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The Selloff Structure Explained – Fibonacci On Deck

Many traders become very emotional when the markets turn Bearish and fail to properly understand that price structure is still driving market price movement.  This morning, I highlighted this structure to my subscribers attempting to alert them to the possibility that the markets could recover moderately over the next 3 to 5+ days attempting to set up the next “waterfall” downside price event.

On January 29, 2020, I posted a research article detailing my belief that a “waterfall” type of event was setting up in the markets.  This article was nearly 30 days prior to the peak in the markets.  It explained how events take place and how markets tend to develop a moderate recovery phase between selloff price declines.

January 29, 2020: ARE WE SETTING UP FOR A WATERFALL SELLOFF?

Skilled traders should notice the size and levels of each selloff event in the chart (above) and pay very close attention to how price initially collapsed from the peak, then recovered nearly 50% in early and late November before finally setting up a deeper waterfall price collapse in early December.

Our research team believes the US stock markets may attempt something similar over the next 3 to 5+ days as the Covid-19 economic outcome continues to process through the global markets.

The US and other Central Banks have taken broad steps to attempt to overcome the negative economic outcomes related to the Covid-19 global shutdown.  Their biggest concern is that consumer activity could diminish and banking/credit firms could come under severe pressures because of a consumer collapse.

There are over 35 million US low-wage jobs that may become at-risk because of the Covid-19 virus event.  We believe the true economic contagion of the global virus event may now be known until well into April or May 2020.  Yet we believe these at-risk, low-wage jobs are prevalent throughout the globe and foreign nations, such as Asia and Europe, may experience a similar consumer economic contagion over the next 6+ months.

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We believe the data related to the Covid-19 economic crisis will not fully be known until well into April or May 2020.  Because of this, we believe the US stock markets may recover to levels near the 50% Fibonacci Retracement levels on these charts before attempting a series of further downside price moves.  Skilled traders should not become overly emotional right now and pay attention to the structure of the price action as well as other technical conditions in play at the moment.  Our objective is to execute trades with a highly targets success rate – not to trade on emotions.

SPY DAILY CHART

This SPY Daily chart shows the SPY would only need to rally 18.70 points to reach the 50% Fibonacci retracement level on this chart.  This could happen very quickly given how close the price actually is to this key Fibonacci level.  If that were to happen over the next 3 to 5+ trading days, the downward sloping price channels from our TTCharger modeling system would move lower to meet price near 278 – which would set up a new resistance zone and possibly a new wave of selling.

INDU DAILY CHART

This INDU Daily chart shows the Dow Jones would have to rally about 2025 points (to levels near 23,886) to reach the 50% Fibonacci Retracement target.  If this were to happen, the sloping price channels on this chart would likely move lower to meet price near this 50% target level – presenting a very clear resistance zone for a new wave of selling to begin.

Remember, it is not about emotions or attempting to try to force the markets to adopt your “belief”.  Skilled traders attempt to identify risks, opportunities and realistic technical setups that allow them to objectively determine where and when the markets are providing a real opportunity for success.

We may be just a few days away from the next major wave of selling, yet any trader who jumped into an emotional trader over the past 5+ days expecting the markets to continue to break down is likely under a fair amount of stress right now.  Learn to read the charts and the structure of price more effectively and you’ll find the answers are already on the charts in front of you.

As a technical analysis and trader since 1997, I have been through a few bull/bear market cycles. I believe I have a good pulse on the market and timing key turning points for short-term swing traders.

If you are a more active trader and swing trader visit my Active ETF Trading Newsletter. If you are a long-term investor looking for signals when to own equities, bonds, or cash, be sure to look into my Long-Term Investing Signals.

Ride my coattails as I navigate these financial markets and build wealth while others lose nearly everything they own during the next financial crisis.

Chris Vermeulen
Chief Market Strategist
Founder of Technical Traders Ltd.

