Weekend update

REVIEW

The week started at SPX 2833. After a slightly higher open on Monday the SPX rallied to 2843, dropped down to 2820 in the afternoon, and then rallied back to 2843 on Tuesday. Wednesday’s gap down opening took the SPX to 2802. Then a Wednesday rebound and gap up opening on Thursday took the SPX to 2850. Friday the market opened a bit lower on options expiration. The market dipped to SPX 2834, then rallied to 2856, before ending the week at 2850. For the week the SPX/DOW gained 1.0%, and the NDX/NAZ lost 0.35%. Economic reports for the week were plentiful and mostly higher. On the downtick: the Philly FED, the NAHB and consumer sentiment. On the uptick: import prices, retail sales, the NY FED, industrial production, business inventories, housing starts, building permits, leading indicators, plus weekly jobless claims declined. Next week’s reports will be highlighted by the FOMC minutes and Jackson Hole.

LONG TERM: uptrend

The following is a follow up to last week’s write up on the US – China trade dispute. A Chinese delegation will discuss trade with the US on Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington DC this week. This is just before another round of tariffs are scheduled to kick in on Thursday. Meanwhile, the SSEC continues to makes new lows for the year after hitting a 2 year high in January. It is down 25% for the year. In the charts that follow you will observe that the SPX also made a 2 year high in January, sold off in February, doubled bottomed in April, and is now only 1% below its all-time high.

The Major wave 1 bull market continues to unfold. Intermediate waves i and ii completed in the spring of 2016, and Intermediate waves iii and iv completed in the spring of 2018. Int. wave i was simple, and Int. wave iii subdivided into five Minor waves. Int. wave ii was a zigzag, and Int. wave iv was a flat. Textbook Elliott Wave. Intermediate wave v, of Major wave 1, has been underway since early-April. When it concludes the bull market could end with a Major wave 2 bear market. We are still expecting SPX 3000+ by 2018+ before this bull market ends.

MEDIUM TERM: uptrend

After the April SPX 2554 low the market rallied to SPX 2791 by June. We labeled this Minor wave 1 of the Intermediate wave v uptrend. The pullback to SPX 2692 that followed into late June we labeled Minor wave 2. Minor wave 3 has been underway since then. Early last week the SPX made a new uptrend high at 2863, we saw five waves up from the Minor 2 low, and expected a significant pullback if the market declined more than 7 points. The pullback started last Thursday, and continued into Wednesday of this week when the SPX hit 2802. At that low the DOW displayed clear positive divergences. While the SPX was just oversold. The market then rallied for the rest of the week.

At the recent SPX 2863 high we decided to label that high Minute wave i of Minor 3. We did this because it was a simple five waves up, and similar in length to the three previous Minute degree rallies during Minor 1. The low that followed, SPX 2802, was quite naturally labeled Minute wave ii.

At Wednesday’s SPX 2802 low the SPX was 2.5% away from its all-time high. What makes this important is that not only does the SPX need to make at least all-time highs to end its bull market. The DOW, NYSE and DJ World index need to do so as well. And they were much further way than SPX 2.5%: DOW 6%, NYSE 8%, and DJW 9%. If the SPX were to rally 9% from Wednesday’s 2802 low, it could hit 3054 when the DJW makes new highs. We don’t see this bull market ending until all four of these indices make new highs.

SHORT TERM

After the SPX 2692 low in late June, we were expecting to observe a nice clear impulse wave to continue the uptrend. And we got it: 2743-2699-2848-2796-2863. Then we expected a pullback to the lower-upper SPX 2790’s, and the 2798 pivot range. That concluded on Wednesday at SPX 2802. From Wednesday’s low the market has now rallied straight up to SPX 2856. It appears the SPX is heading to all-time new highs (2873) in the coming weeks. The NDX/NAZ hit all-time new highs in this uptrend back in June, and are still rising.

If Minute iii, of Minor 3, equals Minute i, then the SPX should hit 2973 in the next few weeks. Short term support is at the 2835 and 2798 pivots, with resistance at the 2858 and 2884 pivots. Short term momentum ended the week just below overbought. Best to your trading!

FOREIGN INDICES

The Asian markets were mostly lower on the week for a net loss of 1.6%.

The European markets were all lower and lost 1.9%.

The DJ World index lost 0.4%, while the NYSE gained 0.5%.

COMMODITIES

Bonds are uptrending again but lost 0.1% on the week.

Crude remains in a downtrend and lost 3.6%.

Gold continues to downtrend and lost 2.9%.

The USD is still in an uptrend and gained 0.3%.

NEXT WEEK

Wednesday: existing home sales, FOMC minutes, and conclusion to China-US trade meeting. Thursday: weekly jobless claims, and new home sales. Friday: durable good orders.

CHARTS: https://stockcharts.com/public/1269446/tenpp