Some end of the month selling to begin the week as the Dow fell 266 points on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. The NASDAQ again was the outperformer, so there's probably no need to worry about an extended decline just yet. But we are seeing a pretty reliable sell signal being flashed on one of the technical indicators that we watch. Timing is the key and we don't have that down yet. Plenty of economic data due out this week with the jobs report on Friday as the last bit of information. We've also got the Fed speking tomorrow and Wednesday. So there will be plenty of opportunity for movement. GE was off over 1/8 on good volume. It came up off of its lows. Gold fell over $5 and the US dollar was a bit higher. The XAU was up a point and GDX rose 3/8. Volume was average for lately. Once again the gold shares are doing better than the price of gold and that's a positive for the bulls. But I'm still going to wait and see if gold can get to $1750 before I venture into another trade with the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today even with a decline in stocks. That has led to weakness lately. Still short term oversold for the VIX and it's been that way for weeks. Won't last forever. I am looking at the SPY December puts but not in a hurry to buy any at this time. A lot of sentiment indicators are overly bullish but using them for the timing of a trade isn't always the best idea. I'm trying to wait for an actual short term technical sell signal. May or may not happen this week. We should see some beginning of the month money flows tomorrow. I will say that I've seen some pretty good first half of the month December declines in the past. Whether or not this year is like that remains to be seen. Europe and Asia were both lower overnight as taking some end of the month profits seemed to be a global affair. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

A slight gain in a holiday shortened session as the Dow rose 38 points on very light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ was the outperformer today. GE was of 1/8 on very light volume. Gold dropped around twenty bucks on the futures and broke the $1800 support level. The US dollar was slightly lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on very light volume. Once again the gold shares held up better than the price of gold. However with a very thinly traded holiday market I don't think that you can read too much into that. There is an uptrend line for gold that has been in effect for quite a while that comes in at $1750. If we get there I'll try the gold share calls again. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains oversold. Europe and Asia were generally higher to close out the week. We'll enjoy the rest of this long holiday weekend and get back at it on Monday.

A pause in the rally today as the Dow fell 173 points on still heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues higher. The overall market was stronger than the Dow, with the NASDAQ sporting a gain. The economic data out today was mixed. Some stronger and some weaker than expected. The short term technical picture for the S&P 500 remains overbought. The market will be off tomorrow and then a half day on Friday. So this week is pretty much done. GE was up a nickel and the volume was good. Gold was flat on the session after being higher early on. The US dollar was lower. The XAU was up 2 1/8, while GDX gained almost 2/3. Volume was light. The gold shares had better relative strength than the price of gold and we haven't seen that in a while. It is however too early to tell if the decline here is over. GDX does remain oversold on both a short and medium term basis. It is trying to hang on to its 50 week moving average on the weekly charts. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower despite the drop in price today. That's a divergence that we haven't seen in a while. Still short term oversold on the VIX. My thinking right now is that the rally will continue and the market will remain overbought. If and when I do see a short term sell signal, I might try the SPY December puts. But the trend now is decidedly up and I do not want to go against that at the moment. There is also no overhead resistance for stocks as we are hitting new all time highs on many of the stock indices. Trying to remain patient for now. Europe and Asia were mixed in the overnight trade. A Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there. Enjoy the time off.

