Sunday, July 1, 2012

Weekend Outlook 07/01/12

I have to admit, there were times this week when I was more than a bit perplexed. The wave structures from the 1306.62 low have been extremely complex. These wave structures are somewhat difficult to follow as the wave is in progress, but become clear at the termination points. At these times I rely on my wave projections, support/ resistance lines, and the longer term wave structure to interpret the wave in progress. Although the waves were confusing, these tools helped me to stay on the right side of the market for most of the week.

The week started out with a misstep for me. On Monday I was looking for a continuation of the rally that had started the previous Friday. I had been interpreting the move from 1307, to 1363, as 3 completed waves of a 5 wave sequence that would complete wave 3 from 1267. On Thursday the market had fallen to 1324, and this seemed like wave 4 of that sequence. I had 1310.51 as the end of wave 2 from 1307, both of which would become important soon.
 Instead of moving higher, the market started the week with a dramatic drop. The market gapped down at the open, and then continued to fall throughout the morning, hitting 1309 before rallying back to 1320 near the close. By breaking through 1310.51, my wave count was incorrect, but by holding above 1307, it kept open the possibility of this still being part of wave 3 from 1267. It now appears that the drop was the final stages of a semi-inverted corrective wave 2 from 1327.28. The rally to 1320 would become wave 1 of a 5 wave sequence that would play out for the remainder of the week.

The market pulled back again at the open on Tuesday, coming within a point of Monday’s low. Again it appeared my bullish count was in danger, but 1309 held, and the market embarked on a pretty impressive two day rally that lifted the SPX to 1334. After the two-day rally, I once again was expecting a continuation on Thursday. Once again the market gapped down, dropping through the 1326-1323 support, and down to the 1315-1313 support. While a corrective wave was not unexpected, the severity was. At this point I was almost certain that 1310 would be taken out, and then 1306, putting my bullish count in jeopardy. But after hitting 1313, the market found support. The wave structure of this down move was the only thing that kept me positive, with the waves contracting, signaling a reversal was fairly likely. The reversal did come, moving the market back above 1326-1326, and nearly erasing the day’s losses.
On Friday the rally continued, with the market moving up some twenty points at the open and continuing higher from there. When all was said and done, the SPX had reached 1361.63, up over 52 points from the week’s low.
I had remained bullish throughout the week, even though the action at times was decidedly bearish. Trusting my model kept me on the right side of the market.
After Thursday and Friday, it has become easy to become bullish, just as it was easy to be bearish during the beginning of the week.

When the market hit 1422, I said a 5 wave sequence from 667 had completed, and the market would undergo a substantial correction. That turned out to be true, as the market dropped to 1267. At 1267, I said a 5 wave sequence had completed from 1422, and the correction had most likely ended. So far that seems to be the case.

From 1267, two waves have completed. Wave 1 ended at 1335.52, and wave 2 at 1306.62. It appears 3 waves have now completed from 1307, at 1327.28, 1309.27, and 1361.63. Wave 2 turned out to be a semi-inverted corrective wave, during which the market reached a high of 1363.46. My target for wave 3 had been 1365.

From here, I would expect a corrective wave 4 from 1362, probably down to 1345. My target for wave 5 of this sequence has been 1393, but there is a secondary target at 1475-1480. The projections at the moment are pointing to the latter, but I will keep both targets for the moment. Given the complexity of the waves recently, many scenarios are still possible, making either target still viable.
Support is at 1345, 1338, 1326-1323, and 1315-1313. There is a cluster of resistance between 1387, and 1398. I have three main scenarios at the moment.
Scenario 1 would have the market pulling back to 1345, then staging a powerful rally to 1475-1480. This could happen with only minimal pullbacks along the way.
Scenario 2 has the market falling back to the 1313 level, and then moving up to complete wave 5 at 1393.
Scenario 3 is bearish. There is a possible count that has 1362 as the termination point of a 5 wave sequence from 1267. This scenario will remain until the market moves above 1365.



Friday, June 29, 2012

Friday's Market 06/29/12

On Thursday, after a steep decline to start the day, the SPX hit the 1313 support, and then started to rally. The previous 5 wave sequence from 1334 broke down into 5 sub-waves, with the impulsive waves diminishing in length. This usually signals an impulsive move in the opposite direction is imminent. The initial move of this rally took the market to 1318.71, which surpassed the previous wave 4 high of 1317.54. This normally confirms the change in trend. The SPX then rallied into the close, nearly reaching 1330.

The rally continued at the open on Friday, with the SPX opening significantly higher. This gap opening was part of an inverted corrective wave 2 from Thursday’s 1313 low. The market continued higher, nearly reaching 1356, and then traded in a narrow up-sloping trading range until hitting 1358.41, right at the 1358 resistance line. After dropping a couple of points to 1356, the SPX moved higher into the close, topping at 1361.63.

Although I had remained bullish as the market was on the verge of breaking down, I have mentioned that the short term waves were a bit confusing. Much of that confusion cleared up today when the SPX hit 1361.63. The market has now formed a clear 5 wave sequence from 1309 to today’s 1362 high. I believe this completes wave 3 from 1307. The fact that the market did not take out the previous high of 1363 is not troublesome, in my view, due to it being part of an inverted corrective wave.

Even though the recent market action was cleared up with Friday’s move, the entire move from 1267 still leaves us with several resolutions. I continue to see this as wave 3 from that level, with wave 3 of 3 completing today. My target for wave 3 has been 1393, and that is still a possibility. However, given the current wave structure, the SPX would have to undergo another rather lengthy correction, back down near 1313, which seems unlikely, for that scenario to play out. Last weekend, I mentioned a secondary target for wave 3 of near 1475. This scenario would require a much smaller correction, which seems more reasonable. The maximum length of this corrective wave would bring the market back down to near 1335. This correction could be much smaller, but given the diminishing impulsive wave lengths from the recent 1313 low, a break below wave 4, at 1356, could trigger a larger correction, with support being near 1345.
One other possibility assumes that my counts to this point have not been correct. The SPX is in a zone that would complete a 5 wave sequence from 1267, and probably mark the end of this entire uptrend. This would require the move from 1306.62 to 1363.46 to be counted as a 5 wave sequence, something that I do not see. It is a possibility, so it deserves a mention. The current move to 1362 would be wave 5 of this sequence. A move above 1365 would nullify this scenario.
I will go into all of this in more detail over the weekend.






Thursday, June 28, 2012

Thursday's Market 06/28/2012

It was another very interesting day for the market. It opened sharply lower, moving below the 1326-1323 support level, and then bouncing back into that zone. The support did not hold, as the market continued down, hitting the 1315 support. After another small bounce, the market hit the low of the day at the 1313 support level. At that point, things got really interesting. The market moved sharply higher, gaining back almost all of the earlier losses.

The short term counts are still a little confusing. At the moment it appears the SPX completed a 5 wave sequence from 1309 at 1320. After a small corrective wave, the market completed another 5 wave sequence of one smaller degree at 1334. Today’s drop was wave 2 of that sequence, with wave 3 currently underway.

Short term resistance should be at 1340-1345, 1350, and 1372. Support remains at 1326-1323, and the 1315-1313.
Longer term, my best count from 1267 remains wave 3 of 3, with a target of 1393.