Major Bottom Formations have many things in common.
S&P 500 Daily Chart with 90% Downside days marked. I am going to attempt to keep track of these so we can better tell when a bottom forms after we get a higher volume 90% Upside day.
A major bottom is most likely forming but they take time unlike bottoms formed with in an uptrend. Note that what I am saying is that while we have yet to reach bear market status (20% drop on the S&P 500) I do believe it is coming.
When a bear market bottom forms a long term major market bottom it often does so after numerous 90% downside days. These downside days usually happen on high volume as investors capitulate in force because they are scared to hold stocks they fear will lose even more money for them. It's still not easy to find a long term major bottom as there had been too many 90% downside days and even a few 90% upside days before the actual bottom.
Here is the 2002 bottom which was retested in March of 2003. Note that in October 2002 we did have more Bears than Bulls in the Investors Intelligence Poll. Also note the higher volume on the up days at the October bottom and the retest in 2003.
Follow Investors Intelligence here every Wednesday its updated by about the middle of the day.
More on the importance of 90% downside and upside days in helping to determine a major market bottom:
Market Data 
Markets 
