3:30 p.m. New York time

Half an hour before the closing bell. The S&P futures rose during the session and was trading in the 5360s as the closing bell approached. Elliott Wave Theory: The 4th-wave upward correction that began on May 31 continues. Perhaps.

An ambiguity. The rules of Elliott Wave Theory say that a 4th wave can’t move above the end of the 1st wave within the parent wave. Yet that has happened according to the principal analysis. On the chart, wave 4{-11} has moved past the end of wave 1{-11}. Needs fixing, Top of my to-do list, for tomorrow morning’s analysis.

I’ve updated the chart.

9:35 a.m. New York time

What’s happening now? The S&P 500 E-mini futures rose overnight reaching into the 5320s.

What does it mean? Elliott Wave Theory sees the rise as the final subwave, wave C, of a small 4th-wave upward correction that began on May 31. When it is complete, it will also mean the end the correction and the beginning of a declining subwave that, when done, will also be the end of a larger 4th-wave downward correction that began on May 16.

What are the alternatives? The overnight rise clarified the subwave configuration within the smaller subwave upward correction. Expect further ambiguities to develop.

[S&P 500 E-mini futures at 3:30 p.m., 90-minute bars, with volume]

What does Elliott wave theory say? Here are the waves that underly the analyses.

Principal Analysis:

• Rising wave 5{0} is underway. It is a wave of Intermediate degree that began in December 2018.
• It is in its final subwave, wave 5{-1}.
• Within wave 5{-1}, rising waves 3{-2}, 3{-3} and 3{-4} are underway, as is wave 5{-5}.
• Wave 3{-6} is underway and is in its middle subwave, wave 5{-7}, which is in its final subwave, wave 5{-8}.
• Wave 5{-8} is in its next-to-the-last subwave, wave 4{-9}, a downward correction.
• Within wave 4{-9}, the final subwave, wave C{-10}, is underway and is in its next-to-the-last subwave, wave 4{-11}.
• Rising wave C{-12} is underway within wave 4{-11}.

We Are Here.

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, 12/26/2018, 2346.58 (up)
• S&P 500 Futures and index:
• 5{-1} Minor, 10/13/2022, 3502 (up) (futures), 3491.58 (up) (index)
• S&P 500 Futures:

Reading the chart. Price movements — waves – – in Elliott wave 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 page Analytical Methods for a rundown on where to go for information on Elliott wave analysis.

By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, June 5, 2024

Disclaimer

Tim Bovee, Private Trader tracks the analysis and trades of a private trader for his own accounts. Nothing in this blog constitutes a recommendation to buy or sell stocks, options or any other financial instrument. The only purpose of this blog is to provide education and entertainment.

No trader is ever 100 percent successful in his or her trades. Trading in the stock and option markets is risky and uncertain. Each trader must make trading decisions for his or her own account, and take responsibility for the consequences.

License

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Based on a work at www.timbovee.com.