I’m just showing the preferred primary count tonight. The count allows for a gap up bullish open, but if that occurs, I expect a reversal lower.

The 2 bearish wave counts both have the market requiring new lows. These are the best counts considering that the wave structure since the market low looks corrective up. In either count, a break to a lower low should not be long and drawn out. The VIX should elevate again and an impulse lower should occur over the next week.
The bullish count option is shown on the DJIA at a lower degree level than the chart from yesterday. But as you can note from the above bearish charts, the wave structure since the low counts more as a three-wave corrective up rather than impulse.
The ridiculously very large open chart down gap still exists just above the price point of today’s close. It would be a good place in the count to try and breach this open gap in the most bearish count of (1)-(2), 1 – 2. Please note that the market is still trading within the very large trading range created by the euphoric squeeze up to where pink wave (a) is currently labeled.
There are other possible counts. Perhaps the “tease” of breaking yet higher is just that and prices start drifting heavily lower to trade in the lower part of this massive trading range that was created in about 30 minutes time. I have no preference. I don’t really actually care to be honest. Break higher would be exciting, breaking lower would be a thrill. Let’s let the market tell us if we are a massive 3 wave down from peak or something more sinister such as a massive impulse is happening. Fun times!
This is the bullish chart but it’s kind of boring, yes? A slog back up to new all-time peaks. As if we haven’t seen that song and dance before. Whatever. See the slog of post 2020 Covid collapse? It took months to break to higher highs again, but it did. Again, if that’s the case, I’m going to get bored again and probably just wait for the dreadful slog to be over with. This doesn’t break any rules, but it looks gay.
In 2020, the Covid panic, interest rates hit the floor across the spectrum. A dramatic ending to a 40-year downtrend in yields. That has not happened this market collapse (yet) and I don’t think it will happen. There is simply too much debt to hide. Oh, there are a zillion debt-hiding programs the Fed and the banks have created, but at some point, it will fall apart and probably quite quickly. Which would suit them just fine anyways as the system has been setup to “take everything”. They are not hiding it anymore. The Great Taking – Documentary
10-year yield seems to be in a log consolidation period with a coming break higher.
The best count has the market in a (1)-(2), 1- 2. We might get a surge Monday morning to fill the open upper gap down.
Of course, futures should tell us a story if they are down big time come Monday. We shall see. We still might be in a wave 5 of (1) down. It’s not the best count, but it cannot be ruled out just yet.
The bullish alt count has new market highs coming. I’m not ruling this out, it just doesn’t look right.
Parabolic Gold.
The primary count of Minor 4 corrective of Intermediate wave (1) down is abandoned even though technically wave 4 has not yet interfered within wave 2’s price range. However, today was too strong of an up day in the context of a “corrective” Minor 4 wave. Therefore, the count has 2 possibilities:
1) The market traced an overall major corrective 3 wave pattern from peak to recent low and now will eventually make a new all-time high. This is shown here on the DJIA: (This is NOT my primary count though – it doesn’t look right)
2) The market is actually experiencing a wave “one-two, one two” bearish down event. THIS is the primary count. The upper open gap may even be closed in this proposed count. Overlap may even occur from peak 2 into the previous wave (2) price range. This is the top bearish count. However, things would have to reverse fairly quickly in this count. A quick price peak and then a persistent drive lower.
Today’s historically large intraday reversal could indicate that Minor wave 3 is actually still tracing out. Minor 3 would = 1.618 x price move of Minor 1 @ 4,746 SPX. This means that today’s peak was Minute [iv] of Minor 3 down. This actually looks good as a wave structure.
Of course there are other short term counts to consider. The market may be range bound for a while created by the violent bounce in Monday’s trading. Thus, we are in some kind of complex sideways Minor 4 corrective. The count should resolve itself. If we are still in Minor 3 down, I would expect a lower low to occur fairly quicky.
Up to date CPCE. Starting to move.
Of course, the real market killer corporate killer is the short-term 3- and 6-month T bill which determines where the Fed places the short-term rates. Barely budging despite the +50 VIX.
Very violent price action all day with a very elevated VIX. Today reminded me more of 2008 plunge and violent bounce post-Lehman more than it did 2020.
The primary count is that today’s price low was the Minor 3 low of a 5-wave structure down. This implies that a new price low MUST occur to validate this large 5 wave structure. Otherwise, so far only 3 large waves from peak have occurred. The only EW rule is that Minor 4 bounce cannot trace into Minor 2 corrective. Prices must remain below Minor 1 low and make a new low beneath Minor 3 to confirm that overall, 5 wave structure.
Here are a couple of looks:
The first supposes a major bounce to form a price hit on the proposed (1) channel line down. Prices would partially or almost wholly fill the large gap down.
The second look: Note how the bounce today hit the underside of the proposed “base” channel. This is a classic move of a wave 4 price peak in a 5-wave structure down. We are talking a multi-hundred SPX move both up and down in a matter of minutes. The violence of this market is rarely seen. Even in the midday “calm”, the 1-minute charts were moving 50-60 handles. But today seemed a short-term panic low. However again, there is a required lower low to form a proper 5 wave structure down.
So far Minor 3 has extended about 1.5 times the length of Minor 1. This is a nice ratio.
China also broke a bit. Note the overlap from the initial bounce low price peak. Which means the move up from the 321 low in early 2024 is a 3 wave move corrective.
Note how in 2020 bond yields plunged in the panic. Thats not happening – yet – so far. And that is far more damaging than anything else. Sticky high interest rates are already killing the economy. The consumer is tapped out.
Again, I don’t have today’s CPCE data, but the moving averages are starting to budge upwards. Its going to take a lot more price plunging to get these things moving higher.
And the very long averages have barely budged.
The SPX is still a long way from even the 2020 price peak. That was only 5 short years ago. I’m confident it will work its way there eventually.
Every other panic since 2000 results in lower short-term rates. In 2020, they quickly plunged to near zero. This time seems different because it is. The 40 year down channel for yields (see the 10- and 30-year charts above) has finished its pattern and a new pattern has emerged if anyone cared to notice.
Allow me to present the top alternate count first as that is the most interesting count for now. This count is interesting because the proposed wave [b] of 2 is practically fully developed. Therefore, we can quickly abandon this count if the market continues to immediately impulse lower thereby continuing to form Minor 3 down.
Today’s gap down was just ridiculously huge, and the market has a way of closing the gaps sooner rather than later particularly if the trend has truly changed to down. This is the best bear count overall that closes the gap. This would be a market-chasing massive shakeout. Squeezing the weak bears and making the nervous bulls chase. And then when the weak bears have sold and the BTFD’ers have exhausted at the peak of Minor 2, then all true hell breaks loose, and the market is frozen in fear. Minor 3 down commences. Interesting scenario so I present this first.
Of course, it’s easy to outsmart yourself. The straightforward bear count is what it is.
It looks good from 10,000 feet.
And from 100,000 feet.
The Composite nearly in a bear market after nearly peaking for the 3rd time in a row only 3 months ago. And that’s saying something. Making an all-time high in December, coming close again in January and again in February. It’s not like the market hadn’t been exerting a ton of effort. Exhaustion.
I don’t have today’s CPCE data, but really the market is still betting heavily to go up in the options market. Not a whole lot of panic out there despite the VIX closing finally over 30. When we see some of these moving averages climb nearer the panic line, then we can take note. It’ll take a continuing collapsing market for that to happen.