9:35 a.m. New York time
What’s happening now? The S&P 500 E-mini futures began to decline late in yesterday’s session, from 7567.75, and continued falling overnight, reaching a low of 7510.50. The price then rose back into the 7530s and at the opening bell, fell sharply to 7505.75. The ADP employment report, released before the opening bell, showed that private-sector employment rose in June. The sharp decline coincided with a scheduled appearance by the new Federal Reserve Kevin Warsh.
What does it mean? Elliott Wave Theory remains caught between two possible analyses, with neither yet certain.
The more likely labeling is that wave D{-5}, which began on March 30 from 6353.25, is still underway. Less likely, but still possible, is that wave D{-5} ended on June 15 at 7648.75 and that downward wave E{-5} is now underway.
Both D{-5} and E{-5} are subwaves within wave 4{-4}, a downward correction that began on October 29, 2025, and has taken the form of an expanding triangle. Such a structure has five subwaves. In the present labeling, D{-5} is the next-to-the-last wave, and E{-5} will be the final wave.
When wave E{-5} is complete, it will also mark the end of wave 4{-4} and the beginning of rising wave 5{-4}, which will carry the price above the highest point achieved by wave 4{-4}.
Decision Points. A rise above the June 15 high, 7648.75, would verify that wave D{-5} is still underway and would leave wave C{-6} continuing its rise.
A decline below the overnight low, 7510.50, would weaken the near-term rise but would not by itself resolve the larger labeling. The stronger evidence for the alternate analysis would come if the price continues downward toward the upper boundary of the expanding triangle.
A break below that upper boundary would be the operational signal that wave D{-5} has ended and that wave E{-5} is underway. Until the price either rises above 7648.75 or breaks below the triangle boundary, the labeling remains unresolved, with D{-5} still the preferred analysis.
The Chart. Today’s chart focuses on wave D{-5}, a rising wave within a downward correction that began on October 29, 2025 and that has contained all that has happened in the market since. The blue lines trace the upper and lower boundaries of the wave 4{-4} expanding triangle.

[S&P 500 E-mini futures 9:35 a.m., 1-day bars with volume]
Waves Now Underway
These are the waves currently in progress under my principal analysis. Each line on the list shows the wave number, with the subscript in curly brackets, the traditional degree name, the starting date, the starting price of the S&P 500 E-mini futures, and the direction of the wave.
- S&P 500 Index:
- 5{+3} Supercycle, 7/8/1932, 4.40 (up)
- 5{+2} Cycle, 12/9/1974, 60.96 (up)
- 5{+1} Primary, 3/6/2009, 666.79 (up)
- 5{0} Intermediate, 2/11/2016, 1810.10 (up)
- 3{-1} Minor, 3/23/2020, 2191.36 (up)
- 1{-2} Minute, 7/31/2025, 6468.50 (down)
- S&P 500 E-mini futures
- 5{-3} Minuette 8/1/2025, 6239.50 (up}
- 4{-4} Subminutte 10/29/2025, 6953.75 (down}
- D{-5} Micro, 3/30/2026, 6353.25 (up}
- C{-6} Submicro, 6/11/2026, 7232.25 (up)
Reading the chart. Price movements — waves – – in Elliott Wave Theory analysis are labeled with numbers within trending waves and letters with corrective waves. The subscripts — numbers in curly brackets — designate the wave’s degree, which, in Elliott Wave analysis, means the relative position of a wave within the larger and smaller structures that make up the chart.R.N. Elliott, who in the 1930s developed the form of analysis that bears his name, viewed the chart as a complex structure of smaller waves nested within larger waves, which in turn are nested within still larger waves. In mathematics it’s called a fractal structure, where at every scale the pattern is similar to the others.
Learning and other resources. Elliott Wave analysis provides context, not prophecy. As the 20th century semanticist Alfred Korzybski put it in his book Science and Sanity(1933), “The map is not the territory… The only usefulness of a map depends on similarity of structure between the empirical world and the map.” And I would add, in the ever-changing markets, we can judge that similarity of structure only after the fact.
See the menu pageAnalytical Methodsfor a rundown on where to go for information on Elliott Wave analysis.
By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, July 1, 2026
Disclaimer
Tim Bovee, Private Trader tracks the analysis and trades of a private trader managing his own accounts. The content reflects my interpretation of market structure, including Elliott Wave Theory and related tools.
Nothing in this blog constitutes a recommendation to buy or sell stocks, options, or any other financial instrument, or to pursue any particular strategy. The purpose of this blog is education and entertainment.
No trader is ever 100 percent successful. Trading in stock and options markets involves risk and uncertainty. Each trader must make decisions for his or her own account and accept full responsibility for the outcomes.
Charts and tools are used to support my personal analysis. Any data displayed is illustrative of that analytical process and is not presented as a source of market data for redistribution.
All content onTim Bovee, Private TraderbyTimothy K. Boveeis licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Based on work atwww.timbovee.com









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