Cap I

Introduction
What the ‘hand’ that writes the charts of market prices reflects is precisely the sum
total of the will of millions of participants in the negotiation, which second by second, hour
by hour, day by day, takes place on the market: millions of hands writing the same line, the
line which we are going to try to decipher with the aid of Elliot’s techniques.

Millions of hands which aim at capturing the longed-for benefit: weak hands, strong
hands, fearful hands, greedy hands, audacious hands, poor hands, powerful hands, all in
all, hands which leave their mark in the sinuous line of the price.

According to the Elliot Wave Theory, what charts reflect is, as we have said, crowd
psychology, and when this crowd comes together on the same stage, some fundamental
features of our human nature become evident, such as behaviour associated with fear,
panic and excess of optimism or greed.

This is the fundamental idea.

1. 6. 2. Example 1
(Fig. 33 and 34). We will start with an easy one: the fourth is simple and clearly shows the
exhaustion of the fifth.

As you can see we are dealing with a 1-minute chart of a crude oil barrel future, a liquid
product par excellence

It is an impulse pattern with the extended wave 3. The wave 5 is second in size and
represents 62.8% of the price development of wave 3.

There is no overlap between 2 and 4, but there is alternation both in price and in the
percentage of retracement1.

There would not be alternation in the structure as both waves are similar, though the
fourth is more extended.

There is no equality between the fifth and the first either in price or time: wave 1 is
shorter and slower than 5. They both approximate the Fibonacci ratio of 61.8% in time, but
they do not comply with the rule of equality.

The time taken in the formation of the fifth wave is 33 periods, thirty-three minutes in this
case, and from the moment when wave 5 gets exhausted until the moment line 2-4 is
crossed, 27 periods pass. Therefore, we can positively conclude that, as we have just said,
the time until line 2-4 is crossed (downward in this case) is shorter than that taken by
the fifth wave to unfold. This is the moment to adopt short positions.

1
Price development of wave 4 is by 50% superior to that of wave 2 and the retracement of wave 2 over wave 1 is of 76%, whereas
that of wave 4 over wave 3 is of 50%.
If we took an even closer look at the fifth wave (Fig. 35) we would find another extended
third, in this case with an extremely short wave 1, something that we are going to observe
relatively frequently.

When the first one is so small, the price development of wave 5 tends to reach around
38.2% of segment 032. (0-iii in Fig. 35)

The alternation between wave 2 and wave 4 is clearly evident. Wave 4 is a triangle
formation. However, the crossing of line 2-4 took a longer time here than used by the fifth
wave to develop.

xiii v

b
d

e
iv
c
a

ii

Fig. 34. Crude oil continuous. 1- min. chart.

I have chosen a rapid pattern and a 1-minute chart to demonstrate the importance of
working on liquid products. This impulse pattern we have just analyzed in Figs. 34 and 35,
a pattern which maintains its impulse structure to the limits of visibility, is the fifth wave
which we saw in Fig. 22 when we talked about alternation.

There is a practical consideration that should be made while dealing with such small
patterns whose movement has to be observed on an intraday chart; it is by no means
orthodox, but eventually we can sacrifice orthodoxy for the sake of practicality.

It is possible that the pattern we have just analyzed appears within an impulse pattern of
major degree, but it is also possible that it shows up in ‘isolation’, ‘lost and lonely’ within a
complex corrective pattern, in which flat patterns form one after another and whose price
structure is unknown to us (see Fig. 35).

2
The segment (03) is the result of joining the origin of wave 1 with the end of wave 3
In that price structure whose formation takes more than a month, there are dozens,
literally dozens, of impulse patterns, whose structures have common characteristic
features.

Fig. 35.Dow Jones Industrial. 15 min. chart

The question is whether we can apply this technique when the pattern analyzed is not part
of an impulse structure. In other words : if it is a minor wave impulse pattern not included
in a major degree pattern.

In my opinion the answer to this question is: yes. If we come across a matrioshka which
has escaped from its older sisters, it will still be the same as the others, with only the
difference of size.

