A quiet day turned into a last day of the year two hour rally and the Dow finished the year at a new record high. The most watched index ended 2020 with a gain of 197 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving lower but in a sideways range. The Dow and S&P 500 closed at all time highs. The trading day was drifting in a sideways channel before the buyers piled in ahead of the new year. Front running the expected rally to begin 2021 I assume. Nothing on the news front to account for the gain. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. GE was up almost a dime and the volume was light. Gold was up a few bucks on the February contract and the US dollar was higher as well. The gold shares dropped, with the XAU off almost 3 points and GDX down 1/2. Volume was light. Gold up and the gold shares down is bearish. I do still have my open order for the GDX January calls out there. Once again I'll be considering canceling this order over the long holiday weekend. The short term techncial indicators for GDX are mid-range so things could go either way. Once again the 50 day moving average held as resistance. I'll think it over in the next three days. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished almost unchanged today and that doesn't match the decent gain in stocks that we saw. Still short term oversold here. I do expect stocks to rally on Monday morning as they often do to begin the new year. The Santa Claus rally has been in full swing this year and it has two trading days left. I'll check the charts over the weekend and try to come up with some type of game plan for the final two weeks in the January option cycle. It's the end of the year and my trading account finished with a gain of 30% for the year. There were a couple of good trades during the year but many more that were poorly mismanaged. That will be something to work on in 2021. There's plenty of money to be made in the game, you just have to be good enough to do it. Happy New Year to everyone and we'll be back at it on Monday. Enjoy the long weekend.

Choppy, lackluster trading marked the day as the Dow gained 73 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is trending in a sideways channel. Not much to write about todays market inaction. Just waiting for the new year to begin. I'd expect to see some more money flows beginning on Monday. Another holiday shortened week with the markets closed on Friday. Still short term overbought on the S&P 500 but that doesn't mean that we can't go higher. GE was up over 1/8 but the volume was very light. Gold found a bid today on a weaker US dollar. The precious metal futures rose almost $14. The XAU climbed 4 2/3, while GDX added over 3/4. Volume was light but it is a holiday week. My open order for the GDX January calls was never filled but it's still out there. This now looks like another trade that was missed. The short term technical indicators for GDX have turned up. I'm not sure if this is something that I want to chase or not. GDX is right up against its 50 day moving average which has turned it back before in recent trading. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains oversold. I'm not exactly sure what's next for the SPY. The Bollinger bands here and on some of the other major stock indices have contracted to the point that something is about to happen. The question is in which direction? You can make a case for either way. There's no overhead resistance and there should be plenty of money flowing at the beginning of next year. So it's pretty easy to make the bullish case. However sentiment is extremely positive and has no place to go but lower. I don't have any solid technical signals at the moment either way. There's still plenty of time in the January option cycle for a trade though. We'll let this holiday week complete itself and take it from there. Asia was mixed and Europe lower overnight. We'll finish the week and 2020 trading tomorrow.

We had a one day reversal to the downside as the market opened higher and closed lower. The Dow fell 68 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving lower but remains in a sideways channel. Light and listless trading was the story of today. Only a couple of trading days left in the year. The market didn't expand on its good gains from Monday. The trend remains up though for now. GE was off a few cents and the volume was light. Gold was up a few bucks on the futures and the US dollar was lower. The XAU and GDX had very slight fractional gains on light volume. My open order for the GDX January calls remains out there. I am however seeing a lot of press about how gold is going to have a great year again in 2021. That usually means that it is about to head lower. I'll be keeping a close watch. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that fits with a down market. Still oversold here. Really just waiting for the year to end at this point. Many traders are away from their desks and what had to be done for this year is over. So we will watch and wait. The underlying themes of the pandemic virus, vaccines and presidential transition remain. For the most part Europe and Asia were up overnight. We'll keep an eye on whatever develops overnight.

