During late December 2023, optimistic forecasts were abundant as bullish sentiment was near its peak. In one case the S&P500 was expected to move up to 6100. Optimism faded as the S&P500 continued to move through a somewhat complex head and shoulders pattern (shown below) that has developed over the last several weeks. This head and shoulders pattern by itself is not sufficient to expect a decline. Underlying data also needs to show a history of large block trade distributions (selling) prior to the peak in parallel with extreme optimism by retail traders. Both of these criteria were met by the end of December 2023. Since the beginning of January big block trading has been very light with relatively low volatility, providing Market Makers the ability to drop prices without triggering a significant amount of selling by the public.
“It is only when they (Market Makers formerly known as Specialists) are able to decline on light volume that they can afford to carry the decline to lower prices.”
Richard Ney, Making it in the Market, 1975, page 89
Stock charts courtesy of StockCharts.com.
