3:30 p.m. New York time
Half an hour before the closing bell. The S&P 500 futures reached a low of 6718.75 during the session, and then began to rise. So far it has reached into the 6850s.
Elliott Wave Theory. The low point in today’s session either marks the end of wave 3{-7} or the end of wave 1{-8} within wave 3{-7}. It’s not yet possible to say for sure which has occured. The rise that followed is either the beginning of wave 4{-7} or the start of wave 2{-8} within wave 3{-7}. The entire structured is within downtrending wave 5{-6}, which has been underway since February 25.
Right now price is roughly testing the former breakdown area around 6830–6850. If this rally stalls below that zone, the interpretation tilts toward a smaller-degree correction (2{-8}). If price continues higher and begins to overlap deeper into prior structure, the odds increase that 3{-7} has completed and 4{-7} is underway.
The downtrend remains intact, but the first meaningful counter-move has appeared. Likelihood still favors further downside while price remains below the breakdown zone, but certainty now depends on whether this rally can sustain itself beyond former support turned resistance.
9:35 a.m. New York time.
What’s happening now. The S&P 500 E-mini futures continued to fall after yesterday’s closing bell, carrying price from about 6885 down to a low so far of 6742.75. Price then bounced, retracing toward 6800.
What does it mean? Elliott Wave Theory continues to support a downtrending wave 5{-6}. Today’s decline appears to be the strong middle leg of that move—declining wave 3 of one degree or another.
Degree note. There is still ambiguity about whether today’s selloff is labeled 3{-7} (one degree below 5{-6}) or a smaller-degree 3{-8} within 1{-7}. For now, that ambiguity does not change the trading read: the tape remains bearish until price proves otherwise.
Decision points. The downtrend remains intact while price holds below 6800 and especially below 6886. Holding above 6742.75 favors a near-term corrective bounce; breaking below 6742.75 favors continued downside extension.
The decline remains in force unless and until price can reclaim and hold above 6800. A break below 6742.75 would argue that the heart of the selloff is still unfolding. Two lenses, one chart: likelihood favors continued downside pressure, certainty lies at the reclaim of resistance.

[S&P 500 E-mini futures at 3:30 ;.m., 20-minute bars, with volume]
Waves Now Underway
These are the waves currently in progress under my principal analysis. Each line on the list shows the wave number, with the subscript in curly brackets, the traditional degree name, the starting date, the starting price of the S&P 500 E-mini futures, and the direction of the wave.
- 1{+4} Supermillennium, (unknown start date or start price) {down}
- A hypothetical wave one degree higher than Supercyle, needed to make the wave analysis complete.
- S&P 500 Index:
- 1{+3} Supercycle, 10/8/2025, 6812.25 (down}
- 1{+2} Cycle, 10/8/2025, 6812.25 (down}
- 1{+1} Primary, 10/8/2025, 6812.25 (down}
- 1{0} Intermediate, 10/8/2025, 6812.25 (down}
- 1{-1} Minor, 10/8/2025, 6812.25 (down}
- 1{-2} Minute, 10/8/2025, 6812.25 (down}
- S&P 500 Futures
- 1{-3} Minuette 10/8/2025, 6812.25 (down}
- 1{-4} Subminutte 10/8/2025, 6812.25 (down}
- 1{-5} Micro, 10/8/2025, 6812.25 (down}
- 5{-6} Submicro, 2/25/2026, 6983.75 (down)
- 4{-7} Minuscule, 3/3/2026, 6718.75 (up)
Reading the chart. Price movements — waves – – in Elliott Wave Theory analysis are labeled with numbers within trending waves and letters with corrective waves. The subscripts — numbers in curly brackets — designate the wave’s degree, which, in Elliott Wave analysis, means the relative position of a wave within the larger and smaller structures that make up the chart. R.N. Elliott, who in the 1930s developed the form of analysis that bears his name, viewed the chart as a complex structure of smaller waves nested within larger waves, which in turn are nested within still larger waves. In mathematics it’s called a fractal structure, where at every scale the pattern is similar to the others.
Learning and other resources. Elliott Wave analysis provides context, not prophecy. As the 20th century semanticist Alfred Korzybski put it in his book Science and Sanity (1933), “The map is not the territory … The only usefulness of a map depends on similarity of structure between the empirical world and the map.” And I would add, in the ever-changing markets, we can judge that similarity of structure only after the fact.
See the menu page Analytical Methods for a rundown on where to go for information on Elliott Wave analysis.
By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, March 3, 2026
Disclaimer
Tim Bovee, Private Trader tracks the analysis and trades of a private trader for his own accounts. Nothing in this blog constitutes a recommendation to buy or sell stocks, options or any other financial instrument. The only purpose of this blog is to provide education and entertainment.
No trader is ever 100 percent successful in his or her trades. Trading in the stock and option markets is risky and uncertain. Each trader must make trading decisions for his or her own account, and take responsibility for the consequences.
All content on Tim Bovee, Private Trader by Timothy K. Bovee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on work at www.timbovee.com









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