S&P 500 Hurst Cycle Analysis

Composite Model Line (CML) through December 2026.

 

August established the multi-year high for the current cycle. On August 13 (Thu), the market peaked at 7,816.7, marking the dual 18-month and 40-week crest for the move that began at 4,835 in April 2025. This peak reflected mixed cycle translation: the 18-month cycle peaked late (at 77% of its duration), whereas the 40-week cycle peaked early (at 48%). A lesser secondary crest for the 80-day and 20-week cycles followed on August 28 (Fri) at 7,771.

From these highs, the market is trending downward toward a major nested trough projected for January 9 (Sat) 2027, which aligns the 18-month, 40-week, and 20-week cycles. Downside targets range from 7,148 on a standard 20-week retracement to approximately 6,500 if the full 40-week amplitude unfolds.
 

How the clock is set.

 

 

Forward Projection & Confluence Calendar.  

 

Position-horizon CML: Weekly S&P 500 from the March 23 (Mon) 2020 9-year trough June 2030. 

 

September: Initial Decline

September represents the first leg of this broader decline rather than a continuation to new highs. A 20-day trough printed on September 10 (Thu) at 7,580. Provided this support holds, the only remaining minor crests are a 5-/10-/20-day cluster on September 14 (Mon), September 15 (Tue), and September 18 (Fri) near 7,710. Subsequent low projections follow in close order, beginning with the 5-day low on September 16 (Wed), followed by the 10-day low on September 21 (Mon), and concluding with the 40-day low on September 26 (Sat), which marks the midpoint of the active 80-day cycle.

October: Continued Downside

October continues the downward trajectory rather than initiating a late-stage rally. The 80-day cycle—whose crest is already locked in at 7,771—is due to trough on October 31 (Sat) (with an expected window spanning October 24–Nov 7), following a breakdown below its Future Line Demarcation (FLD) on September 9. Initial measured support stands at 7,562, followed by the 20-week FLD at 7,482.

 

Alternate Cycle Projection 

If the 7,482 (the July 31 close) support fails, an accelerated alternate resolution brings the 18-month low forward to October 5 (Mon) near 7,000, bypassing the January window entirely. There is no structural path to an October all-time high; the 8,469 projection went unfulfilled in August, and the 40-week cycle has already passed its crest.

Alternate composite, different nest: 18-month / short 40-week into Oct 5 (Mon) 2026, no
mid-October 40-week crest. Key dates: Next crest August 28 7,771.4 (40-day / 80-day / 20-
week already in), working 20-day bounce September 18 · ~7,710, then October 5 trough
~7,000. If October is a deep break instead of a moderate 80-day, this is the path.

With the 80-day uptrend breaking on September 9, this down-cycle represents an immediate risk tied to a one-third division of the major 54-month or 4½-year cycle that began in April 2025. Because that fractional cycle projection matures this fall rather than early next year, the market risks shifting into a deeper low target around October 5 (near 7,000) if the S&P closes under 7,482 before reclaiming 7,720. 

 

While January remains the principal nested low under the condition that 7,482 holds, breaching that support level invalidates the January timeline, favoring a sharper autumn selloff over extended rangebound consolidation into the new year. 

 

Dominant Cycles (in calendar days).
 

Current Cycle Positions.

 

Hurst Diamond Chart: Stacked diamonds at nested troughs from Jan 2025 through the Jan 9 2027 projection. Filled = observed; hollow = projected. Verticals mark 5+ degree synchronic lows. Apr 7 (Mon) 2025 is the in-sample 54-month / 18-month / 40-week origin. 9-year (2020), 18-year / 54-year (2003) and the 1949 54-year anchor sit off this window. 2009 is not an 18-year. 

 

See also:

Jeff Hirsch (September 2, 2026) - September Stock Market Performance in Midterm Election Years. 

Jeff Hirsch (December 29, 2025) - 2026 Midterm Election Year Seasonal Patterns of US Indices. 

David Hickson (September 1, 2026) - Hurst Cycles Update: SPX, NDX, ASX, Gold, Bitcoin.

Seth Golden (July 28, 2026) - Presidential Cycle Sweet Spot: Post-Midterm Election Gains. 

Sergey Tarassov (July 14, 2026) - Kitchin Cycle Signals S&P 500 Rise Into Late 2026. 

Larry Williams (December 24, 2024) - 2025 US Stock Market Outlook: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly. 

Branimir Vojcic (September 9, 2026) - DJIA vs Dominant Weekly Cycle Composite Through H1 2027. 

 

 S&P 500 spectrum composite forecast by Sergey Ivanov via Timing Solution (September 13, 2026). 