This opens the possibilities of detecting a major number of patterns and, consequently, of
opportunities. This can offer us good results for intraday trading in futures markets.
Chapter II

1 Introduction
The term “corrective pattern” includes all patterns that are not impulse patterns.

This definition is so general that it leaves an immense number of patterns among which
we can distinguish three groups: flat patterns, triangles and zigzags.

The principal objective of now is the same as that of the first part in the series, namely to
help you identify the patterns at a glance, as we know that this constitutes the main
difficulty that someone with theoretical knowledge of these techniques will have, when
faced with a real chart.

We will identify the common typical features of a large number of patterns in order to
identify them more easily, although I must emphasise, that the task will be much more
complicated than in the case of impulse patterns,

Flat Patterns

II.1. Definition .- The Elliot Wave Theory defines a flat pattern as that formed by three
waves (a, b and c), of which the first two have a corrective structure and the third has an
impulse structure.

Apart from that, the retracement of the second wave over the first has to be of at least
61.8% and the price development of the third wave must be more than 38.2% of the price
development of the first.

PB >PAx0.618 AND PC>PAx0.382

Flat patterns are continuation patterns, that is to say once a flat pattern is completed, the
trend previous to the beginning of the pattern will manifest itself again.

In the first chart we can see the first of the twenty flat patterns that we are going to
analyze in this chapter.
 Fig. 1. A flat pattern

II.3. A flat and a trend As we have already said, flat patterns are considered to be
continuation patterns of a trend. We will often find flat patterns in waves two and four of
impulse patterns. As we can see in Fig. 5 once a pattern ends, the trend continues and the
price returns to the direction it followed before the beginning of the correction.

We know that in impulse patterns, waves two and four are corrective patterns and
therefore it will be in them that we will be able to find flat patterns.

Fig. 5. NIKKEI 221 Index. Daily chart

The first objective of technical analysis is to identify which trend underlies the movement
of the price Sometimes it will be easier to identify that trend than other times, but there
will be situations when it will be impossible, because there will be no trend at all. Our
interest will concentrate on those situations where an identifiable trend stops
momentarily to unfold a corrective movement. If this corrective movement is a flat
pattern, we will look for its end before we see the trend continue. In other words, we will
look for the exhaustion of the third wave (wave c), which will always be, as we have
already said, an impulse pattern, and when we confirm its exhaustion we will have a signal
to enter the trend. In the following chart you can see another example of how a bearish
trend continues once a flat has ended. You can see this in more detail in Fig. 7.

Fig. 6. USD-YEN. 15- min. chart.

Thanks to the impulse structure of waves c and to what we have already learnt about
them, we can detect the exhaustion of the minor and major degree flats, namely waves c
and -c-, respectively.
 Fig. 7.- USD-YEN. 10- min. chart.

It is obviously major degree (-c-) which interests us in this case because it ends the
correction and we can adopt positions again in the direction of the trend; bearish in this
case.

II.6.3. An ideal figure.- On numerous occasions, we will find it difficult to see a clear
structure of wave c, the last of the flats. On some occasions it will be even more difficult to
have sufficient visibility to clearly identify the end of the fifth and last wave of that wave c,
as sometimes gaps will be produced which will ‘take away’ a part of the chart. Also, the
increase in volatility will provoke rapid movements, which will make it hard to see the
formation of all the waves. That is why, as we have just seen, we will always look for the
support of the moment indicators.
 Fig. 38. IBEX-35. 5-min. chart. MACD. RSI (14).

In Fig. 38 we can see the end of a flat in which the upward divergences between the price
and the moment indicators are anticipating that IBEX is reaching a trough.

The RSI enters the oversold zone and leaves it when the price continues to drop to new
minimums, which produces an upward divergence.

Simultaneously, from the end of wave 3, MACD also forms an upward divergence with
consecutive failures in its attempt at cutting downwards.

When we see the following figure: divergences with a failure in MACD and an upward
divergence in the RSI after entering the oversold zone, we can be fairly sure that a trough
has formed and that the price is going to bounce up significantly.

