3:30 p.m. New York time
Half an hour before the closing bell. The S&P 500 futures rose to 7820.25 early in the session and then began to fall, reaching a low of 7750.50 before bouncing into the 7760s and 7770s.
Elliott Wave Theory. Rising wave C{-6} and its parent, wave D{-5}, remain underway. The decline from the session high may be a correction within wave C{-6}; the chart does not yet show that either wave has ended.
Decision Points. A rise above 7820.25 would extend wave C{-6} and keep the advance clearly underway. A fall below 7750.50 would deepen the retreat and provide an additional warning that the rise may have peaked, but it would not by itself confirm the end of wave D{-5}. Stronger evidence would require a sustained decline below the breakout area around 7635, preferably developing an impulsive structure.9:35 a.m. New York time
What’s happening now? The S&P 500 E-mini futures rose from 7771 at the start of overnight trading and as the session approached had reached above 7800.
What does it mean? The Elliott Wave Theory is unchanged from the revision put in place on Tuesdasy. Rising wave D{-5} continues and its final subwave, wave C{-6} is underway.
When wave C{-6} is complete, it will also be the end of wave D{-5} and the beginning of falling wave E{-5}, which may take a month or more to reach completion..
All of this is happening within wave 4{-4}, a downward correction that began on October 29, 2025. The end of wave E{-5} will compete the parent wave 4{-4} and mark the start of rising wave 5{-4}, which is likely to rise above the star of wave E{-5}, perhaps significantly so.
Decision Points. A move above the overnight high of 7805.25 would extend wave C{-6} and provide no reason to declare wave D{-5} complete. A reversal below the overnight low of 7771 would be the first warning that the advance may have peaked, although it would not by itself confirm the beginning of wave E{-5}. Stronger evidence would require a sustained decline that develops a clear impulsive structure from the eventual high.
The distinction between warning and confirmation is especially important here. Because C{-6} is the terminal wave of D{-5}, the turn could occur at any time. However, the chart has not turned yet.
The Chart. Today’s chart focuses on the latter stages of rising wave D{-5}, a subwave of wave 4{-4}, a downward correction that began on October 29, 2025, has taken the form of an expanding triangle. The blue lines trace the upper and lower boundaries of the expanding triangle form wave 4{-4} has taken.

[S&P 500 E-mini futures 3:30 p.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, 7/29/2026, 7324 (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, August 5, 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 on Tim Bovee, Private Trader byTimothy K. Boveeis licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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