Where’s the Bottom? – Cycles Paint A Clear Picture

Has the selloff ended?  When will it end?  What will the bottom look like and am I at risk of taking further losses?  What should I do?

Do you want to take a guess at how many of our friends and family members are calling us over the past week or so asking these questions?  Personally, I get bombarded with dozens of emails every day from friends and other family members asking “where’s the bottom?  What should I do?”.

This post is going to help you understand the structure of the markets and what is really happening.  Price always attempts to seek out new price highs or new price lows.  In this case, we are seeking out new price lows with a downside price rotation.  Price structure, which is normally discussed in Elliot Wave structures is the process of setting up new higher high or lower low waves as price rotates in a defined wave structure.  Keep in mind the broader wave structure that is currently unfolding.

Over the past 16+ months, we’ve suggested that the price rotation in 2018 was a Wave 4 downside price rotation of a Wave C upside price structure.  If our analysis is correct, the last rally we just experienced (ending near February 1, 2020) was the end of a Wave 5 upside price move that completed the Wave C upside price structure.  This would indicate a very real possibility that the current downside price trend is a Wave 4 downside price move.

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For readers that are not familiar with the Elliot Wave process/structure, each major wave (1 through 5 or A through C) can consist of various types of minor wave structures (as you can see from the middle chart in the example above.  The major wave 1 could consist of a 5 wave minor wave structure (as shown).  The major wave 2 could consist of a 3 wave minor wave structure (as shown) or even a downside 5 wave structure.

Going even further, each of these minor wave structure could consist of even smaller price wave structures.  These types of price rotations often populate in 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 13 and 21 wave structures.  Unlocking the major wave count and minor wave count can help us unlock swing trading and day trading opportunities.

So, to put into context what we are attempting to convey to you is that we believe the peak in early February 2020 was the end of a major wave 3 and the start of a major wave 4 (to the downside).  Because the upside price wave 3 originated after the 2009-10 price bottom, we believe true support in the markets is likely the midpoint of the 2018 price rotation range or near the low price levels of 2018.  These price levels represent a very clear support level and low price target level that continues to follow the price structure rules of Fibonacci and Elliot Wave.  If the 2018 lows are breached and the markets continue to push lower, then we fall back to the 2016 price lows and midpoint level.

WEEKLY YM CHART – DOW JONES

This Weekly YM chart highlights the two lower MAGENTA lines that we believe represent clear price support for the Dow Jones (24,000 & 21,450).  At this point, the YM has already moved below the 24,000 level and closed trading on Monday, March 9, near 23,900.  Although this price level has breached the 24,000 level, we do not consider “support” a hard level (like concrete).  It is like water in many cases and it matters what price does when it reaches this level.  If price finds support near this level, it will begin to bottom out and potentially trade sideways before attempting to move higher.  If not, the price may stall near this 24,000 level before breaking down to the 21,450 level (or lower).

We do believe the INDU/YM will put in a bottom before the ES and NQ do.  Thus, we believe support will be found in the INDU/YM well before support is found in the other major US stock market indexes.

SPY WEEKLY CHART – S&P 500

This SPY Weekly chart highlights the same setup with the two MAGENTA lines we’ve drawn.  The first level of support for SPY is $261~$262.  We believe this midpoint of 2018 high to the low trading range will offer a fairly strong support level for the SPY to attempt to set up a price bottom.  Below that, the $234 level (the lower range of the 2018 trading year) would provide very clear support for the SPY.

The same type of price theory and expectations are at play on this chart as with the YM chart above.  The YM has already reached our first level of support, yet the SPY is still $12 away from this first support level.  This would suggest the YM may begin to set up some type of price support while the SPY may continue to trail a bit lower over time.

If this first level of support does not hold, then we would be looking for the 2018 price low levels (near $234) to become the next target for support.  Ultimately, the price must either continue to attempt to break previous low price points as it attempts to establish “new price lows” or, at some point, it will fail to break past lows and that is where it will find support.  The midpoint, often called the “belt line” (a Japanese Candlestick term) is used by technicians for two reasons: first, it represents 50% of a defined price range and, second, Japanese Candlestick theory teaches us the BeltLine is “the center of control” or price.  Once price breaks this level, then further trending may continue.

