The bigger and broader the sell-off, the longer it will be until you see new highs. But, it is exactly these broad sell-offs that create the kind of capitulation that creates a strong bear market rally<<<<
if you would have asked people that were trading the market long in winter 01-2 they would have told you there was the requisite captilation.
Capitulation is a moving target, a lot of people thought that there was buying capitulation back in 1997, but the market took another three years to top.
52 week highs, or lows like a plethora of other indicators has nothing to do with the trend,
nobody can call turning points with accuracy, not even the most ardent gurooos on SI, or ZEEV here.
the only thing that people can bank are trends.
the market boils down to, following trends, ignoring the news, ignoring your own inclinations, which will be wrong at the point where you will make the most money.
stop trying to gamble on turning points, thats where you give up most of your trading gains.