Once again the overall market powered higher and the Dow lagged behind. The most watched index rose 12 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still in a sideways channel. The jobs report came in better than expected. The NASDAQ was the clear leader once again. It closed at a new all time high along with the S&P 500. The S&P simply remains short term overbought with no overhead resistance. The bulls are clearly in charge. This could persist into option expiration next Friday which would make our idea of getting some SPY May puts wrong. We'll go over all the details this weekend and decide what action if any to take. Gold was up $22 on the futures. The US dollar was lower as were interest rates. The XAU was up 11 1/2, while GDX added 2 3/4. Volume was a bit below average. The short term indicators for GDX are back to moving higher with room to go. The short term down trend line remains in place here but another positive session will break through it. It looks like I've missed the GDX call trade here so it is probably a better idea to look elsewhere with only a week left in the May option cycle. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was slightly higher today which does not fit with an upside market. The short term indicators here are moving sideways in oversold territory. I am still not sure where this indicator is heading next. A lot of work to do over the weekend to try and come up with a game plan for next week. Plenty of economic numbers due out including a couple of inflation reports. Europe and Asia were lower to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

It looked like some profit taking ahead of tomorrows jobs report as the Dow fell 313 points on pretty heavy volume once again. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving sideways. The Dow led things lower and that isn't the most bearish scenario. Stocks did finish well off of the morning highs though. The NASDAQ posted a slight loss and the S&P 500 had a small one. Some of the short term indicators on the S&P have turned back lower but it remains in overbought territory. The short term up trend line for the S&P, which is pretty steep, remains intact. We are now looking at the SPY May puts. Gold was up $30 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher as were interest rates. The XAU was off around 2 1/4, while GDX shed about 1/3. Volume was above average. The gold shares finished well off of the highs for the session and closed near the lows. They also underperformed the precious metal itself. GDX was stopped at its short term down trend line and pulled back. Some of the short term indicators here are beginning to move sideways. It is possible that my idea here for the GDX calls is not going to work and that the bounce off of the longer term trend line is over. I'll reconsider things tonight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which does not fit with a down market. The short term technical indicators here have turned lower and remain in oversold territory. I do not have a good idea of where the VIX is heading next. The employment report should be the main focus tomorrow morning and we'll see how the market reacts to that. News on the Iran conflict continues to go back and forth. Looking for an entry point to try the SPY May puts. Europe closed down and Asia was higher with the exception of India. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Up, up and away as the bulls are on a stampede. The Dow gained 612 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to move higher. Once again the NASDAQ led the way, finishing up over 2%. There is no overhead resistance. The NASDAQ along with the S&P 500 closed at new records again and the Dow is trying to join them. The short term technical overbought condition for the S&P hasn't changed in a month. It has lasted much longer than I thought it would. It is on the brink of becoming parabolic and we all know how that ends. We'll enjoy the ride while it lasts. Gold climbed $134 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU soared 26 2/3, while GDX jumped 6 2/3. Volume was good to the upside. Another missed trade on the calls here but we will be looking to get some on any near term pullback. Mondays lack of decline in the gold shares when gold sank was a clue. GDX has held the longer term up trend line for now as that support proved to be valid. The short term indicators for GDX have now turned up with room to go. The open interest on the GDX 90 calls has shrank and now is not the deterrent that I thought it would be just a couple of days ago. We don't enjoy missing out on opportunities. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished flat after being lower early on. That certainly doesn't fit with a big positive day for stocks. The short term indicators here also simply tracked sideways. Not sure what's next for the VIX. Were todays huge gains a speculative blow off top with heavy volume? Not sure but we can't rule it out. But we also know that things can still run up into the option expiration next week. It appears that the Iran conflict has now taken a back seat. News from there does not have the same effect that it did earlier. I'll be watching the gold shares as that looks like it still could be my next trade. Asia and Europe were higher as money is pouring back into stocks around the globe. We will keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