The Dow had its first close above the 30000 milestone today as it gained 454 points on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 positve for the second day in a row. The summation index is moving higher. Only buyers to be found as the market has no overhead resistance. The election has finally been sorted out and the vaccine news has been nothing but positive. Short term overbought for the major stock indexes and staying that way. That is the hallmark of a rally. My idea for the SPY December puts is on the back burner for now. There appears to be nothing in the way of higher prices going forward. There is a sell signal out there from one of the reliable indicators but the timing is in question. For now I'll have to wait. I thought this week would be quiet and it certainly isn't that. My ideas have been off lately. GE was up another 1/3 on very heavy volume. Overextended here to be sure. Gold continued to drop as the futures lost another thirty bucks. The US dollar was lower as well. The XAU fell 1 3/4, while GDX lost 7/8. Volume was good. Gold and the gold shares are in free fall but the gold shares held up better relatively today. Oversold and staying that way both short and medium term for the gold shares. I did not anticipate that. Staying on the sidelines here for now. Sometimes you have to simply step aside and let things play out. That seems to be the case right now regarding GDX. Unless you own the puts there and then you are looking good. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower and remains oversold. We're in the third week of being oversold on the VIX and this won't last forever. It has already been longer than usual. Small caps, the TRAN and the most of the major indices are leading the way here. The NASDAQ has been the laggard but that could change soon. Money is pouring into stocks at the moment so we'll have to see how far the momentum run goes. It's usually farther than you think it can go. Only a couple of trading days left this week and one of them is cut short. I'll wait things out for now. Europe and Asia were higher as stocks are being purchased around the globe. We'll look for higher prices again tomorrow.

The Dow gained 330 points to start the holiday shortened week. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 positive and the volume was heavy. The summation index is moving higher. The Dow was the best relative performer on the day regarding the major averages. I was expecting the week to be rather slow so we'll see where things go from here. Still short term overbought for most of the stock indices. No news out to speak of today. We'll get some data due on Wednesday. The ongoing backdrop of the pandemic virus remains the same. GE was up 1/3 on good volume. Still very overbought here. Gold got slammed as the futures dropped over $35. Gold has now broken throught the last support at $1850. The US dollar was slightly higher. The XAU fell 4 2/3, while GDX lost over 1 1/2. Volume was above average. GDX is oversold and staying that way. I did not see that coming. My stop limit loss order to sell my GDX January calls was knifed through without the order being filled. That happens when you get a quick drop like we had this morning. As much as I'd like to stay with this trade, I simply dumped the calls at the market which is really what you're supposed to do in these kind of instances. The loss was a little over 50% and I can live with that. My idea about the desending rectangle on the daily GDX was wrong as was my expectation of some upside from the short term oversold technical readings. Now that gold has broken the $1850 level, it's anyones guess where the next support will be. $1800 seems logical but will it hold? I'll probably try the GDX calls again at some point but not right away as my take on things here is off. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits an up market. Oversold and staying that way here and that is supportive of the current rally. I'll be waiting for a sell signal in the S&P 500, hopefully in the next week of so. If that happens I'll be trying the SPY December puts. My thought right now is to let this week pass and go from there. Another losing trade like today doesn't help with the confidence factor. So patience will be required for now. Asia and Europe were mixed. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Option expiration week finished on a down note as the Dow fell 219 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still moving up. It was a down week for most of the major stock indices after a strong beginning. On the plus side the NASDAQ continues to be a better relative performer. The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 have now rolled over. I am looking for weakness in the stock market going forward. I'm also looking at the chance to purchase some SPY December puts if we see a near term light volume rally. That could be the case with a holiday week on tap. We'll see. GE was up a dime on lighter volume. Remaining short term overbought here. Gold rose $7 on the futures. The US dollar finished little change once again. The XAU was up 1 1/3, while GDX added 1 /3. Volume was average for what it's been lately. The gold shares remain short term oversold. GDX is trying to hold its 200 day moving average. My GDX January calls are still losers. I'm still thinking that this trade will get stopped out before it shows any kind of profit. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was a bit higher today and looks like it wants to form a bottom here. That would fit with lower stock prices going forward. It remains short term oversold. Nothing new in the fundamental background. The pandemic virus remains and Congress still can't agree on more stimulus money to hand out. Thanksgiving week coming up and I think that it will be a snoozer. Holding the GDX calls and looking to possibly purchase some SPY puts. That's the game plan for now. Plenty to check out over the weekend. Asia was mixed and Europe a bit higher to finish out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