The stimulus deal has been signed and the market rallied. The Dow gained 204 points on lighter volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is trying to make up its mind here on which way to go. The overall market was slightly better than the Dow. We had new all time highs for the Dow, NASDAQ and the S&P 500. No overhead resistance and the Santa Claus rally is in full swing. One less trading day this week. Volume should be lighter than usual with players taking an extended holiday. No SPY trades on tap at the moment but I'm looking both ways. GE was basically flat on light volume. Gold had a one day reversal to the downside as it opened higher and closed lower. The futures dropped six bucks and the US dollar was slightly higher. One day downside reversals in the gold shares as well. The XAU was off 1 1/3, while GDX shed 1/3. Volume was light. My open order is still out there for the GDX January calls but I'll again have to reconsider this idea tonight. The price action today was pretty bearish with traders selling on the signing of the stimulus. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was actually up a touch today on a rally for stocks. That doesn't fit and could lead to a near term drop. Oversold on the VIX but not terribly so. I still think that stocks could just rally into the January expiration as there isn't anything in the way of higher prices right now. Seasonality is favorable and the S&P 500 is not completely overbought yet. We'll keep an eye on things as they develop and look for a decent SPY trade going forward. Europe and Asia were generally higher to begin the shortened trading week. We'll see if we get some upside follow through tomorrow.

A half day of trading and the Dow gained 70 points on very light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. They really should just consider taking the whole day off before Christmas. GE lost about twenty cents on teh same extremely light volume. Gold was up five bucks and the US dollar was little changed. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on minimal volume. I've left my open order for the GDX January calls out there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower and is heading back to oversold. We'll see if it can get through the 20 level this time around. If it does that will mean a decent rally in stocks. Hasn't happened yet. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. Another short week next week. We'll see how many traders make it in. The Santa Claus rally showed up on cue today. Will it continue for next week? Merry Christmas to everyone and enjoy the long weekend.

Another mixed session as the Dow gained 114 points on light volume. The advance/declines were a little better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is back to tracking sideways. The market had pretty nice gains for most of the day but dropped quickly in the final 15 minutes. The NASDAQ posted a loss. It does feel like holiday mode though as volume is slowing down. A half day of trading tomorrow and it's on to a long holiday weekend. The background is basically the same with regards to the pandemic virus. There was some chatter about the president not signing the recently passed stimulus bill but I sincerely doubt that. Brexit is just about finished. GE was up 1/4 on light volume. Gold was up a dozen on the February futures. The US dollar was lower. The XAU gained 2 1/2, while GDX was up almost 2 /3. Volume was light. I'm leaving my open order for the GDX January calls out there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today but did come up off of the lower levels early in the day. This indicator still looks like it could go either way. The market is entering a positive seasonal period now and I would expect things to trend upwards from here. I don't expect some sort of huge move higher but more of a gradual move forward barring any unforeseen news out of the blue. The premiums on the SPY January calls remain elevated. I'm still leaning towards the GDX call trade but may have to adjust my order in the beginning of next week. We'll see. Europe and Asia were higher. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

A mixed bag today as the Dow fell 200 points on lighter volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index has started to roll over. The overall market was stronger than the Dow, with both the NASDAQ and the Russell 2000 closing at new all time highs. So even though the short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 have rolled over, it's hard to be too negative about things going forward. We're also on the cusp of the Santa Claus rally period which usually provides a lift for stocks. I'm still looking at the SPY January calls but the premiums are pricey. GE was off over 1/8 on average volume. Gold fell $15 on the February futures contract. The US dollar was higher. The XAU dropped 4 3/4, while GDX shed a little over a point. Volume picked up to the downside and that isn't a good sign for the bulls. The technical indicators for GDX have rolled over as well. The gold shares were relatively weaker compared to the precious metal itself and that is another negative. I did place another open order for some GDX January calls. Another day like today may get it filled. I'll have to recheck the thinking on this trade because the gold shares are not acting in a positive manner at the moment. The rally of last week looks like it was simply an options expiration ploy. Also Barrick Gold (GOLD) looks to be on the verge of a breakdown from the latest support level. It's something to keep an eye on. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX fell today which fits with the small stocks but not the large caps. The short term indicators here are now mid-range as things could go one way or the other. Tomorrow is the last full trading day for the week. It should be the final clean up in trading accounts for this year. We'll see if the short trading day on Thursday starts the Santa Claus rally. Asia was lower and Europe higher overnight. We'll see how things shape up tomorrow.