NQ WEEKLY CHART – NASDAQ

Lastly, this NQ Weekly chart with the three MAGENTA lines drawn on it.  The top line is the 2018 price peak level.  The middle line is the midpoint of the 2018 trading range.  The lower line is the bottom of the 2018 trading range.

The NQ has been the high-flying sector in the US stock market for many months.  You can see the massive rally that took place near the end of 2019 pushing the NQ up to nearly 10,000 before the recent correction.  Compared to the YM and SPY charts, it is easy to see the NQ rallied much stronger than the others.  This is why we believe the downside price move in the NQ could also be far greater in scope than the YM or SPY.

If the NQ falls to our midpoint level (near 6795), the NQ must call another -1100 points to reach this level.  Whereas the YM has already reached this critical price level and the SPY is only about $12 away from that same level.  Therefore, the NQ, in our opinion, could continue to trend broadly lower throughout Q1 and possibly into Q2 before finding any real support.

The low price range of 2018 puts final support for the NQ near 5,832.  From current levels, if price falls to this support level, it would total an additional -2066 point decline (-26.11%).  It would also represent a massive -40% selloff from the peak set in February 2020 (near 9763).

Where’s the bottom?  What’s next?  Our advice would be NOT to chase this selloff and NOT to attempt to bottom pick this move.  We believe the Covid-19 virus event will last well past April/May 2020 and we believe both Q1 and Q2 results will be far below expectations.  Therefore, we don’t believe any real bottom will setup before May, June or July of 2020 – after Q2 earnings are announced and contingent on the virus event subsiding and earnings starting to recover.  Otherwise, we could be “searching for a bottom” for quite a while yet.

Still, massive price rotations are taking place in the major markets and various sectors.  If you are a skilled trader and are able to manage risk properly, you should be able to identify multiple opportunities over the next 90+ days for incredible trades.  We know we certainly are finding them.

As a technical analysis and trader since 1997, I have been through a few bull/bear market cycles. I believe I have a good pulse on the market and timing key turning points for short-term swing traders.

Visit my ETF Wealth Building Newsletter and if you like what I offer, and ride my coattails as I navigate these financial markets and build wealth while others lose nearly everything they own during the next financial crisis.

Chris Vermeulen
www.TheTechnicalTraders.com

Are We Setting Up For A Waterfall Selloff?

Most traders understand what a “Waterfall event” is if you’ve been trading for more than 3 years.  Nearly every downside price reversion event initiates in a breakdown event (the first tier of the waterfall event) which is followed by additional deeper waterfall price collapses.  Almost like price breaks lower, finds support, settles near support, then breaks lower targeting deeper price support levels.

SPY DAILY CHART

This example SPY chart from October 2018 through December 2018 highlights this type of event almost perfectly.  With each tier in the waterfall event, price searches for new support levels as price weakness drives price lower throughout each breakdown event.  We’ve highlighted these breakdown events with the MAGENTA lines drawn on this chart.

The recent downside price rotation after the world was alerted to the Wuhan virus presented a very clear “first-tier” waterfall event.  This first move lower is often rather condensed in size and scope – yet often within days of this first event, a bigger second downside waterfall event takes place confirming the bearish breakdown has momentum.  We believe this first move lower could be the first real tier in a broader global market waterfall event which may result in a much deeper price reversion event.

We believe the total scope of the Wuhan virus will not be known for at least another 20 to 30+ days.  After that span of time, we’ll know where and how aggressive this pandemic event has spread and what real capabilities we have for containment.  Therefore, we believe the downside price concern within the global markets is very real and just starting.

