We were hoping to get some clarity on the near term direction today but we only got more of the same drift higher. The Dow gained 104 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still moving up. After a brief decent rally in the early going, the market simply went lower to sideways for the rest of the session. The NASDAQ was the leader but the gains were small. The S&P 500 continues to be short term overbought. It is getting closer to new all time highs but not there yet. Gold slipped $13 today on the futures. The US dollar finished unchanged and interest rates were higher. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. The short term indicators for GDX are moving sideways. Still in a position where they could go either way. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX continued lower and that bodes well for stocks. Short term oversold and staying that way. That said it isn't a condition that will last forever. Next week is all about the Fed, with another rate cut expected. I'm not exactly sure about that. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend. At this point I am inclined to try the SPY December puts ahead of the Fed for our next trade. This would be a short term idea with only two weeks left in the December option cycle. However I'll be looking at things for the next couple of days to decide if this trade is worth the risk. Asia was higher with the exception of Japan and Europe ended mixed. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

It was really just a day of hanging around as the Dow slid 32 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index continues higher. It was a sideways affair for the major stock indices with the NASDAQ having the best of the slight gains that we saw besides the Russell 2000. The S&P had a small gain and remains short term overbought. Inflation data tomorrow and the market movement will tell us a lot. If we rally then all signs are go for new all time highs in the coming days. If we fall then that scenario would be put into question. I did not purchase any options ahead of the inflation data though I was leaning towards the SPY December puts. I could make a case for trying them but decided to wait until perhaps early next week. Or maybe I'll give them a try tomorrow. Gold rose $6 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and so were interest rates. The XAU was up 1 1/4, while GDX added 1/3 but volume was very light. The short term indicators for GDX are stalling and appear to be able to go either way from here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today and remains short term oversold. If the VIX continues down tomorrow we'll have about all we need to be confident about new all time highs coming for the S&P 500. Hasn't happened yet. The point is tomorrow will be key. Asia and Europe were generally higher overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Continuing higher as the Dow gained 408 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving higher. The Dow was by far the leader today. The S&P 500 posted another gain but things are not moving at a robust pace. It closed at the top of the sideways channel that it has been stuck in for a week. The S&P did get above 6850 today but fell back in the final hour. Remaining short term overbought here. I'll have to decide tomorrow whether or not to try the SPY December puts ahead of the inflation data due on Friday. I may just stay on the sidelines as I still believe that we are heading to new all time highs for the S&P. Gold was up $17 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was off 1 1/8 and GDX dipped 1/2. Volume was light. Some of the short term indicators for GDX are beginning to move sideways. Still on the sidelines with respect to any trade in the GDX options for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with an up market. Still short term oversold and remaining that way here which is the normal course of action during rallies. The VIX is hanging around its previous low readings form the end of November. A break below them will continue the rally in stocks. I'll have to look things over tonight and decide what to do from there. Europe and Asia remained mixed in last nights trade. I'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

Back to the upside as the Dow gained 185 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ led the way and that is a plus for the bulls. We've been going sideways for a few days now at roughly between 6800 and 6850 on the S&P 500. Whichever way it breaks will give us the near term trend. The S&P remains short term overbought. Gold was off $32 on the futures. The US dollar finished little changed again along with interest rates. The XAU lost 5 3/8, while GDX dropped 1 1/3. Volume was a bit above average. GDX is still short term overbought but the indicators have rolled over. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term oversold. If we can keep the VIX moving sideways before Friday we might try the SPY December puts. However at the moment we are lacking any definitive, clear technical signal when it comes to the SPY index. Trying to remain patient for now. Asia and Europe were mixed overnight. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

We had some selling to begin the month of December as the Dow fell 427 points on good volume. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is still moving up. The Dow led the way lower and that isn't the most negative scenario. I'm still in the camp that we are heading to new all time highs soon but could change my mind. The S&P 500 was lower and some of its short term indicators are still overbought. I will have to see how the rest of the week shapes up before attempting the next trade in the SPY options. Gold was up $16 on the futures. The US dollar finished little changed and interest rates were higher. The XAU ended the day flat and GDX shed 3/8. Volume was average. GDX remains short term overobught and is on the cusp of hitting a new 52 week high. Still no gold share trades that stand out for me right now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up a bit today which fits a down market. It remains short term oversold. If the VIX hangs around where it is now for the rest of the week, then I might consider trying the SPY December puts ahead of Fridays inflation numbers. However I do not think that is the most likely scenario. We will try and let the market tell us where it is going. Asia was mixed and Europe lower to begin the week. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

A short and quiet trading day as the Dow gained 289 points on very light volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. It was a great week to be long the market. The S&P 500 has made it above its short term down trend line albeit on light volume. The short term indicators are not yet completely overbought. We are getting a sell signal from one of our indicators but my thinking is that we're heading for new all time highs. I'll consider things over the weekend. Gold was up $44 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates a bit higher. The XAU was up 7 3/4, while GDX added 1 3/8. Volume was light. GDX is short term overbought on some of its indicators. It looks poised to hit a new 52 week high. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower and closed below 16.5. It is now short term oversold but can stay that way during rallies like the one we are currently in. We'll look over the charts this weekend but it appears that we are in rally mode until further notice. Asia was mixed and Europe a bit higher to close out the week overseas. It's a half day Friday during a long holiday weekend and time for a break.

Keep on keeping on as the rally continued today. The Dow gained 314 points on average volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The holiday week positive bias is in full swing. The S&P 500 made it up to its short term down trend line which is where it lies now. What happens here will be key but I've got to say that it looks like we are simply moving on to new all time highs in the coming days. The short term indicators for the S&P are moving up and are not yet overbought. The only thing that would change our minds would be a reversal from here. Gold was up $18 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU zoomed up 15 points, while GDX climbed 3 3/4. Volume was good as GDX broke above its short term down trend line. GDX is getting to short term overbought but not completely there yet. The gold shares are far outperforming gold itself here and that is bullish for them. It looks like the gold shares had their correction and are now ready to hit new all time highs. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower and closed below its short term up trend line. It also made it through its 50 day moving average. Some of its indicators are oversold but not all. The longer term up trend line on the VIX lies at 16.5. If it gets below that level this rally in stocks will last longer than you think. If it doesn't then there may be a chance to try the SPY December puts at some point. Thanksgiving in the US tomorrow followed by a half day on Friday with some closures. So most of the major players here are gone until next week. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. Enjoy the holiday.