Quite a ride today as the Dow was off over 400 points early on but had a one day reversal to the upside and finished with a slight gain of 37 points on heavy volume. So much for being a slow holiday week. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving sideways. The overall market was weaker than the Dow. The stimulus deal is now done and just waiting on the vote. The market sold off early as the stimulus was already priced in. The pandemic virus fears are back in front of the news with a new strain in Europe. The vaccine rollout is bumpy but it will take months for that to be effective. It is also already priced in to the market. The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 have rolled over. The Bollinger bands here are starting to contract which implies a decent price move on the way. I thought that traders would be taking some time off but I suppose I was wrong on that. GE lost a few cents and the volume was average. Gold bounced around as well today. It was up over the $1900 level overnight but then backed off and lost $7 on the February futures. The US dollar soared early but only finished with a slight gain. The XAU and GDX had fractional moves one way or the other on pretty light volume. I did place an overnight order for the GDX January calls but canceled it during the trading session. The price action in gold today wasn't exactly positive. We are also still overbought in the short term for GDX. I do still like this idea though and may place another order in the near future. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired, did not sleep well. The VIX was positve today and had a huge spike up to its 200 day moving average before falling back. I'm not sure what that all means but the short term indicators are turning back up. That would suggest that there's more selling to come. But the comeback in stocks today was impressive as we were really on the ropes early. We'll have to see how the rest of this week shapes up. For now, I'm on the sidelines with regards to the SPY but I am looking at the January calls. Europe and Asia were lower. We'll see how they react to the US comeback tonight.

Expiration gyrations as the Dow fell 124 points on expiration heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving sideways. The Dow was down over 250 points until the final half hour which saw a brief but fast rally. The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 are atarting to roll over but haven't broken down just yet. I expect a slow holiday week on tap but I could be wrong. GE was off almost a dime and volume remains light. Gold was off around $5 and the US dollar was slightly higher. The XAU fell 3 1/3, while GDX lost 3/4. Volume was light. GDX has stalled at its 50 day moving average. I'll be looking at the GDX January calls next week. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today despite the drop in prices. It finished well off of its highs for the session. Not exactly sure what that means. The indicators here look like they want to move back up, which would imply some selling to come. We'll see. Although I'd like to put on a trade here soon, the prudent course of action might be to let next week pass. It is the beginning of the January option cycle and the premiums will be high. It is a holiday week as well and that means less players in the game. I'll go over the charts this weekend and decide what to do hopefully. Perhaps the stimulus package will be done by the open Monday. We'll see if it is a sell the news event. Europe and Asia were generally lower to finish out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Right on cue with higher prices as the Dow gained 147 points on good volume. The advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is still in a sideways channel. The overall market was stronger than the Dow. New all time highs for many of the major stock indices. Expiration Friday tomorrow and the positive bias for the week has been evident. The stimulus deal has been promised by the end of the weekend. That might be the final push up or perhaps a reason to sell. What more good news is to come? Short term overbought for the S&P 500 but there is no overhead resistance. We'll let tomorrow go by and perhaps next week as well since the market will be in holiday mode. GE was off a few cents and the volume was very light. Gold shot up thirty bucks and is almsot back to $1900. The US dollar was lower and has dropped through the 90 level. The XAU climbed 5 1/3, while GDX added 1 1/4. Volume was good. Getting short term overbought for the gold shares but the longer term picture is now positive. I'll be looking to chase this move higher with the GDX January calls if we see some pullback in the coming sessions. I did cancel my open order for the GDX calls now as it will not get filled at my asking price. Mentally I'm feeling a bit frustrated for missing both the SPY December calls and the GDX trades. My thinking is that the consecutive losing trades that I had in November hindered me from trying anything in December. That is why the mental capital is always more important than anything monetary. Losing trades must be forgotten quickly but it is always easier said than done. Plenty of missed opportunities for me here lately but that will have to be put aside. The VIX was lower and the short term technical indicators have rolled over. It's pointing to the rally continuing. There's really nothing in the way of higher prices. Bullish sentiment is off the charts though and that is usually a sign of at least some sort of pause. The other normally reliable indicator that is flashing a sell signal appears to not be working this time around. It's been about a month and still no decline in stocks. The 75% accuracy rate did not come through this time around or so it seems. I'm still keeping an eye on it though. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. We'll see how the December expiration goes tomorrow.

