US markets have reached new record highs. Hurray! Or, last hurray?? S&P 500 and Nasdaq have done exactly what I expected to happen per my recent posts: Ready for 2500 and Show Time. The S&P 500 is stalling just below 2500, and Nasdaq has climbed to 6400 but seems to encounter air pockets up there. A few weeks ago I said that kind of price action would be a sign of weakness. Let’s see how that looks like in the current chart:
The same drawing I posted on July 11, with the S&P now moving nicely into the projected blue target circle. That’s not the product of some magical crystal ball I have, but merely linear interpolation of the recent trends. That obvious trend will stop eventually and the big question is when and where. My Earl indicator has turned down already, and the slower Earl2 has all but negated the recent rally. That’s what I warned for and this is a reason to be very cautious at this point. It looks weak but as long as no trend lines are broken things are holding up. How much longer? I don’t know. All we can do is watch and be ready.
The LT wave did a fair job in July and here is the wave for August:
Expected weakness until around the 20th proved much more short-lived. The S&P 500 bottomed on the first expected low near the 8th and then climbed steadily into the expected highs around the 26th. Intra-day peak came on the 27th, no perfection in this world…
For August the wave suggests weakness until around the 15th, followed by an unusually strong period until the 25th. The lowest LT wave value comes on the 10th and then goes to a very high LT wave reading on the 23rd. If the S&P gets through the weak period without technical damage then a major high may be seen on 23rd (+/- 1 day). If we get a significant drop first then 23rd is more likely to become a rebound high in an ongoing decline. That are the two major scenarios I would consider at this point. As always, please remember the LT wave is experimental and will not always work perfectly.
I also want to revisit my June post: Get ready for the August eclipse. As expected, news media and astrologers are getting very excited about this event, e.g. this Newsweek article: http://www.newsweek.com/total-solar-eclipse-trump-astrology-prediction-643776. Basically, if anything serious happens to the US or its president in the next two years then astrologers will conveniently blame it on this eclipse and take it as proof that their methods work. Question: and when was the last time nothing significant happened over a two year period?
Don’t get blinded by this eclipse, I would rather keep an eye on the 1987 chart comparison I posted. The recent 6 weeks price action has continued to be exceptionally similar. Here is a more detailed comparison chart updated for July:
History doesn’t repeat, but sometimes it rhymes. As far as direct year to year comparisons go this is as good a rhyme as you will ever see. The rates of change differ, but the important highs and lows keep matching well. At some point the rhyming will stop, but we don’t know when. An S&P surge above 2500 in August, with breakout above the blue line, would make the historic comparison even more compelling. A similar October crash, taking into account the differing rates of change, would then target 2150 (= the 2015 highs).
I never have more than 60% confidence in any scenario, including this one. But I am keeping an eye on it.
The bitcoin crash
Posted by Dan on February 5, 2018
All eyes have been on Bitcoin BTC and other crypto currencies recently. After reaching a peak near $20000 BTC is now down to $8000. So what’s next?
Here is what I wrote about bitcoin last August:
Here we are. BTC reached $20k and is dropping quickly, but investors are not really panicking (yet) and that’s a reason for concern. So, let’s have a good look. Here is an update of the long term chart I posted in August:
The rate of change is slowing down, which is normal after a move of this magnitude. The best case scenario is now a continued climb within the more sustainable pale green trend channel. But that would mean a drop to $2000 if the lower bound of this channel is to be tested. A failure to hold this channel would probably tell us that BTC is going to near zero. That’s the big picture.
Of course, Bitcoin has come back from similar drops on several occasions. But that’s the problem here. Too many investors/speculators seem to believe that will happen again and that’s why there is little or no panic, even after a 60% crash. Many traders are just doubling down on their losses, encouraged by “expert” predictions that keep talking about $50k, $100k BTC in the near future (e.g. https://www.buzzfeed.com/rabbiyitziweiner/21-bitcoin-experts-share-their-predictions-about-t-37p3h)
Small investors’ enthusiasm and confidence has become too high and that never ends well. As I pointed out on Twitter near the highs in December, Bitcoin has become more popular than SP&P 500 ($SPY) on sites like Stocktwits:
10 Days later BTC printed its current peak. But traders’ appetite for BTC has not cooled down on Stocktwits. The 7 day average message volume is now regularly above 30,000 and there are 85,700 people who are watching BTC. That’s more than the 73,500 investors who watch SPY (S&P 500 etf) on the site. By the time BTC finds a real bottom I would expect those numbers to be a lot lower.
Ongoing popularity in the face of a significant drop is usually a sign that there is more pain to come. This has happened before in other popular manias and it typically ends in a similar fashion. A first 50% crash is met with denial and after a few months of stabilizing prices (which many traders interpret as a last chance to buy before the next explosive rally) the so-called “waterfall declines” start, often ending 70-90% below the peak prices.
Classic example include the Dow in 1929:
Gold in 1980:
Nikkei in 1990:
Nasdaq in 2000:
And even individual stocks or sectors. Remember 3D printing in 2014:
We always see the same thing. A huge run-up that triggers traders’ imagination of easy riches followed by a 50% crash that is seen as the next great buying opportunity. A few months of stabilizing and rebounding prices convince the remaining skeptics that the bull market is continuing. And that’s how the stage is set for the second phase of the crash.
If Bitcoin follows the same pattern by bottoming in the coming weeks followed by what looks like a healthy rebound then remember those charts and be careful. I will keep posting my observations on Twitter until I do another post on crypto here on the blog.
Good luck to all.
PS: Good question by a reader: Could it be that BTC moves quicker and that we are already in the waterfall declines? A: Yes, that’s possible. Here is a daily chart, 50% drop and a one month rebound:
Share this:
Like this:
Posted in Market Commentary | Tagged: Bitcoin, crash, mania | Leave a Comment »