The Ecstatic Rally of the DAX About to be Checked

Nevertheless, the fact that the price action appears to be forming an Evening Star pattern at the all-time high reinforces the expectation for the emergence of a bearish correction in the near future. It has been only several days since the price of the DAX broke out above the psychologically significant resistance level at 15000.000, which further substantiates these expectations. The price action is thus likely to at least establish a minor pullback to the resistance (currently support) from above and test its new role.

An even stronger bearish correction could drive the price action to 14500.000, which is situated at the exact mid-point between two such psychologically significant levels. In addition to the fact that 14500.000's prominence has already been tested on two separate occasions, this support level is also currently converging with the Ichimoku cloud, which makes it an even more prominent support.

Finally, a case can be made for an even more significant bearish correction when the Elliott Wave Theory is added into the mix. As shown, the current uptrend is represented as a major 1-5 impulse wave pattern, which appears to be peaking at point 5. If the price action is indeed done establishing the final impulse leg (4-5) of the pattern, this will allow for the creation of a substantial bearish correction.

Typically, corrections of the type ABC follow the completion of 1-5 Elliott impulse patterns. If these expectations are realised, the price could fall as low as the 23.6 per cent Fibonacci retracement level at 13660.258 before the DAX finds the necessary support to begin developing a new rally. The prominence of the 23.6 per cent Fibonacci is derived from the fact that it served as a turning point for the two retracement legs (1-2) and (3-4).

2. Short-Term Outlook:

As can be seen on the 4H chart below, the forecasts for an immediate bearish reversal are further substantiated by the fact that the last impulse leg (4-5) of the broader Elliott pattern represents a minor 1-5 impulse wave pattern (in blue) of its own. The latter's evident completion anticipates a potential pullback to either the psychological support at 15000.000, as stated earlier, or the support at 14500.000.

Notice that today's price action is concentrated above the upper boundary of the regression channel, which supports the expectations of an immediate dropdown. The middle line of the channel is about to converge with the former support level, whereas its lower boundary will soon cross above the latter. Overall, the regression channel gives even more prominence to the two potential turning points.

It is also important to note that the second retracement leg (3-4) of the minor 1-5 impulse wave pattern (in blue) bottomed out near the middle line of the channel, which was coinciding with the 14500.000 at that time. This represents yet another reason why such a bearish correction is likely to be checked around 14500.00.

Finally, the 20-day MA (in red) is threading alongside the middle line of the channel, whereas the 50-day MA (in green) does so near the lower boundary of the channel. The two moving averages serve as floating supports, which underpins the final affirmation of the strength of the two turning points (at 15000.000 and 14500.000).

The hourly chart below represents the three primary target levels for a potential bearish correction (that is, unless the price action resumes climbing higher right away). Bears should keep in mind that the price action would have to break down below the 20-day MA (in red), as well as below the lower boundary of the ascending channel. At present, the latter is situated between the 20-day MA and the 15000.00 support. Moreover, the 50-day MA (in green) is climbing alongside the channel's lower limit.

The MACD indicator has registered a bearish crossover recently, which implies that the overall bearish momentum is likely to start increasing shortly.

3. Concluding Remarks:

Bears looking to implement contrarian trading strategies near the current market price are advised to use very narrow stop-loss orders just above the latest swing high. That is so because the use of such techniques in an established trend entails a very high degree of risk.

Nevertheless, there is a good chance that the DAX would indeed form a bearish correction to one of the aforementioned target levels soon, which can be used successfully. Bulls, in contrast, can implement trend-continuation strategies once the bearish correction bottoms out. In other words, bulls should be looking for a chance to go long after the correction appears to be completed at either of the three target levels.

The DAX Entrenched Between Two Psychological Levels

The German DAX index continues to be consolidating around the mid-point of two significant price levels - the support at 15000.000 and the semi-psychological resistance at 15500.000. This means that the price action could head in either direction, depending on who manages to come on top in the immediate future - bears or bulls.

The monetary policy meeting of the European Central Bank from last week did not bolster the index, as the Bank decided not to scale up its policy support. Meanwhile, German stocks are poised to be at least partly sidelined this week owing to the climaxing earnings season in the U.S. Both of these factors are more likely to cause at least a minor bearish correction on the price of the DAX very soon.

As can be seen on the hourly chart above, the index's price action appears to be developing a Descending Wedge pattern (as outlined by the two black arrows), which is typically taken to signify the likely continuation of an existing uptrend. However, before the price action breaks out above the Wedge's upper boundary, there is a very high probability of another throwback to the psychological support level at 15000.000.

The price is currently consolidating at a very significant make-it-or-break-it point. This can be ascertained by the fact that it is threading just above the presently converging 50-day MA (in green) and 100-day MA (in blue). The price action is also concentrated below the major resistance area in red, which spans between the 15300.000 support and the 15330.000 resistance. Finally, the resistance area and the two moving averages, which are evidently touching each other at present, are also being crossed by the Wedge's upper boundary.

When all of these factors are considered in relation to each other, it becomes apparent that a decisive breakout above the Wedge's upper boundary would clear the way for the DAX to climb to the previous all-time record peak at 15500.00 (a minor throwback to the resistance area from above could emerge beforehand). The higher dip of the last bearish pullback (compared to the dip of the preceding pullback) supports this bullish possibility.

Conversely, a decisive bearish breakdown below the two moving averages would allow for an even deeper correction to take place. The ultimate target for such a correction is encapsulated by the psychologically significant support level at 15000.000. However, two interim levels could terminate such a correction. Those are the minor support at 15150.000 (last dip) and the floating support at 15090.000 (underpinned by the 200-day MA).

Bears should look for an opportunity to sell only if the price breaks down below the two moving averages, whereas bulls can consider going long the DAX on the condition that the price breaks out above the resistance area. The latter can be used as a stop-loss marker for bulls and bears alike.