If, apart from that, the analysis of the pattern indicates an exhaustion and the crossover
of line 2-4 confirms it, this is the moment to open long positions with a protective stop
above the minimum reached by the fifth wave and to enter the trend because the
correction has finished.

In Fig. 39 we can see a similar figure but on the rise.7 It is exactly the same situation: during
the development of wave 4 the price is moving laterally and after that, once the fifth wave
has ended, a downward divergence with a failure in the MACD is produced as well as a
downward divergence in the RSI, this time leaving the overbought zone.

Fig. 39. IBEX-35. 5- min. chart. MACD. RSI (14).

In this second case, the moment indicators acquire a special significance because the
crossover of line 2-4 occurs in more time than that taken by the fifth wave to form, which
would normally cause doubts about the confirmation of the pattern´s exhaustion.
Nevertheless, we interpret the signal given by the two moment indicators and assume the
pattern has reached exhaustion. The price as peaked, we can now expect a fall.

We would have been able to adopt short positions with a stop above the level reached by
wave five and enter the downtrend in this case.

Let us see yet another example: it is the Dollar/Yen relation in the section of an uptrend in
which a halt occurs and we are going to watch the unfolding of two flat patterns,
separated by an impulse pattern.

As you can see in the figure, these two flats are two waves 4 of different degrees and the
impulse pattern is the fifth wave of  .

The more important of the two flats that we are going to see is the second, because it
permitted us to enter the trend again or to add more positions, if we had not already
closed long positions at the end of 

Fig. 40. Dollar-Yen. 30-min. chart.

 Fig. 41. Dollar-Yen. 5-min. chart.

Fig. 42. Dollar-Yen. 5-min. chart.

In Figures 41 and 42 we can observe the two flat patterns separately.

The first one is a flat with a weak wave b which does not manage to retrace by 80% and
which is, in turn, another flat.

Wave c, seen on a 5-minute chart, shows its five waves clearly, with a failure in the fifth,
which provokes a sharp retracement of the price.

There is no formation of upward divergences either in the MACD or the RSI. (Fig. 44 and
45)
Once the minor degree flat has ended, a rapid fifth and final wave of unfolds and its
exhaustion – it does occur in this case – is anticipated by the moment indicators with the
formation of strong downward divergences, although no failure gets to form in the MACD.

It is at the end of this fifth minor degree wave where the flat begins. This has more
strategic value because it tells us exactly when the correction ends.

As we can see in Fig. 42, wave b is not a flat now, but a triangle (you can see it in detail in
Fig. 7 of the Appendix).

Wave c does not pose any special difficulty and we can see it on a 5-minute chart,
although it is much better to observe it over a 2-minute period. In both periods you can
see upward divergences of the price thanks to the MACD and the RSI which again facilitate
the confirmation of the flat´s exhaustion and the moment to open long positions.

Well then, up to this point we have seen two common flats with a structure which is
relatively easy to recognize now that we have trained ‘the eye’ quite well.

Where does the distinction between these two figures lie then? Why have I chosen them
for this example?

I have chosen them because neither of the two is confirmed according to the theoretical
requirements which we studied in section I.5.

Fig. 43. Dollar-Yen. 2-min. chart.

Now, let us focus on the chart of Fig. 43.

The first flat has a wave c which takes 28 periods to develop, while the time taken to cross
line OB is 33 periods. The second requirement is that wave c should be retraced in less
time than it took to form itself. We can see that the price takes slightly more time to do
this, namely 35 periods and, as we are on a 2-minute chart, it takes 70 minutes. Therefore,
theoretically it is not a flat.

Let us look at the second one: the time taken to form wave c is 54 periods and the time
taken by the price to cross line OB is 65 periods, and it took 73 periods to correct wave c
which is 75 periods long.

The theory indicates again that the pattern was not a flat. However, it is not the theory
that rules but the price. Whenever we can see the end of c clearly, we will adopt or cancel
the corresponding positions, according to our strategy.

We will not wait for line OB to be crossed because the price will have moved by then.

Fig. 44. Dolar-Yen. 2-min. chart.

 Fig. 45. Dollar-Yen. 5-min. chart.