It was a one day reversal to the upside as the Dow opened lower and closed higher. The most watched index gained 44 points on good volume. The advance/declines were psoitive. The summation index is moving up. After the early morning lows the market spent the day fighting its way back. The short term technical picture for the S&P 500 remains overbought. The NASDAQ was again the better relative performer and that's a plus for the bulls. We'll see how the week finishes tomorrow. GE was off a ferw cents on lighter volume. Gold continues to fall, the futures dropped again today. The US dollar finished little changed again. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on what passes for average volume these days. My GDX January calls remain losers and at this rate will be stopped out soon. GDX has made it all the way back to its 200 day moving average. Oversold on both the short and medium term for GDX. If GDX doesn't bounce here it would be in real trouble. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with a positive market. Still short term oversold for the VIX. One of the indicators that I watch that doesn't normally give off a signal is flashing a sell. Over the past three years it has generated four sell signals with three of them preceding decent declines. It sometimes has a lag before the selling begins in earnest. Note that it's worked 75% of time in the past few years, so it is something to be aware of. I'm now considering the SPY December puts if we get a short term sell signal. Perhaps if we get a light volume holiday week rally, that would be the set up. We'll see. Europe and Asia followed yesterdays US market lower. We'll see how option expiration goes tomorrow.

We saw some more selling today as the Dow fell 344 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues to move up. The market just started to fall apart in the final forty minutes today. I certainly don't know why. Could be option expiration related but that's just a guess. The volume has been very heavy lately but I think that relates to getting business done before next holiday week. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. There's plenty of room to head lower on the indicators from here. Perhaps my current positive outlook isn't warranted. GE added a nickel on heavy volume but came off of the highs for the day. Gold fell over ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar finished little changed. The XAU dropped 4 1/2, while GDX lost 1 1/8. Volume picked up a touch to the downside. My open order for the GDX January calls was filled and is showing a small loss. This trade will at least be managed better as the stop loss order is already in place. As I've already said, the gold shares are both short and medium term oversold. Unless we are about to see some sort of collapse, these issues should turn back up and sooner rather than later. I don't know if I will hold this trade until January as I think that perhaps any chance to get out with a profit may be taken. We'll just have to see how things play out as it goes along, like any other trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX moved back up today, which goes along with a down market. Still oversold here on a short term basis. The NASDAQ again fared a little better than the major averages. I am puzzled by the market action so far this week as I expected the usual expiration week positive bias to take effect. We'll have to see how the rest of the week trades. I'm still a believer that next week will be slow. Perhaps it would have been better to wait until after Thanksgiving to attempt the next trade. However it's too late for that now. Asia was mixed and Europe generally positive in last nights trade. We'll keep an eye on what happens in tonights market action.

The rally took a breather today as the Dow lost 167 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues higher. No real news to speak of today just time to take some profits. The short term technical picture remains the same with the S&P 500 along with the other major stock indices remaining overbought. I still expect more buying ahead of option expiration and the upcoming holiday week. Transactions will be completed this week and then I expect the market to go to sleep for a week during Thanksgiving. I could be wrong but probably not this time. GE was up about a dime on average volume. This issue needs a rest as well. Gold was off around six bucks on the futures as the US dollar was a bit lower as well. The XAU lost 2 1/8, while GDX shed around 3/4. Volume remains light for the gold shares. My open order for the GDX January calls remains out there. Another day like today would get it filled. GDX is lagging the actual price of gold here and that is not a positive. Perhaps my idea for the calls here is wrong. I'm sticking with it though because we are oversold on both a short and medium term basis. If you don't try the calls here, when would you? If the gold shares were in a protracted down trend, they could remain oversold for a while. But to me the pattern is a declining rectangle that is a consolidation of the previous up trend. Price should break to the upside when the consolidation is complete. That's my best guess at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today and that fits with the small decline. Very oversold on the daily VIX chart. Perhaps there's a decline that I don't see coming. The NASDAQ showed better relative strength today and that's a short term plus. The background environment remains the same with a lame duck president along with the ongoing pandemic. Asia was generally higher and Europe mixed overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

