There are hundreds, if not thousands, of patterns used in technical analysis.
There are short-termer patterns that help identify the general trend (bullish or bearish), while others, which are called classic patterns, provide specific price targets for an asset.
While classic patterns haven’t yet formed to provide 2015 price targets for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average or Nasdaq, Profit Scanner powered by Recognia did review all of the short-term events to identify the broader trends for the major indices in 2015 — and it’s also got a very clear target for the small caps on the Russell 2000 that may surprise you.
Here’s what investors should know about each of the major indices as we head into 2015:
S&P 500
While no classic patterns have appeared on the S&P 500’s chart to provide concrete price targets, recent technical activity indicates that the picture for the S&P 500 is bullish for at least the start of 2015.
The following events all took place in December, and note that the overwhelming majority are bullish.
Short-Term Events
- Dec. 26, 2014: Triple Moving Average Crossover (4-day, 9-day and 18-day) – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 26, 2014: Commodity Channel Index – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 22, 2014: MACD – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 22, 2014: Momentum – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 18, 2014: Price Crosses the 21-day Moving Average (21-day) – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 18, 2014: Fast Stochastic – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 18, 2014: Williams Percent Return (%R) – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 17, 2014: Inside Bar (Bullish) – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 16, 2014: Inverted Hammer – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 01, 2014: Short-term ‘Know Sure Thing’ (KST) Indicator – Short-Term Bearish
Intermediate-Term Events
- Dec. 26, 2014: Intermediate-term KST – Intermediate-Term Bullish
- Dec. 17, 2014: Price Crosses the 50-day Moving Average (50-day) – Intermediate-Term Bullish
No longer-term bullish or bearish events have appeared on the S&P 500’s chart recently.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
No classic patterns were found on the Dow’s chart, but the short-term events are lining up for a strong start to the new year for the index.
Short-Term Events
- Dec. 26, 2014: Triple Moving Average Crossover (4-day, 9-day and 18-day) – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 26, 2014: Commodity Channel Index – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 26, 2014: Commodity Channel Index – Short-Term Bearish
- Dec. 23, 2014: MACD – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 22, 2014: Momentum – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 18, 2014: Williams %R – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 18, 2014: Price Crosses the 21-day Moving Average – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 18, 2014: Fast Stochastic – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 16, 2014: Inverted Hammer – Short-Term Bullish
Intermediate-Term Events
- Dec. 17, 2014: Price Crosses the 50-day Moving Average – Intermediate-Term Bullish
No longer-term bullish or bearish events have appeared on the Dow’s chart recently.
Nasdaq
Here, again, no classic patterns have formed on the Nasdaq 100’s chart, but the short-term patterns are pointing to a bullish start for the index in 2015. A note that it’s not unusual for bullish and bearish events signals to appear on the same day, and it requires that traders take all recent signals into context.
In the case of the Nasdaq 100, the majority of the signals are bullish.
Short-Term Events
- Dec. 24, 2014: Inside Bar (Bearish) – Short-Term Bearish
- Dec. 24, 2014: Momentum – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 18, 2014: Fast Stochastic – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 18, 2014: Williams %R – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 18, 2014: Gap Up
- Dec. 18, 2014: Price Crosses the 21-day Moving Average – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 16, 2014: Inverted Hammer – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 12, 2014: Commodity Channel Index – Short-Term Bearish
- Dec. 12, 2014: Triple Moving Average Crossover (4-day, 9-day and 18-day) – Short-Term Bearish
- Dec. 08, 2014: Short-term KST – Short-Term Bearish
Intermediate-Term Events
- Dec. 17, 2014: Price Crosses Moving Average (50-day) – Intermediate-Term Bullish
- Dec. 5, 2014: Relative Strength Index (RSI) – Intermediate-Term Bearish
No longer-term bullish or bearish events have appeared on the Nasdaq 100’s chart recently.
Russell 2000
Of the major indices, only the small-caps on the Russell 2000 have formed a bullish long-term pattern on its chart. While the start of 2015 looks solid for all of the majors, the small caps may see new all-time highs in 2015 based on the technical clues.
Short-Term Events
- Dec. 26, 2014: Short-term KST – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 26, 2014: Commodity Channel Index – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 23, 2014: Triple Moving Average Crossover (4-day, 9-day and 18-day) – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 19, 2014: MACD – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 18, 2014: Commodity Channel Index – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 18, 2014: Slow Stochastic – Short-Term Bullish
- Dec. 17, 2014: Price Crosses the 21-day Moving Average (21-day) – Short-Term Bullish
Intermediate-Term Events
- Dec. 18, 2014: Double Moving Average Crossover (50-day 200-day) – Intermediate-Term Bullish
- Dec. 17, 2014: Price Crosses Moving Average (50-day) – Intermediate-Term Bullish
- Dec. 12, 2014: Intermediate-term KST – Intermediate-Term Bullish
- Dec. 12, 2014: Triple Moving Average Crossover (4-week, 9-week and 18-week) – Intermediate-Term Bullish
Longer-Term Events
- Dec. 26, 2014: Upside Breakout – Long-Term Bullish with a target of 1,350.00 – 1,380.00
- Dec. 17, 2014: Price Crosses the 200-day Moving Average – Long-Term Bullish
Profit Scanner powered by Recognia can help traders of all levels uncover these signals to determine the best timing to buy. Or use Profit Scanner’s technical insight to validate your own trading ideas. See how easy this powerful tool is to help you uncover hidden opportunities in the market.
