Trader’s Notebook: S&P 500

9:35 a.m. New York time

What’s happening now? The S&P 500 E-mini futures fell overnight to 7374.75 and then rose to 7451.25. They then fell back to the 7390s.

What does it mean? When Elliott Wave Theory is applied, the conclusion remains as foggy as it has been for nearly two weeks: Wave E{-5} is underway, unless wave D{-5} never ended.

Wave E{-5} is the final subwave within wave 4{-4}, a downward correction that began last October. Wave 4{-4} has taken the form of an Expanding Triangle, and that is part of the ambiguity. Wave D{-5} moved beyond the upper boundary of the triangle, which isn’t common behavior, and has yet to move back to the upper boundary.

Decision Points. A rise above 7451.25 would increase the odds that wave D{-5} is still underway. A fall below 7374.75 would increase the odds that wave E{-5} is underway. A return to the upper boundary of the Expanding Triangle would provide the most useful evidence that wave E{-5} has begun.

The Chart. The chart focuses on wave 4{-4}, the parent of the wave now underway, wave E(-5}.

[S&P 500 E-mini futures 9:35 a.m., 6-hour 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}
  • E{-5} Micro, 6/1/2026, 7632.25 (down}
  • A{-6} Submicro, 6/1/2026, 7632.25 (down}

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 bookScience and Sanity(1933), “Themapis not theterritory… 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, June 12, 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.

License

Based on work atwww.timbovee.com

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