The week starts off to the upside as the Dow climbed 470 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 5 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The Dow is fifty points away from the 30000 milstone. The S&P 500 closed at a new all time high. There is no overhead resistance. I would expect a continued run up into expiration Friday. Short term overbought for the major averages and staying that way. The only fly in the ointment is the lagging performance of the NASDAQ but I don't thank that will stop the party anytime soon. More positive news this morning about another vaccine for the pandemic virus. Of course things won't simply turn around overnight but at least there's the hope of some progress as we move forward. GE was up 1/3 on good volume. Gold bounced around and finished little changed. The US dollar was slightly lower. The XAU was flat, with GDX off 1/4. Volume was very light once again. Not much interest in the gold shares. I am leaving my open order for the GDX January calls out there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits an up market. Remaining short term oversold here which also fits in with a market rally. The TRAN and the Russell 2000 continue to move higher as well. Simply put, we're in rally mode and we'll have to see how far it can go. Sometimes it's a lot farther than you think it can go. Seasonality favors higher prices here along with option expiration week. We'll enjoy the ride for now. Europe and Asia continued up as money around the world is heading into stocks. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Back to the upside today as the Dow gained 399 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 5 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving higher. The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 have turned back up and remain overbought. In rallies these indicators simply remain overbought as the index moves higher. That is what I expect to happen during expiration week coming up. The market should rally into next Friday and then slow down for the following Thanksgiving holiday week. That's my prognosis at the moment. GE was up 1/2 on good volume. Remaining short term overbought here too. Gold gained ten bucks on the futures as the US dollar was slightly lower. The XAU rose 1 1/3, while GDX added 1/2. Volume was pretty light. Gold itself had a pretty good drop this week but I'm a believer in higher prices for the medium term. I'm leaving my open order for some GDX January calls out there. I'll revisit this idea over the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term oversold. I'd venture to guess that just as the S&P will remain short term overbought, the VIX will remain short term oversold as we move higher next week. We'll wait and see if that actually happens. Retail sales and some housing data are due out next week. The blow off top that we saw for the market on Monday was not an end to the rally. It appears that it was simply a sign that a pause in the rally was at hand. The fact that we did not see a sustained decline afterwards validates that theory in my mind. We'll simply have to see how prices develop next week. The pandemic virus remains but the market is now looking past it with the hopes of a vaccine now in the forefront. How this all plays out remains to be seen. I'll be checking the charts this weekend and who knows? Maybe I'll come up with a short term trade for next week. Asia was lower and Europe generally higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Some selling today as the Dow dropped 317 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is still moving up. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P are starting to roll over but I do not expect a big decline here. The NASDAQ was the best relative performer today and that's a plus. Nothing new on the news front with the pandemic virus the main concern. The economic data out today and for the week hasn't really been a market mover. As long as the summation index keeps moving up the path of least resistance is higher. GE was off 1/8 on average volume. Gold was up over ten bucks and the US dollar finished little changed. The XAU added 1 3/8, while GDX rose 1/3. Volume was light. I dumped my GDX November calls for a 95% loss. The entry was terrible on this trade but it still had a chance at a profit at one point. However when gold dropped $100 in a day, this trade was doomed. I really just should have sold out on that day and taken a smaller loss but it still would have been substantial. Just as when the overnight news has the SPY gaining or losing 100 points, the same thing can and does happen with gold. But that is an exception and not the rule. I did place an open order for some GDX January calls and I'm leaving it out there for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today but did finish off of its best levels. The VIX short term indicators remain oversold despite todays loss. With six days to go in the November option cycle, I don't have any SPY trades in mind. Volatility has kept the option premiums high for now. Time decay will speed up here soon as well. I'll be watching and waiting for now. Taking the GDX call loss today doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Europe and Asia were lower overnight. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