We got the Fed out of the way as the Dow fell 44 points on lighter volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is beginning to track sideways. The overall market fared better than the Dow, with both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 sporting gains. We had the usual hanging around before the Fed and then a move higher. The market did drop slightly into the close. No surprises from the Fed as it was business as usual. Retail sales did come in a bit light. The S&P 500 remians slightly overbought on a short term basis. Just a couple of trading days left in the week and I don't expect much except for most likely new all time highs. We'll see how things shake out before the December option expiration. GE was off over 1/8 but the volume was pretty light. Gold rallied after the Fed chairman spoke and the futures gained $10. The US dollar was slightly lower. The XAU rose 2 3/4, while GDX added 2/3. Volume was on the light side. I still have the open order out there for the GDX January calls but it appears that trade was missed. I'll probably cancel the order before the end of the week. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower which fits the overall market rise. The short term indicators here are now mixed with no good signal one way or the other. The market is still waiting on some kind of stimulus package before Christmas. That should provide some more upside if it ever comes to pass. The pandemic virus background remains along with the vaccine rollout. Next week is a holiday affair. Europe and Asia were both higher overnight anticipating the Fed. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

The market took off to the upside today as the Dow gained 338 points on good volume. The advance/declines were almost 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving back up. Gains across the board as all the major stock indices were higher. Positive expiration bias in effect. No new news to speak of but the market is probably discounting a stimlus deal getting done sooner rather than later. The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 have turned back up. We'll probably see new all time highs before the week is out. Buying the weakness yesterday was the proper play. We'll get retail sales and the Fed tomorrow. All signs now point to higher near term prices. GE was up 1/4 on lighter volume. Gold rallied over $25 on the futures. The US dollar continued lower. The XAU was up 4 7/8, while GDX gained 1 1/8. Volume was just OK. My open order for the GDX January calls remains out there. However if today is the beginning of an extended rally for gold, the order won't get filled. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX fell today and the short term indicators are rolling over. This implies a rally for stocks that started today. I suppose we'll see how high things can go this week. Yesterdays downside reversal scared me out of trying the SPY December calls. We did not see any downside follow through early this morning to try the calls as we were up from the start. Had I been nimble enought this morning I might have been able to purchase some calls. But it was not to be. Now with three days remaining in the December option cycle I'll just sit it out. I do believe that we'll be higher by the close on Friday. Gold and silver both had positive sessions today. We'll see if they follow throough tomorrow. All eyes and ears will be on the Fed. Asia was lower and Europe higher in last nights trade. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

