Charts Predict: S&P 660 Today, Bottom 'Within Days'

The broader stock market needs an exhaustion of selling before buyers can take control, but that time is close, according to charts of the S&P 500 index, independent trader Bill McLaren said Friday.



We\'re probably within days of a bottom after breaking the lows of the 2002 bear market, McLaren told Squawk Box Europe.

The current style of trend needs capitulation and exhaustion to end and we needed real panic to shake out all the selling, he said.

A real sign of the bottom o the S&P [.SPX 752.44 --- UNCH (0) ] will be a big consistently down day or a day with a wide range in the index that closes on the lows, McLaren said.

(Watch the full interview with Bill McLaren above).

The important levels are 710 to 720 and 650 to 660, and the S&P could hit 660 in Friday\'s trading, he added.

If this market can exceed four trading days of rally the new would have completed an exhaustion, McLaren said.

For the Investor:

Pros Say: Oil Heading Toward $35 This Year
Options Action: Someone Likes Motorola (!)
China, Not So Risky After All?
Financials Stuck in Volatility Frenzy: Analyst
Three Defense Stocks for 2009

© 2008 CNBC.com