As Dow soars 200 points, top technician Ralph Acampora lays out the next key levels

What trade war? The Dow rocketed back to positive territory for the year in a triple-digit rally Thursday.

Godfather of the charts Ralph Acampora now sees the blue-chip index headed back to records.

The neared its resistance level of 2,800 on Thursday, and Acampora now expects the Dow to reach above its own.

“A comparable level on the Dow would be around 25,400. We’re about 500 points away from doing that,” Acampora, director of technical research at Altaira Capital Partners, told CNBC’s “Futures Now” on Thursday.

The Dow needs to rally another 2 percent from current levels to reach resistance at 25,400, a level it only briefly touched on June 11. It has not closed above 25,400 since February. The S&P 500 got as high as 2,798 on Thursday, but did not break above resistance at 2,800. It has not reached above it since mid-March.

If the S&P 500 and the Dow can break through resistance, it’s a quick move up to levels not seen since January, says Acampora.

“I think it’s a pretty good opportunity we break through them,” said Acampora. "If we do then I think the S&P challenges its high, which is not that far away, and the Dow’s all-time high is around 26,600, and I think it’s very, very doable."

The S&P 500 is a nearly 3 percent rally from its record high set on Jan. 26. The Dow is still a 7 percent rally, or around 1,700 points, from its own highs set on the same day.

It’s been a summer of big swings and “hair-raising” volatility for the major indexes, says Acampora. Even so, he’s optimistic that the markets head higher to end the year.

“There are days you’re in the fetal position under your desk, and I more than understand if people get very, very nervous, rightly so,” he said. But, “I have to say I’m impressed with the market’s ability to hang in, and that alone suggests to me that with any luck I think we break these levels that I just referred to and we go for new highs.”

Over the past three months, the Dow has seen 35 days with a triple-digit gain or decline. The S&P 500 has gained or declined by more than 1 percent in 8 trading sessions since early April.