It is not a question of drawing up a document stating whether the pattern was or was not
a flat. This will often happen in flat patterns.

Point 1. The trend of the price was bullish: Yes.

Point 2. The price comes to a halt: Yes.

Point 3. I have a count which points out the probable development of a flat (wave 4): Yes.

Point 4. Essential conditions of a flat are fulfilled: Yes.

Point 5. I am able to identify a recognizable structure of the price and the confirmation of
the end of c: Yes.

Point 6. I have divergences in the RSI and in the MACD: Yes.

I enter then: greyhounds or podencos, we get on the run, just in case. Nonetheless, always
with a protective stop.

We will use the crossover of OB to add more positions or, if we wish, to decide whether
we need more security

In the case of the first flat, from a practical point of view, it is not significant because if I
had taken a long position when the correction was beginning, I wouldn´t have pulled out
until the fifth was exhausted.

But in the case of the second flat it is very different. Focus in this case on the loss we
would have had to stand if we had entered with the crossover of OB (more than 61.8% of
the retracement over the first wave). However, entering with the crossover of 2-4 of the
impulse pattern which marks the end of with a halt at the minimum, I would not have
suffered losses of any kind.

II 1 The triangle and the direction of price

As we can see in Fig. 46, the price of an ounce of gold was impelled by a strong uptrend in
November 2007.

On 16 August it changed to 646.40$ and on 8 November it reached 847.80$, a price

increase of 31% in less than three months.

As a consequence of this strong rise, the ADX3 reached the value of approximately 50,
which indicates great strength.

Let us see what happens next: the price starts to zigzag up and down without altering the
price levels significantly, but weakening tremendously the strength of the direction of the
price.

Imagine a car were cruising along a long straight motorway at high speed and all of a
sudden it enters a winding mountain road. It has to slow down and due to the conditions
of the road it will travel long stretches without moving in a straight line.

The trend continues bullish, but the value of the ADX has fallen from 47 to 12: the strength
has vanished.

The price is perfectly defined on both directrices and the vertex of the triangle. In spite of
a lateral slide the trend has not weakened as a direction and it pushes up violently at the
very moment when the price breaks through the superior straight directrix of the triangle.
At that moment the ADX turns upwards and crosses the –DI: bearish forces give way: the
winding mountain road has finished and we are back on the motorway.

The triangle broke up on 26 December at the price of $816.30. Three months after that the
price of a troy ounce of gold4 surpassed $1.000.

We have noted two characteristics of triangles then: the direction is suspended during the
development of a triangle and the trend pushes sharply up or down with the crossing of
the directrix.

Let us see now an example of a downward trend, namely the Dollar Index.

We are in July 2002, a month after John Snow5, then US Treasury Secretary, declared his
intention to implement a strong Dollar policy with the Dollar at 107.

3
The ADX (Average Directional Movement Index) is an indicator which measures the strength of the
direction of a price and it is usually used combined with other two other direction indicators: the +DI
and the –DI. When the ADX reaches values higher than 30 it indicates a strong trend. If the value of the
+DI is higher than that of the –DI, the direction of the trend will be rising and vice versa, if the value of
the –DI is higher than that of +DI, the direction of the trend will be falling.
4
A troy ounce equals 31,10 gr.
 Fig. 47. Dollar Index. Daily chart. ADX (14). +DI.

We can see that the Dollar Index stops slightly above 105 with the ADX above 50,
unfolding over the following months a big triangle whose directrices can be definitely
traced by mid-October.

The directional strength ceases completely, dropping in value on the ADX from 52 at the
beginning of the triangle to 5 on the days prior to the break down. It is at the end of
October when a downward break of the triangle occurs, coinciding with the crossing of the
ADX and the +DI.

Unlike the previous figure, in this case the ADX falls below the +DI and remains in that
position for a long period of time.

This type of situation anticipates sharp movements when the ADX crosses the ±DI, no
matter whether the pattern formed by the price is a triangle or not.

In short; if the ADX crosses the +DI we can expect a fall. If the ADX crosses the -DI, we can
expect a rise.