More mixed messages as the Dow was off by 23 points on good volume. The advance/declines were about even. The summation index continues higher. The overall market was much stronger than the Dow with the S&P 500 along with the NASDAQ posting good gains. Lately it seems as though these major indexes are taking turns in leading the way higher. It's been suggested this is just stock rotation and that is possible. A more positive sign would be if all three could advance past the highs of Monday. We'll watch and wait at this point but I do think eventually it will happen. The bond market was closed for Veterans day. GE was off almost a dime on lighter volume. GE is way above its 50 day moving average and I'd expect it to head back towards that region. Gold fell around $15 on the futures as the US dollar was higher. The XAU lost 1 1/2, while GDX shed 3/8. Volume was light. I placed a limit order to sell my GDX November calls but it wasn't filled. I'll be out of this losing trade by the end of the week. Looks to be a toal wipeout with a 95% loss. That's what can happen when you're long the gold shares and gold drops $100 in a day. I'm now looking out to the GDX January calls. GDX is both short and medium term oversold at this point. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continues to drop and remain oversold. That is usually the case for stock rallies. It is implying higher prices now going forward. Of course my reading of the VIX chart hasn't been all that consistantly accurate over the past few weeks so we'll have to keep that in mind. The overall backdrop remains the same with the election over and the pandemic virus remaining. At this point I'm expecting higher prices going into option expiration next week. We'll see. Europe and Asia continue to climb. Keeping an eye on tonights developments.

A mixed bag today as the Dow was higher but the S&P 500 along with the NASDAQ finished in the red. The Dow gained 262 points on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is heading higher. The S&P remains short term overbought. The short term technical indicators for the NASDAQ have rolled over. The overall market spent much of the day trading lower in a sideways range. The exception was the Dow. GE was up 1/4 and the volume was heavy. Gold had a decent bounce as the futures were up around $20. The US dollar finished little changed. The bounce in gold did not help the gold shares. The XAU fell 4 1/2, while GDX shed 1 1/3. Volume was average. Probably should have sold my GDX November calls today as a rise in gold without a rise in the gold stocks is bearish. This trade is a solid loser. I might try this idea again though when we get completely oversold. Not there yet. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term oversold. Yesterdays VIX action implied lower prices in the near term. Both the NASDAQ and S&P were lower today. I would expect to see some more near term weakness though. I could be wrong. Still eight days left in the November option cycle. So there is plenty of time for another trade before expiration out there somewhere. Europe and Asia continued higher overnight. We'll keep an eye on the ongoing developments.

It was a volatile start to a new trading week as a successful vaccine for the pandemic virus was announced. The Dow gained 834 points on explosive very heavy volume. The advance/declines were over 3 to 1 positive. The Dow opened with a gap higher and was up over 1500 at one point. The big 3 major indices all hit new all time highs early in the session. But things may have gottten a bit ahead of themselves as the NASDAQ finished in the red. Bonds got whacked and it appears that money went into stocks. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought and todays volume looks like some kind of blow off top. We'll have to see how the rest of the week turns out. Todays price action makes us again aware of the effects of headline risk either way. GE was up about 2/3 on the same very heavy volume. Gold got clobbered on the vaccine news. The futures were off over $100 at one point and finished the day with a loss of around $85. The US dollar was higher. The XAU dropped 8 3/4, while GDX lost 2 1/2. Volume was good here as traders bailed out. My GDX November calls went back to solid losers. The trade is once again a cut the loss proposition. Nine days to go in the November option cycle and unless we see a dramatic turnaround for gold this week, this trade will undoubtably be a loss. Most of the short term technical indicators have rolled back down for GDX. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired, did not sleep well. The VIX turned around from being lower early and ended up positive on the day despite the huge rally in the Dow. Lately that has been the precursor to lower prices for stocks. The VIX is short term oversold as well. If today was indeed some kind of blow off top then the VIX will be correct in letting us know that prices will be lower in the near term. Hasn't happened yet but this has been pretty accurate lately. Of course that probably won't help my gold share call trade but the market certainly doesn't care about what I'm doing. The new vaccine will have to be mass produced and distributed. That won't happen overnight but the market is a forward looking mechanism. Europe and Asia sported very good gains last night as well. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

