A bull market target at 26,705 that I offered here on Friday remains relevant, but here is another at 27,456 that could generate a very important top.  Assuming one, or both, are reached, I would expect a tradeable pullback from within a few points of either number. Of course, there is the possibility that the nine-year-old bull market ended with the 26,616 high recorded during the last week in January. If so, we should see the hard selloff that began on February 27 from 25,800 exceed its 22,822 target. This is the first time I’ve mentioned this number, but because of Friday’s price action, I would now rate it no worse than an even-odds bet to be achieved.

Yes, the broad averages did recover sharply on Friday due to ferocious short-covering ahead of the weekend. Rick’s Picks precisely anticipated this in a tout sent out last  Wednesday that said the Indoos, which had fallen more than 400 points that day,  would become a “screaming buy” if they plunged a further 400-plus points to exactly 24196. In actuality, the Dow on Friday trampolined 375 points after bottoming at 24217 — just 21 points from the ‘screaming-buy’ threshold.  Many subscribers, using various trading vehicles, reported using this guidance to get long at or near the intraday low.

Let me emphasize, however, that from a Hidden Pivot standpoint, the bounce occurred only after the initial sell-off had seriously damaged the look of the daily chart. Specifically, sellers drove the Indoos decisively beneath the 24,311 ‘midpoint support’ shown in this chart. If the Dow were to close for two consecutive days beneath it, I’d infer that more downside to 22,822 was very likely.