5
John Snow was the Secretary of the Treasury with George W. Bush from February 2003 to his
resignation in June 2006. He was followed on in the post by the CEO of Goldman Sachs, Henry Pulson.
III.3. A bullish trend and the correction in a zigzag
The example we are going to study now is a zigzag formed on the Euro stoxx 50 in the
second trimester of the year 2005, within an uptrend of the index.

We are going to follow the formation of wave C until its exhaustion in order to find a signal
that will indicate the moment to enter the uptrend which reformed anew after the
correction.

In Fig. A15 and A16, in the appendix, we can see the Fibonacci relations between wave A
and C. Just as in the previous example, they are almost equal and the external relation
practically equals 61.8%.

Let us subdivide the pattern into its different various figures to see it “on the inside”:

Fig. 84. DJ Euro stoxx 50. Daily chart.

The charts of Fig. 85 and 86 show the situation before the development from the point of
view of the moment indicators: a strong downward divergence between the MACD and
the price on a daily chart announces the probable beginning of a correction.

The hourly chart shows a strong loss of momentum with a failure of the MACD about to
take place, which marks the development of the first wave of A which will unfold its five
waves as shown in Fig. 88.

Unlike the example we saw in the DAX at the beginning of this chapter, here wave B could
have been a flat, which would have permitted us, with the exhaustion of its wave c, to
have followed wave C of the zigzag from the beginning (Fig. 87).
It is a flat with a complex wave b and whose wave c was not easy to identify. In Fig. 89 you
can see a possible count in a fifteen minute chart.

However, let us not forget that our objective is not wave B, but wave C and that it is there,
if the conditions are appropriate, where we will be able to detect the end of the
correction.

A very aggressive strategy can lead to adopting short positions at the end of wave B, in this
case. We will have two things on our side: the fact that wave C is an impulse pattern and
we can detect the moment of its exhaustion, and the fact that it is very probable that the
price development will be a long extension6.

Nevertheless, let me repeat that a better strategy in such situations is to wait for the
exhaustion of C before adopting long positions.

Fig. 85. Zigzag. Wave A. Hourly chart. Fig. 86. Zigzag. MACD. Daily chart

In fact, in Fig. 90 we can see the zigzag in more detail and it is possible to identify the withe
structure of C, which took 165 periods (hours, in this case) to form.

The lower arrow on the chart points out the first signal of exhaustion. The first signal? No,
the second. Because if we take an even closer look, we can see the formation of the fifth
wave of C and the moment of its exhaustion quite clearly (Fig. 91).

Even in a 15 minute chart there is sufficient visibility to be able to see the fifth of the fifth:
quite a luxury indeed.

If we follow the price development we can see a series of three consecutive crossovers of
line 2-4, which confirm, one after another, the exhaustion of the three impulse patterns
from minor to major degree.

6
Price development of C with respect to that of A in a zigzag can reach as much as 161.8% in an external
relation. (Section III.1)
Finally, with the gap at 2,985 on the opening of 18 May 2005, line OB was crossed by the
price, definitively confirming the end of the correction and the return of the trend.

The time which the price took to cross line OB was 143 hours, less than that taken to form
C, which as we saw earlier (Fig. 90) was 165 periods.

Fig. 87. DJ Euro stoxx 50. Wave B of the zigzag. Hourly chart.

The price took longer to correct wave C completely than to form it (183x165), for which
reason this second requirement of pattern confirmation was not fulfilled, which as we
have said, occurs relatively frequently. In the case we have just analyzed it was irrelevant.
Our objective was attained and we were able to enter the trend as we had intended.

Fig. 88. Wave A count. 60- min. chart. Fig. 89. Wave c of the B count. 15- min. chart.
 Fig. 90. DJ Euro stoxx 50. Daily chart.

Fig. 91. DJ Euro stoxx 50. 15- min. Chart.

Chapter III

Introduction
The terminal patterns (from now on TPs) are for me, without a doubt the best part of the
Elliott Wave Theory.

Why? Because they are simple, frequent, foreseeable, quick and above all, because they
offer great profit.

They are simple because they don’t have to meet too many requisites, only four of the
Fibonacci ratios among its waves.