A pause in the rally as the Dow fell 66 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues higher. The jobs report was a bit better than expected but the market seems to still be focussed on politics. The S&P 500 is almost short term overbought but in rallies it can stay that way. The weekly candlestick chart looks positive for the S&P and new all time highs look to be coming soon. But I wouldn't be surprised if we track sideways before attempting the next leg up. GE was up a dime on OK volume. Gold was slightly higher and the US dollar was slightly lower. The XAU was up 1 1/4, while GDX rose twenty cents. Volume was light. My GDX November calls remain in the black for now. GDX is stalling at the declining tops line but I think it is simply a matter of time before it breaks through. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX had a good drop today but we didn't see a decent rise in stock prices. Not exactly sure what that means. Now short term oversold on the VIX technical indicators. It was a great week for stocks and we'll see if we can continue the run up next week. Asia was higher and Europe generally lower to finish out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

Up, up and away as the Dow roared ahead by 542 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. Nothing new from the Fed and that was fine by the market. Still no official word on the presidential election but that didn't stop the buying either. Pandemic virus? Yeah that's still here but not a concern for stocks at the moment. The S&P 500 is close to near term resistance but the short term technical indicators still have room to move higher. At this rate we'll be at new all time highs by next week. But realistically it might take longer than that. The NASDAQ is leading the way and that's a positive. We'll see what the jobs report has to say tomorrow and the markets reaction to that. GE was up 1/8 on lighter volume. Gold exploded higher and gained almost fifty bucks. The US dollar got crushed. Money is moving around. The XAU soared 10 3/4, while GDX climbed 2 3/4. Volume was heavy to the upside. GDX is now at resistance from a down trend line that began back in early August. The pattern on the daily candlestick chart is a declining rectangle that resembles a flag. That pattern has now digested the previous gain in GDX. We should break through the resistance in the coming days and challenge the recent highs at 45. NEM has a similar pattern and broke its resistance earlier this week. I expect GDX to follow. My GDX November calls went from solid losers to solid winners with todays price action. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower again today but did come up off of its best levels. Perhaps the rally needs a rest. Getting oversold now for the VIX but not completely there. The major stock indexes are in rally mode and new all time highs are in the near future barring some kind of unexpected catastrophe. If for some reason the election results go sideways, that would put a damper on stocks. But the market knows everything and it's saying that owning stocks now is the way to go. You may agree or disagree but you have to at least listen. Europe and Asia were higher as the money is flowing around the world. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

The rally lives on post-election as the Dow gained 367 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. We did fall back from the days high as the Dow at one point was up 800. No clear winner in the election just yet but it appears that Joe Biden will prove victorious. Combine that with a republican senate and gridlock will be the norm. The market loves that as the status quo will remain. The NASDAQ led the way higher and that's a plus for the bulls. The short term indicators for the major indices still have room to move higher. Perhaps the Fed announcement tomorrow will provide the impetus for another day up. We'll see. Most of the major stock index charts look like they want to go higher but the market as always will go where it wants. I'm looking for more gains in the coming days and weeks. GE was flat on the day and the volume was good. Gold dropped around $8 but was down more overnight. The US dollar had a huge election rally in the overnight session but finished the day with a small loss. The XAU fell four points, while GDX shed 7/8. Volume was average. My GDX November calls are back to being solid losers. I'll look to see how they end the week after the Fed and the jobs report. The short term indicators have stalled here and may turn back down. I suppose if I get any chance to end this trade without a loss I'll take it. That may just be wishful thinking at this point though. I did cancel the open order for more GDX calls at a lower strike price. Might revisit this idea later. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired, did not sleep well. The VIX had a huge drop and bounced off its 50 day moving average. Not yet oversold on the indicators here. The election is basically over and the market has spoken. Could we hit new all time highs before the end of the year? Perhaps but we still have the pandemic virus to deal with and there doesn't seem to be any cure coming in the near term. Some foreign countries are returning to lockdowns and that will put a damper on whatever growth that there was. We'll watch and wait for now when it comes to the coronavirus. Most markets around the world continued to climb higher. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines and see what the Fed has to say tomorrow.

