I invested some time this weekend examining the DOW, which as you know has been showing relative strength in the overall market for nearly two months now. During the supercycle bear market the DOW was considered the safe haven for stock investments. With the bear market still being fresh in everyone's minds, and many being bearish, it is easy to assume that this is the situation this time around. However, we are not in a bear market, and the market is not cascading down as it was when the DOW was a safe haven. Thus, I dismiss that theory.
Secondly, Investors Intelligence which has been providing investor sentiment readings for over 30 years, recently published a bullish/bearish sentiment reading typical of a major low. The current reading of bulls minus bears is 11.4%. The last time we had a reading this low was in May 2003. Just before the DOW/SPX soared over 25% and the NAZ/NDX over 45%! I seem to recall similar bearish readings in the mid, and then again late 1980's, just before the DOW would make a major upward move. Thus, my reason for re-examining the DOW.
When comparing the 1980's bull market of the DOW in Objective EW terms to our current market, there is a remarkable similarity, almost astonishing actually. In mid 1982 the DOW surged up in a five wave sequence kicking off its bull market. It rallied until late 1983 and then corrected for about 8 months into a mid 1984 low. From that low it progressed in a subdivision of rising impulse waves until mid 1985. Thus three years after the bull market kickoff it was still sitting essentailly near the same highs it achieved in late 1983. After that the DOW soared!
In our current market, if we disregard the October 2002 low and apply the March 2003 low as the cyclical bottom, we witness a similar event unfold. From early 2003 until early 2004 the DOW surged upward in five impulse waves kicking off its bull market. It then corrected again for about 8 months into the late 2004 low. From that point on it has been rising in another subdivison of impulse waves right up until today: right at its highs and again three years later!
Last year I made a comparison of the DOW from 1932 - 1937 to the NAZ from 2002 - present. Both markets had just had speculative blowoff tops and crashed losing about 80% of their value in three years. And, their recovering bull markets were and are remarkably similar. Now, I see another remarkable comparison of the DOW 1982 - 1985 to our current DOW 2003 - present market. History does repeat itself but never quite exactly the same way. As a result of this analysis I have posted on the DOW and SPX weekly charts, (they move together), an alternate count even more bullish than the one I am been applying. I'll post this alternate labeling of the DOW below.
In conclusion, sparing everyone the full analysis, if the DOW starts to lead this market higher from here on out this will be the preferred count, AND there is plenty of bull market ahead of us. Plenty! Let's see if; "The last shall be first." Best to your week!
http://spaces.msn.com/caldaroEW/