 

Claudio Fialdini applies the Delta Phenomenon's super-long-term 19-year (228-month) and long-term cycles to the S&P 500, proposing 14 alternating waves of tops and bottoms culminating in a major peak and deep crash. Anchored to the Metonic cycle, historical turning points include 1929, 1947, 1966, 1987, and 2007, with Wave 14 projecting a terminal peak in 2026. Waves 1–13 comprise the secular advance; Wave 14 marks the final crest before liquidation. The green baseline traces cycle support through the 2009 GFC (Wave 1), 2011 (Wave 3), 2015–16 (Wave 5), and 2020 COVID (Wave 7) lows, followed by a projected decline toward the multi-decade trendline.

Corn and Cotton: Long-Term Cycle Projections | Sergey Tarassov

Analysis of Corn and Cotton identifies a ~17.75-year cycle consistent with Edward R. Dewey's work, but also closely aligned with the 18.6-year Lunar Node cycle.

The pink-shaded chart background marks the out-of-sample projection of Corn through 2036.

 

Treated as an external and irregular cycle, projections built using the Lunar Node framework outperform standard spectral projections, highlighting the importance of adhering to method rules and analytical discipline.

The pink-shaded chart background marks the out-of-sample projection of Cotton through 2050.

In monthly Cotton prices, the commonly cited ~17.75-year cycle appears to be variable rather than fixed, evolving from roughly 17.4 years historically to about 19.3 years in recent data—closer to a 19–20 year Metonic-like rhythm. Modeling the cycle as dynamic and incorporating multiple overtones produces a more accurate representation of historical price movements than a simple fixed sine wave.

Reference:
Sergey Tarassov (July 12, 2026) - Corn Cycle Analysis: 17.75-Year Cycle and Lunar Node Influence.

Sergey Tarassov (June 17, 2026) - Variable Long-Term Cycle in Cotton Prices: Wavelet and Harmonic Analysis.

Bradley Cowan’s Lunar Cycle Projection Methodology Applied to the S&P 500

One of Bradley F. Cowan's methodologies for identifying cycles in financial markets and projecting future turning points employs synodic lunar periods (the time it takes the Moon to align with the Sun relative to the Earth). 

Major low in the S&P 500 (SPY/ES) on Monday, March 30 at 20:20 EDT (Hurst 20-week cycle low),

followed by one synodic lunar cycle projection (red arrow) extending to Wednesday, April 29 09:04. 

 

While the synodic lunar month averages 29.53058886 days (≈ 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 2.88 seconds), orbital eccentricity causes individual periods to vary from 29.26 to 29.80 days, a difference of up to 12 hours and 57 minutes. 

 

Synodic Lunar Periods for New York City in 2026 (EST/EDT). 

 

Cowan's technique anchors the start date and time of the synodic lunar cycle to a confirmed major market top or bottom, e.g. to the major low on Monday, March 30, 2026 at 20:20 EDT. Subsequent cycle projections are then generated at exact 360-degree intervals forward from that anchor to April 29 (Wed) 09:04, May 28 (Thu) 21:48, June 27 (Sat) 10:32, July 26 (Sun) 23:16, etc.

 

Anchored to the S&P's major low on Monday, March 30 at 20:20 EDT, the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 8th harmonics

of one synodic lunar cycle generate the blue summation or composite projection line to April 29 (Wed) 09:04.

 

Anchored to the S&P's major low on Monday, March 30 at 20:20 EDT, the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 8th harmonics of the

8.4-week cycle (2-lunar month or 59-day cycle) generate the blue composite projection line for April and May.

 

Anchored to the S&P's major low on Monday, March 30 at 20:20 EDT, the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 8th harmonics of the

 17-week cycle (= Intermediate Term Delta cycle = 4-lunar month or 118-day cycle = one third of the lunar year)

generate the blue composite projection line to July 26 (Sun) 23:16. The June 18 high should

be lower than the May 8 high, and the July 26 low should be lower than the March 30 low.

 

Bradley Cowan's synodic lunar cycle projections in stocks.

 

In his books "Four Dimensional Stock Market Structures and Cycles" (1993) and "Pentagonal Time Cycle Theory" (2009), Cowan further elaborates on this "anchored" lunar and planetary cycle projection methodology. However, unlike the highs and lows shown in the blue composite projection lines in the charts above, Cowan's methodology utilizes 45-degree synodic lunar cycle offsets (= 8th harmonic ≈ 3.6913 calendar days or 3 days, 16 hours, 35 minutes, and 28.3 seconds = April 03 (Fri) 12:55, April 07 (Tue) 05:31, April 10 (Fri) 22:06, etc.) to project potential turning points only rather than specific highs and lows, higher highs and higher lows, and lower highs and lower lows. 

 

Sidereal lunar cycle projections.

 

In 2021, a certain Mario of "4X Other Way" presented anchored projections of future turning points using the 27.321661-day sidereal lunar period (≈ 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes, and 11.5 seconds; the time it takes the Moon to orbit the Earth relative to the distant 'fixed' stellar background; to fixed stars such as Aldebaran, Altair, Deneb, Rigel, or Sirius). Now, should the lunar cycle be synodic or sidereal? Both cannot be simultaneously correct or exact—at best, only one of them works.