The pre-election rally continued as the Dow gained 555 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is now trying to turn back up. It appears that the market doesn't really care who wins tonight as long as it is over. The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 have turned up. The next stop looks like the 50 day moving average at 3400. The Dow has now gained almost a thousand points in the two days before the election results. Certainly it doesn't appear to be worried about the outcome. Support has held and unless we see a complete turnaround tomorrow, which I doubt, the market is heading higher. GE was up 1/3 on good volume. Gold futures added another $15 as the US dollar was lower. The XAU gained 2 3/4, while GDX rose 3/4. Volume was lighter than it's been. My GDX November calls are now showing a small profit. I still have the other open order out there for the GDX calls at a lower strike price but will probably cancel it tonight. GDX has now moved too far for this order to get filled. At least the idea here was right but the timing was off. Water under the bridge as they say, I've got to just move on from here. I think that the gold shares still have room to go higher. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continues lower and has plenty of room to move down. That should match up with higher stock prices going forward. I suppose we'll watch the election results tonight and see what happens tomorrow. But I'm pretty sure that we've just begun a sustained rally regardless. Of course I've been sure about a few things lately that didn't come to pass. We've got the Fed and the jobs report to get through as the week moves on. Markets around the globe rallied pretty strongly as well overnight. Money is moving into stocks. We'll see how it goes post election tomorrow.

We start off this important week with a gain as the Dow climbed 423 points on good volume. The advance/declines were shy of 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving down. This week holds plenty of variables. We've got the US election tomorrow, followed by the Fed announcement on Thursday and the employment report on Friday. So there will be a lot for the market to digest. Today the Dow was leading things higher with the NASDAQ a laggard. The bulls would like to see that the other way around. On the plus side, support for the S&P 500 has held for now. The short term technical indicators here have started to turn up but they remain oversold. So we are either going to start to rally from here or this is a pause before we head lower. Now I've already thought that we'd be moving higher during the decline of the past few weeks. So I'll just have to wait to see what the market tells us going forward. GE was up a dime and the volume was good. Gold continued moving higher as the futures gained $15. The US dollar finished little changed. The XAU was up 4 1/3, while GDX added 1 1/8. Volume was average. All aboard? It appears that the train has left the station for the gold shares. GDX has risen over 2 1/2 points in three days. Unfortunately for me the order that I placed for the GDX November calls at a lower strike price never got filled. I'm leaving it out there in case we get some kind of sharp drop. The short term indicators for GDX have turned up and I believe that higher is the way we're going to go. Resistance comes in at the 41 level. The GDX November calls that I do own are still losers but the loss is much smaller than it was. If GDX continues to rally from here they may even eventually show a profit. Plenty of time left in the November option cycle but the entry timing of this trade was too early. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits a rising market. Still overbought here and the short term indicators are rolling over. The roll over fits a bullish market scenario if it continues. I would like to think that the selling has concluded here but my conclusions lately have been way off the mark. I would expect some major market movement after the election results are in but would only be guessing if I were to say which way. We'll let the market prove to us where it wants to go. Should be interesting. Europe and Asia were higher overnight so perhaps money is finding its way back into stocks. Or it could be a beginning of the month cash flow situation. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.