One day reversals seem to be the new norm as the Dow opened higher and closed lower again. The most watched index dropped 185 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is beginning to turn around or at least stall. I was all set to buy some SPY December calls on weakness but we had a gap higher at the open. After the first hour the market started to deteriorate and kept moving lower for the rest of the session. The TRAN had a very negative day and perhaps will be leading us lower here. But the NASDAQ posted a gain on the day and the Russell 2000 had a slight gain. I'm still thinking about those SPY calls for the last week in the December option cycle if we're lower again tomorrow. I am getting a short term buy signal on one of the technical indicators I follow. The risk is pretty high though. We do have the Fed announcement on Wednesday to get through along with retail sales. GE lost 1/3 on lighter volume. The short term indicators are now rolling over and GE deserves to take a break. Gold was off a dozen on the February futures and the US dollar was lower as well. The XAU fell 3 1/4, while GDX shed 3/4. Volume was average. I still have the open order out there for the GDX January calls again. Another day like today will probably get it filled. I'm not so sure about this idea anymore because gold hasn't shown any ability lately to have a sustained rally. We are approaching previous technical levels that have provided for at least a bounce though. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher again today and broke through its upper Bollinger band. It is almost short term overbought as well. This is another reason to perhaps get long on weakness tomorrow despie the short time remaining on the December options. Could things just fall apart here? I don't think so but the market goes where it wants to. I can't imagine the Fed on Wednesday upsetting the apple cart but you never know. The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 have now rolled over so I suppose we can't rule anything out. Staying on the sidelines is choice to be made as well. We'll see how the futures trade overnight and take it from there. Still no stimulus deal and the Brexit saga drags on. The vaccine rollout has begun in the US but the pandemic virus remains. Europe and Asia were generally higher overnight with the exception of China and Hong Kong. We'll see how things shape up tomorrow.

Mixed messages continue as the Dow rose 47 points on lighter volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving up. The overall market was waeker than the Dow but it was a pretty uneventful session. We were lower form the start and spent the day making up ground. The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 have rolled over some more but remain overbought. We are almost at a buy signal for one fo the short term indicators that I follow. I'm thinking of perhaps trying the SPY December calls for options expiration week. Buying on any weakness on Monday morning would be the plan. GE was off over 1/8 on average volume. Gold futures and the US dollar were both up slightly. The XAU dropped 1 1/2, while GDX had a fractional loss. Volume was pretty light. I'm leaving my open order for the GDX January calls out there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX had a pop higher today and then backed off. It isn't completely overbought as of yet but todays action could have signaled that the recent market weakness is done. That's how I'm interpreting it right now. It's another reason to potentially try the SPY December calls next week. I'll have to go over everything again this weekend but that is the idea for now. We should get some decent market movement next week. We've got retail sales data coming out and the Fed to deal with. It's also the last full trading week before the holiday week of Christmas. I would expect things to start slowing down then. I'll go over the charts this weekend and then decide what to do. Asia was mixed and Europe lower to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Another mixed bag today as the Dow fell 69 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ was the relative leader today after being the laggard yesterday. The Russell 2000 had a good session as the small stocks are leading the way. There was no downside follow through for the small stocks and that's a plus. We're still short term overbought for the major stock indices. The roll over of the technical indicators for some of the indexes did not continue today. The trend still remains up until proven otherwise. GE was off a few cents and the volume was good. Gold finished little changed and the US dollar was lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional moves one way or the other on light volume. I did place an overnight order for some GDX January calls. It was not filled and will take some more decline to get triggered. I'll consider canceling it before the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and the short term indicators here are still pointing up. Option expiration week is almost upon us and we'll look for the usual positive bias. I'll be looking for new all time highs again. The bearish engulfing candlestick pattern on the S&P 500 daily chart has yet to manifest itself. It would need to do so in a hurry to be valid. I don't have any SPY trades in mind for now. I haven't gotten a clear short term technical signal one way or the other here. The longer term sell signal remains out there from one of the reliable indicators. Unfortunately the timing there can be a month early. It's already been a couple of weeks since triggered so perhaps it isn't going to work this time around. Time will tell. Europe and Asia were mixed overnight. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Today was the opposite of yesterday as we had a one day reversal to the downside for the Dow. It lost 105 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were about even though. The summation index is still moving up. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow, with the NASDAQ leading the way down. A very dark candlestick has appeared on the NASDAQ daily chart, with a bearish engulfing candlestick pattern on the S&P 500 daily after todays price action. The short term technical indicators for these two indices have now turned lower. We'll have to see if this is the beginning of the decline that I'm looking for or just a one day event. The NASDAQ leading the way lower is not a positive. GE just keeps climbing as it gained 3/8 on very good volume. Overbought to the extreme here though. Gold took a few steps back as the futures dropped over thirty bucks. The US dollar was barely higher. The XAU fell 3 2/3, while GDX shed almost a point. Volume picked up a bit to the downside. The gold shares did fare better than gold itself relatively speaking. I'm again considering the GDX January calls and may place an order in overnight. We are not oversold on the daily technical indicators yet, so patience may be the best plan for now. GDX closed back below its 200 day moving average. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX bounced off of the 20 level today and finished higher. The technical indicators here are now pointing up and have plenty of room to go. That would fit in with a more than one day decline for the market if they continue higher. There's still seven days to go in the December option cycle but it appears today was the day to try the SPY December puts. We'll see about that as we move forward. The background remains the same regarding the pandemic virus, vaccine rollout, stimulus talks and Brexit in the background. There was some negative chatter about Facebook today. Today was a market downer so we'll see if there is any downside follow through tomorrow. That would give us a better idea about what lies ahead. Asia was generally higher and Europe mixed in last nights trade. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