 

Reference:
Stock Market Geometry (2022) - Bradley Cowan's Lunar Cycle in Stocks. (video)

» Usually there will be an eclipse near the same degree of the zodiac once every 19 years [...] In this cycle the Sun makes a complete circuit of the sky and reaches the same Node at the same place on the ecliptic. This length of time is 6,585.32 solar days, which is 48 years and 11.33 days. The shortest time required for the Sun to travel from and return to the same node is 346.6 solar days, an interval known as an Eclipse Year. [...]  Nineteen of the eclipse years contain 6,585.4 days, which is precisely 223 synodic months. This is when the Nodes themselves become important in the predictions on the stock market. «

The Sun and the Moon, Jack Gillen, 1979.

Tom McClellan observes that the 2026 price structure closely mirrors 2025, with the tightest alignment achieved by shifting the data 343 days to synchronize even minor fluctuations. This offset approximates the above mentioned Eclipse Year (346.62 days)—the interval required for the Sun to return to the same lunar node (the intersection of the Moon's orbit with the ecliptic). Because this draconic cycle is shorter than the solar year, it governs eclipse seasons, which recur about every 173 days and drift earlier each calendar year. The cycle is driven by the westward precession of the Moon’s orbital nodes, completing a full rotation roughly every 18.6 years and thereby defining the 346.62-day periodicity. However, intermediate- and longer-term analogs are generally unstable and break down at some point. If Tom McClellan’s "Stock Market Matching the Year Ago" analog continues to hold, it implies a sustained bullish trend into the summer of 2026. This conflicts not only with intermediate-term cycles but with typical seasonal weakness from May to October—especially in a presidential cycle’s second year. 

See also:

Jack Gillen (2002) - Moon-Stats (2026 to 2034). 

Louise McWhirter (1938) - S&P 500 Short-Term Forecasting Methodology. 

TPR (2015) - The S&P 500 versus the Moon and Planets Transiting 14° Cancer. 

TPR (2012) - The Delta Phenomenon.

S&P 500 Index vs Astronomical Momentum Forecast Model | March 2018

This Astronomical Momentum Forecast Model (AMFM) was inspired by the work of L.H. Weston, W.D. Gann and Chris Carolan. More than 120 years of US-stock market and detrended momentum data derived from a Williams %R oscillator were used, assuming this would reflect the overall sentiment and mass mood during the period. One fundamental concept of mundane astrology considers sentiment and mass mood to be conditioned and modulated by a complex set of nested, overlapping and repeating astronomical cycles, most important solunar cycles. These cycles are ranging from several decades to days and even minutes (Callipic Cycle, Metonic Cycle, Mythraic Cycle, Solar Cycles, Lunar Cycles, Planetary Hours, Muhūrta, etc.). They can be calculated into the past and future and hence be put into practical use. Considering the general nature, pros and cons of market momentum indicators, the AMFM is able to project market sentiment several decades into the future (see also HERE). Of course work on this model is experimental, not perfect and in progress. However, the current model presented here indicated a momentum peak in October 2017, a negative divergence at the January 27 major high, and suggests a decline from there into a major low around mid-March, followed by a rally into early May, a retest of the March-low by mid-June, another rally into early October, and a decline into end of December.

The Golden Fabric of Time and Phi in the Sky │ Nicholas Kollerstrom

Source: Nicholas Kollerstrom (2011) - The Golden Fabric of Time and 'Phi in the Sky'.
In: Correlation 27 (2), July 2011.

SPX vs 4.5 Degree Steps of Lunar Node to Lunar Apogee | 80th Harmonic

Upcoming aspects in this 18 Year Cycle:
Feb 04 (Sat) = 85.5 degrees, Mar 14 (Tue) =  90 degrees, Apr 13 (Thu), May 07 (Sun), May 26 (Fri),
Jun 19 (Mon), Jul 16 (Sun), Aug 22 (Tue), Sep 25 (Mon), Oct 21 (Sat), Nov 12 (Sun), Dec 02 (Sat),
Dec 26 (Tue), 2018 Jan 29 (Mon) = 144 degrees. See also HERE

SPX vs 15 Degree Steps of Lunar Node to Lunar Apogee | 24th Harmonic

Upcoming aspects in this 18 Year Cycle:
Jan 12 (Thu) = 165 degrees, Mar 14 (Tue) = 180 degrees, Apr 28 (Fri), Jun 04 (Sun), Jul 16 (Sun),
Sep 17 (Sun), Oct 28 (Sat), Dec 02 (Sat), Jan 15, 2018 (Mon).

David McMinn (2016): 9/56 Year Cycle: Lunar North Node - Apogee Angles [5 p.]