Bullish and bearish impulse legs are dueling on Apple’s hourly chart, but the negatives rule right now because of the bearish “island” reversal that has played out since mid-October. This price action is both dramatic and erratic — owing, presumably, to the wildly speculative uncertainties that Apple faces without Steve Jobs at the helm. The abcd pattern shown projects to 375.27, and although I’m not proffering that Hidden Pivot as a back-up-the-truck number for buyers, it is a spot where we should look to do some bottom-fishing if the opportunity should arise. _______ UPDATE: The tedium of this consolidation suggests that Apple shares may no longer be the worldbeaters they were under Steve Jobs. The trade advised above will remain valid nonetheless as long as 409.33 is not exceeded to the upside, but we should also allow for the possibility that three weeks of boredom will be resolved by an uptrend. In this case, the logical target would be 419.85, the midpoint resistance of a pattern that displays nicely on the 240-minute chart, where A=368.49 (10/7), and B=426.70 (10/17). _______ FURTHER UPDATE (November 17): Apple has plummeted this week, bringing it down to a low on Thursday at 375.50, just 23 cents from the target I flagged when the stock was trading above $400. I’m not going to suggest that you try to impede a new leg down with a bid today at my target, but I would encourage camouflageurs to try bottom-fishing with any bullishly impulsive abc they can find on the 5-minute chart. The Hidden Pivot is not a ‘p’ midpoint, by the way, but a ‘d’ target, and so any significant breach should be viewed as more than mildly bearish. _______ AND ONE MORE… (November 20, 1:44 a.m. EST): There were a few (very) minor opportunities, but if you looked for them, you should have noticed how buyers evidently were so enfeebled they couldn’t push this stock above a micro-speck of an external peak at 379.52 from Thursday that’s visible on the 5-minute chart. Stand aside for now. Next stop: 369.31, a Hidden Pivot, or 362.22 if any lower.