They are impulse patterns, but their structure is not as confined by the rules as them.

They are patterns that appear under special situations, thus we can expect to see one of
them, even though as we will see later on, this has a counterpart.

They are quick because after they are confirmed, the price moves very suddenly in the
opposite direction.

And, finally, they are very profitable because they yield excellent earnings in very little
time.

So without a doubt, for these reasons we are facing the most attractive patterns of all
those we have studied up to now.

What is the most difficult part about them: as always to identify them and to know when
they’ve ended.

My objective here, as in the previous chapters, is to present a wide variety of true

examples which will help you identify the figures when they appear on your screen.

I have selected more than thirty different patterns and I hope that after you’ve studied
them, it will be less difficult for you to recognize them.

1 5 Characteristics of the Terminal Patterns 1 5 1

Where to expect them

Even though there is always a possibility of an unexpected encounter, TPs are generally
going to form within the five waves of an impulse pattern or in the C waves of flats and
zigzags.

As we pointed out in the second part, in flat patterns ones as well as zigzags, the third
wave which we named Wave C is an impulse pattern. It is in these C waves that a TP can
form.
1 6 Form
Figure 29 shows a black triangle and its vertices are points A, B and V. Let’s imagine
moving that vertex V of the triangle upwards over a parallel line to the ligther line of
triangle (AB) until we obtain point V1.

Doing the same thing with point V, but sliding it down the vertical line A-B-V, we would
obtain point V2 which together with vertices A and B would create a new diagonal triangle.

The structure of a TP, will almost always be contained inside one of the three triangles we
have just seen.

Let’s look at some real examples: imagine an upward trend TP like the one shown in Figure
30. If we could grab vertex (V) with the tip of our fingers and slide it upwards, the triangle
and the pattern contained therein would become distorted and the result would be similar
to figure 31.
 Fig. 30. Upward trend TP. 30 min. chart.

The same thing would happen with the downward TP in Figure 32. If we were to move its
vertex (V) downwards, the triangle as well as the figure contained therein would be
deformed, and the new figure would look like the one shown in chart 33.

So, within the TP family, we could make certain distinctions regarding these features and
there would be some “horizontals” (Figure 30 and 32) and more “diagonals”, (31 and 33).

Fig. 31. Upward TP. 5 min. chart.

 Fig. 32 Downward TP. 30 min. chart.

x1 3

Fig. 33. Downward TP 10 min. chart.

The difference between these two types of triangles is marked by the bisector1 with the
horizontal.

We will call the triangle with a horizontal bisector a “flat” triangle.

If we project the vertex of a flat triangle, over the A – B straight line, we would reach a
point upon the AB segment (Figure 30 and 32).
If we project the vertex of a diagonal triangle, upon that same segment, we would obtain a
point which would be higher than A if the pattern is upward (Fig. 31) or below B if it’s
downward (Fig. 33).

It seems reasonable to think that the more diagonal the pattern is, the more resistant it is
to exhaustion which, in turn, will cause the formation of growing maximums when it’s an
upward TP or of decreasing floors when it’s downward.

Should we expect the retracements subsequent to exhaustion to be sharper if the

resistance to exhaustion increases? I can neither confirm nor deny it.

A last thought on the features: It’s very frequent that before the last upward segment is
displayed (the fifth wave) the price takes its time. We know that this is a typical
characteristic of impulse patterns, which we have already talked about in the first part.

Generally, the fourth waves take more time to form than the second waves. The same
thing usually happens in the TPs. Furthermore, we have frequently observed that the
fourth wave is usually made up of three segments, while the fifth wave is normally a quick
wave formed by a single segment.

Example 2 Third wave in the S&P 500 At the end of a Christmas rally
In this second example we’re going to analyze another TP that as in the previous example
was formed at the end of an impulse pattern, but in this case with an upward trend.

Fig. 56. S&P 500. Daily chart.

At the beginning of 2000, after the explosion of the “dotcoms”, the S&P 500 index, as with
the rest of the stock exchanges, suffered severe retracements.

In July 2002 the formation of a floor between 700 and 800 points was initiated.