Very much like what happened in October 2018, the initial downside price move initiated on the US fed news and expectations.  When the Fed announced a rate cut, which shocked the markets, investors waited to see how the markets would react and within only 5+ days, the markets reacted violently to the downside.

Friday, January 24 was the “trigger date” for the breakdown in global markets from the news of the Wuhan virus.  We believe any further downside risk to the global markets will be known within another 5 to 10+ trading days – as more information related to the spread and containment capabilities of the virus are known.  Therefore, we are attempting to alert our followers and friend to the very real potential of a price breakdown event, a “Waterfall Event”, that may be set up in the global markets.

DAILY TRANSPORTATION INDEX CHART

This Daily TRAN chart highlights the recent breakdown in price that could be considered the first tier of the waterfall event.  The support level, highlighted in LIGHT BLUE, suggests price may attempt to stall near 10,800 before any further price breakdown happens.  A second waterfall tier could push the price well below the 10,000 level as the next real support exists near 9,9250.

DAILY 400 MIDCAP INDEX CHART

This Daily MC (S&P 400 MidCap) futures chart highlights a similar price pattern.  The initial breakdown tier is very clearly illustrated where the price fell to immediate support near 2050.  We believe any further waterfall tier even may push the price below the 2000 level and target real support near 1952.

DAILY FINANCIAL SECTOR INDEX CHART

This XLF (Financial Sector SPDR ETF) Daily chart, again, highlights the first tier breakdown in the price of the potential Waterfall event.  This is actually one of the clearest examples of how price operates within this type of rotation.  The initial downside tier broke through support near $30.00 and has begun to rally back above this level.  The LIGHT BLUE highlighted support range shows us where the first tier may stall.  Any further breakdown in price may push the price below the $28.50 level as price searches for new support.

We’ve referenced the 1855 “Third Plague Event” that hit in China and quickly spread to India, SE Asia, and other neighboring countries as an example of what may happen with the Wuhan virus.  The 1855 event killed over 15 million people (nearly 1.25% of the total global population at the time) and lasted until 1960 when the Plague cases dropped below 200.

We urge all traders and investors to prepare for a broader downside market event in the future – possibly a “waterfall event”. We’ll know more about the size and scope of this potential pandemic within 30+ days – but this may become a much bigger issue across the globe very quickly.  The volatility this event may create in the global markets is an ideal setup for skilled technical traders.  In the last week, we locked in profits on two trades SSO for 6.5% and TLT for 3%. Learn how we can help you find and execute great trades related to this wildly volatile event.

Join my ETF Trade Alert Newsletter – Wealth Building Newsletter if you like what you read here and ride my coattails as I navigate these financial markets and build wealth while others lose nearly everything they own.

Chris Vermeulen
www.TheTechnicalTraders.com

NOTICE: Our free research does not constitute a trade recommendation or solicitation for our readers to take any action regarding this research.  It is provided for educational purposes only.  Our research team produces these research articles to share information with our followers/readers in an effort to try to keep you well informed.  Visit our web site to learn how to take advantage of our members-only research and trading signals.

What Does The Global Stock Market Contraction After The Missile Strike Mean?

The US Stock Market contracted in early morning trading on Friday, January 3, by more than 1% after news of the missile attack in Baghdad targeting a top-level Iranian military General and others.  After the attack on the US Embassy in Iraq last week, President Trump issued a strong warning that the US would act to protect its people throughout the world and Iran scoffed at this message.  It would certainly appear President Trump means business and won’t hesitate to stop terrorists from acting against the US – no matter where they are in the world.

This news, overnight, pushed Oil, Gold, Silver and most precious metals higher.  The fear factor associated with the unknowns of what may come from these actions shot through the roof over the past 24 hours.  The global stock markets contracted by a fairly strong amount in Friday’s trading.  Most global markets were off by 0.75% to levels well over 1%.

GLOBAL MARKET SELLOFF AFTER MISSLE STRIKE – CANADA, BRAZIL, CHINA, UK…

The real question skilled technical traders must ask themselves is this “will this turn of events prompt a change in investor expectations/thinking over the next 12+ months”?

