Oil services stocks experienced a bear market cycle in 2024, noting the VanEck Oil Services ETF (OIH) lost roughly 12%, which stands in contrast to a gain of 23% for the S & P 500 . The weakness in OIH was primarily driven by a 26% decline in SLB (SLB) , which is the largest stock in the oil services industry group, with a weighting of approximately 20% in the ETF. SLB has been in the grips of a cyclical downtrend since late 2023, such that it is now back into support from the monthly cloud (denoted by the shaded area on the chart), which was surmounted in 2022 following a bullish secular shift. There are signs of downside exhaustion per the DeMARK Indicators that enhance long-term oversold conditions in the monthly stochastics, supporting stabilization and a reversal of the cyclical downtrend in 2025. Zooming in on SLB’s weekly chart, you will see there are also counter-trend signals in place from both the TD Combo and TD Sequential models (denoted by the ’13s’) that have bullish intermediate-term implications. The downtrend has lost steam according to the weekly MACD, which reflects notable improvement in momentum and adds conviction to the newest counter-trend signal. An initial upside objective for SLB is resistance from the 200-day (~40-week) moving average, near $43.70. The 200-day has been an important level, repelling multiple relief rallies over the past year, including last month. If SLB can clear the 200-day, it would affirm a bullish shift in the stock’s primary trend. We think this is probable, and should a breakout occur, it would support a greater upmove toward resistance from the weekly cloud model. The cloud is currently near $48.00 but declining over time. SLB and most oil services stocks maintain a positive correlation to the price of WTI crude oil. With this in mind, they would stand to benefit from a breakout in WTI crude oil, which is wound up in a neutral long-term triangle formation that would be resolved higher above $76/bbl. (Our views on crude oil can be followed here .) Counter-trend positions hold risk, in general, so we would have a stop-loss level in mind for a position in SLB. There is support from the December low, near $36.50, but that level might be uncomfortably far away for some. A tighter level to manage risk could be support from the daily cloud model (not shown), near $39.20. —Katie Stockton with Will Tamplin Access research from Fairlead Strategies for free here . DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. 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