091.15 was the 4th wave of the final 5 up so today's move would be the start of the final 5th wave up within wave ii. That possibility would be eliminated if we take out that low.
For this count to regain the focus, we now need to stay below 1103.26 and take out the low at 1091.15 in a clear impulsive downside move that isn't immediately reversed. Otherwise, the risk of further upside remains.
Here's a closer look, zooming in on the move from the 1105.10 high at 1105.10:
Chart 2: SPX 1 min - from the 1105.10 high:
You can see more clearly from this chart why the low at 1091.15 needs to be take out for this count to become higher odds. If we don't take out that low, the risk that we still have more upside in wave ii remains.
Bullish Case
Here's the bullish count shown on chart 1 in the update on the bullish counts posted on Friday (but the count for 5 waves up from 1040.88 applies to the other two bullish counts in that update as well):
Chart 3: SPX 1 min - wave [c] of minor 2 up:
On this count, the 5 waves up from 1040.88 is wave iii within wave (i) of [c] of minor 2.
If wave iii topped at 1104.58, then we'd now be in wave iv. But, you can see noted on the chart, the possibility that wave iii topped at 1105.10 and wave iv ended at 1091.15 so we'd now be in wave v of (i) up. That's eliminated if we take out 1091.50. I think wave [5] of iii looks better as 5 waves if it ended at 1104.58 even though it would then have truncated slightly, which is why I've labelled it at that high.
Its also possible that we're only in wave (4) of [5] of wave iii, so have yet to see a wave iii top. You can see this in the following chart which shows this bullish count closer up:
Chart 4: SPX 1 min - wave [c] of minor 2, close up from 25 August:
Its probably a less likely option, but needs to be borne in mind.
So, on this count, if we take out 1091.15 without a new high above 1103.26 first, it'll increase the likelihood that we're in wave iv down. If we take out the 1103.26 high, the likelihood increases that we are in wave v (or possibly still in wave iii) of (i) up and we'd probably move quickly above the highs at 1104.58 and 1105.10 before we see and end to wave (i).
So, after today's action, the levels I'm watching are as follows:
1) for the bearish counts, we need to stay below the high at 1103.26. If that goes, its likely we'd soon see a move above the high at 1104.58 also, meaning that wave ii was continuing higher. We'd then have to stay below the high at 1129.24 otherwise the [i]-[ii]-i-ii count will be invalidated (it could still be a [i]-[ii], however, as explained on the 60 min counts page);
2) if we take out 1129.24, that will focus attention on the bullish counts. The first bullish count shown in the update posted yesterday is bearish once wave [c] of 2 completes. If that count is in play, we would need to see impulsive downside action once wave [c] and 2 end, otherwise, focus will have to switch to the bullish counts under Option 4;
3) taking out 1091.15 before we make a new high will increase the odds that 5 waves up from 1040.88 completed at 1104.58. On the bullish counts that would be a temporary high which would be taken out once a corrective decline completes. On the bearish counts, it should signal the start of the next impulse down which would be a 3rd of a 3rd wave at various degrees;
4) taking out 1065.21 will reduce the odds that the bullish count shown on chart 1 in the update I posted on Friday is playing out (also see the update I posted yesterday);
5) taking out 1039.70 will eliminate the bullish counts as labelled. Until we take out 1010.91, however, there would still be a possibility that they are in continuing downward corrections, so didn't start their respective bullish moves at the 1040.88/1039.70 lows, but it might then be considered low probability and my focus would switch to the bearish counts.
3) taking out 1091.15 before we make a new high will increase the odds that 5 waves up from 1040.88 completed at 1104.58. On the bullish counts that would be a temporary high which would be taken out once a corrective decline completes. On the bearish counts, it should signal the start of the next impulse down which would be a 3rd of a 3rd wave at various degrees;
4) taking out 1065.21 will reduce the odds that the bullish count shown on chart 1 in the update I posted on Friday is playing out (also see the update I posted yesterday);
5) taking out 1039.70 will eliminate the bullish counts as labelled. Until we take out 1010.91, however, there would still be a possibility that they are in continuing downward corrections, so didn't start their respective bullish moves at the 1040.88/1039.70 lows, but it might then be considered low probability and my focus would switch to the bearish counts.