I can remember what happened in the markets and the US economy in 1991 when Desert Storm happened.  Because this was one of the first US military efforts that were televised almost 24/7, almost immediately people were suddenly distracted by these war images and videos.  They were entranced by the actions taking place half-way around the world.  Local economies slowed because of this change in consumer sentiment and certain businesses struggled as their customers stayed home and watched TV.

A similar type of event happened after 9/11.  The United States was in shock.  People still attempted to conduct life as normal, yet our objectives changed.  We lost a bit of that care-free American attitude that we had in place before the 9/11 event.  We were more solemn, more conservative, more reserved in our daily lives.  Could something like this happen if Iran (and neighbors) attempt to retaliate against the US for this missile attack?  Could this change the thinking of consumers and investors as concerns about re-engaging in a Middle East conflict arise?

US MARKET SOLD OFF ON MISSILE ATTACK

The US stock market contracted fairly strongly in early trading on Friday, January 3, 2020.  Yet, by afternoon trading, support had pushed most prices off the lows.  We authored a research article recently that suggested traders were very emotional near the end of 2019.  We believe these emotions could continue to haunt the markets in various ways over the next 10 to 25+ trading days.  One thing we are concerned with is a change in price trend sometime between January 13 and January 25.  We believe these dates could prompt a major change in price trend and direction in the near future.

December 20, 2019: WHO SAID TRADERS AND INVESTOR ARE EMOTIONAL RIGHT NOW?

We don’t have a confirmation, as of yet, that any major trend change is taking place – but we feel it would be unprofessional to not warn traders that an event like this could dramatically change the way traders view future expectations.  We really have to understand one key factor about investing and trading – trends are the results of investors/traders believing the future revenues and results of a company, stock or economy will product greater or weaker returns.  If investors believe the returns will be greater, then the trend tends to move higher.  If investors believe the returns will be weaker, then the trend tends to move lower.

EVENT COULD CHANGE EQUITIES MARKET OUTLOOK – DOW JONES INDEX

Could this new event change future expectations for traders and investors?  How will extended uncertainty or military engagement alter trader’s expectations over the next 12+ months?

Right now, we want to urge our followers to protect their open long positions and watch carefully as this event unfolds.  We don’t have any confirmation that a trend change is taking place.  If the YM price fell to levels below $28,000, then we would consider recent support near $28,350 breached and begin to take a look at other price modeling systems.

We suggest our followers read the following research post from the end of 2019.  This will give you a better understanding of what is really happening right now and what would be needed to push the markets into a new bearish trend in early 2020.

December 31, 2019: WHAT TO EXPECT IN EARLY 2020

As we warned throughout most of 2019, we believe 2020 will be an incredible year for traders with extended volatility and returns.  You really don’t want to miss these bigger price moves when they happen.  Our precious metals calls throughout all of 2019 were nearly perfect and our recent Gold calls have nailed this big move.  Get ready – 2020 is going to be a great year for skilled technical traders.

With over 55 years of technical trading experience, we have been through a few bull/bear market cycles, I have a good pulse on the market, timing key turning points and what to buy and sell for both short-term swing trading and long-term investment capital. The opportunities are financially life-changing if handled properly.

I urge you visit my Wealth Building Newsletter and if you like what I offer, join me with the 1 or 2-year subscription to lock in the lowest rate possible and ride my coattails as I navigate these financial markets and build wealth while others lose nearly everything they own.

Chris Vermeulen
Founder of Technical Traders Ltd.

NOTICE: Our free research does not constitute a trade recommendation or solicitation for our readers to take any action regarding this research.  It is provided for educational purposes only.  Our research team produces these research articles to share information with our followers/readers in an effort to try to keep you well informed.  Visit our web site www.TheTechnicalTraders.com to learn how to take advantage of our members-only research and trading signals.