The maneuver to turn the index in which the 500 main companies of the NYSE are listed is
not easy and it took approximately nine months until in March 2003, the S&P started from
788 points on the way towards the next bubble which was to explode in October 2007,
after reaching a maximum of 1,576.

Since the beginning of 2004, the long term trend of the S&P is upwards and the figure that
we’re going to study in this example would mark its exhaustion, the start of a corrective
phase, and at the same time would define the upper directrix of the upward trend channel
which would be responsible for the price movement until the end of 2006 (Figure 56).

We said that this came about at the end of an impulse pattern, however it wasn’t at the
end of a fifth wave, but at the end of a third, as the chart shows.

Fig. 57. S&P 500 15 m. chart.

This is an exemplary TP. Let’s look at it in detail (Figure 58): we can see that its features are
typical of a diagonal triangle as a consequence of the maximum rises the price develops
until its exhaustion. Also the typical and “compulsory” retracement of 100% is produced in
less time than would be used in the formation of the entire TP, which formed as we said
before, in the fifth wave of the third in an impulse pattern, on the S&P 500 between
August 2004 until March 2005.
Our figure developed its first wave on 9 December 2004 and reached exhaustion the last
day of the same month. We can say that it was the typical Christmas rally, but in this
instance it was interrupted very brusquely.

Fig. 58. S&P 500. 15 min. chart.

P2 is 40 % of P1

P3 is 62 % of P1

P4 is 60 % of P2

P5 is 62 % of P3

T4 is 78% of T2

The retracement of the second over the first is only 40%, which indicates that there’s only
a little selling pressure for the moment. Bear in mind that the maximum retracement is
61.8%. Coherently with this, the third finishes its projection quickly and runs upward 62%
of the first.

The fourth, as occasionally happens, relates to the second with a ratio very close to 61.8%.

The only relation requirement as regards time is, as we said, 61.8% between the second
and the fourth.

Depending on where we consider it ends, the fourth is 40%, or almost 80% of the second.

Neither of the two proportions is close to 61.8%.

I’ve seen very few TPs in which waves 2 and 4 abide by what the theory of Elliot’s Wave
Theory establishes.

Finally, the most probable ratio between the third and the fifth is 61.8%, and in this case it
is. Besides, we can see how it develops upwards, concluding the figure with that typical
wedge form, with which it reaches a new maximum in the first session of the year, at a
rate of 1,217.90 Dollars.

Before we conclude our discussion about waves, let’s look at the crossing of the 2-4 line
which without doubt is the main aspect, and that in TPs is more complicated than in
impulse patterns with a trend, due to the greater volatility that usually goes along with
these figures.

Besides the volatility, there’s another element that adds uncertainty, like what we
commented in section 1.5.5: There is no minor degree exhaustion, meaning you can’t
wait until the end of the fifth wave of the fifth because there are no five visible waves
here. There can be one, three, two or seven.

Fig. 59. Crossing of the 2-4 line.

But first, let’s have a look at the indicators: as always, divergences go along with
exhaustion. We see them in a time chart, and in the last stretch the development of the
fifth wave coincides with the divergence of the MACD comes with a failure.

In the RSI, the maximums marked by the third and the fifth do not enter the overbuy area,
and since the two downward minimums of the indicator which correspond to the last price
maximums, show that the rise is quite forced and immediately afterwards starts to crash.
 Fig. 60. S&P 500. Horly chart. MACD. RSI (14).

In the following chart we see the TP in relation with the ADX (14). As we’ve commented
before, it’s at the beginning where the trend is strongest that it often happens. From that
point on the pattern develops losing the trend and then again strongly “pushes” towards
the opposite direction of the previous trend. This doesn’t happen here. At the moment
where the price crosses the 2-4 line, the ADX doesn’t cross the +DI as it does on the right
side of the chart. Neither does it have a lower value. There was no shark.

This is the only aspect of those pointed out as being characteristic of the TPs and which is
not present in this example. In general, however, this example represents very well the
type of TP that we’re studying.

3 5

x1
4

Fig. 61. S&P 500. Hourly chart. ADX (14).