Buyers returned as the Dow gained 356 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index continues sideways. Gains would have been even better but there was a late last ten minute slide. The NASDAQ is still leading the way up so that's a plus. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs again. The short term indicators for the S&P have turned back up as they remain in overbought territory. There still seems to be plenty of money to throw at stocks for now. Gold bounced back $32 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates slightly lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. GDX remains short term oversold and still hanging on to the longer term up trend line. I'm still looking at the GDX June calls as a potential next trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and some of the short term indicators here have turned back lower. Still on the oversold side of the ledger here. I'm not sure where the VIX is heading next. Waiting on the jobs report due Friday. Until then we'll probably just sit on our hands. No need to force anything until we get some type of valid technical signal. Europe was generally higher and what was open in Asia generally lower last night. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Some weakness to begin the week as the Dow led the way lower with a loss of 557 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is heading sideways. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small losses. The short term indicators for the S&P remain overbought but are trying to roll over. Earnings are still in the picture for this week but the main event will be the employment report due out on Friday. I'm not considering any SPY options trades at the moment. Gold got slammed and dropped $114 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 5 3/8, while GDX slid 1 1/2. Volume was light. Considering the drop in gold itself, the gold shares held up rather well. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold and staying there. I'm now looking out to the GDX June calls. Considering the above average open interest in the GDX May calls it doesn't look like GDX will get much above the 90 level by option expiration next week if it even gets that far at all. GDX is also in the process of testing the longer term up trend line in the 85 area. If it doesn't hold that will be another negative for the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits a down market. Some of the short term indicators here are now heading higher. Not sure what's coming next on the VIX. The market was fighting higher oil prices today and is still at the mercy of the next Iran conflict headline. It is also still short term overbought and that condition has gone on for too long already. Asia was higher and Europe lower to start the week. We'll see how things shape up tomorrow.

We started the day with a gap higher only to move sideways for the rest of the session. The Dow though ended in the red as it lost 152 points on good volume. The advance/declines were about even. The overall market fared much better with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closing at records. The NASDAQ led the way and that's a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 closed down from its best levels on the session and remains short term overbought. The daily candlestick chart here has a shooting star for today which would imply lower prices on Monday. We'll see. Gold was off five bucks on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost over 4 3/4 and GDX shed around 1 1/4. Volume was light. The short term indicators on GDX remain in the oversold zone. I am considering the GDX May calls but there is a short term down trend line still in place here. Not to mention the gold shares had a poor day when gold itself didn't do much and the overall market was higher. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished little changed and is still short term oversold. I'm not sure what's next for this indicator. We made it through the week with some of the major averages closing at new all time highs. There is no overhead resistance and the bulls are in charge. That said we are entering an unfavorable seasonal period in general for stocks. But we certainly don't know if that will hold true this time around or when any sustained selling would begin. I'll continue to focus on the short term trading ideas. We'll go over the charts in the next couple of days to try and figure something out for the May options cycle. Asia was mixed and much of Europe closed on holiday to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Back to the upside as buyers took over after some early volatility. The Dow roared ahead by 790 points on pretty heavy volume. It was the leader of the pack today. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. The inflation data came in where expected. Tech earnings were positive for the most part with the exception of META. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 continue to remain overbought. No overhead resistance for the S&P as we begin to wonder just how high things will go. Gold was up $68 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU gained 8 1/8, while GDX rose 2 points. Volume was a touch above average. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold. I did place an order for the GDX May calls last night but it wasn't filled. GDX opened with a big gap higher and then traded sideways for the rest of the day. I canceled my order as it did not have a chance of getting filled. We will now have to decide if this idea is still worth pursuing. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with the positive move in stocks. The short term indicators have turned back down and some are already short term oversold again. The daily candlestick chart here now looks like it is going to go lower. Perhaps stocks will simply stay elevated into the May option expiration but that's a guess. Not exactly sure what our next trade attempt will be. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher last night. We'll begin the month of May and close out the trading week tomorrow.