We had another one day reversal to the upside as the Dow opened lower and closed higher. It gained 104 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues higher. The short term overbought condition continues as well. But no matter. New all time highs were registered in most of the major stock indices, with the Russell 2000 leading the way. Plenty of liquidity still around and no end in sight for the rally. Yes, I'm looking at the SPY December puts but have yet to see a decent short term sell signal. Fundamentally nothing has changed as there is no stimulus deal and the pandemic virus remains. More restrctions across the country but it hasn't affected the stock market yet. The beat goes on. GE was up 1/8 on average volume. Gold was up $8 on the February futures contract as the US dollar had another slight gain. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional losses on very light volume. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today but still above the 20 level. The short term technical indicators here have started to roll back over. If that continues it implies more upside in the near term. There's really nothing in the way of higher prices at the moment. Sentiment extremes continue but that could last for a while and it already has. No overhead resitance for the stock indexes. We're in a favorable seasonal time period. One of the technical indicators that I follow is flashing a sell signal but the timing there could be as much as a month early. It is pretty reliable though so that is why I would not chase the upside here. That doesn't mean that we won't continue to go higher. However when the decline does occur it should be legitimate. Meaning at least 5% or more. We'll see. Europe and Asia were mixed overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

A mixed bag to begin the week as the Dow fell 148 points on the continued heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues up. The NASDAQ was up on the session and the Russell 2000 eeked out a gain. The major stock averages are still short term overbought and still hugging the upper Bollinger band. This could go on for a few more days but we're overdue for some kind of pullback in my humble opinion. I'm still waiting for at least some kind of sell signal before trying the SPY December puts. There remains no overhead resistance for stocks and where the top is for this rally nobody really knows. The stimulus deal is still up in the air and the pandemic virus remains. The vaccine roll out is due before the end of the month hopefully. Nine days to go in the December option cycle. GE was off two cents after being higher for much of the day. Overdue for a rest here as well. Gold found a bid to begin the week, with the futures up over $25. The US dollar was slightly higher. The XAU gained 4 1/4, while GDX added almost 1 1/4. Volume was a bit better than it has been lately. I did place an open order for the GDX December calls over the weekend but the gold shares took off from the start. It's safe to say that I've missed this move up in the gold shares but I'm again looking out to January if we get any kind of move lower in the next couple of weeks. GDX isn't short term overbought yet but I don't really want to chase it after todays nice move up. The medium term technical picture for GDX is still oversold so there is plenty of room for it to go higher going forward. If the overall market has some sort of decline it will probably take the gold shares with it and that would be the opportunity that we're looking for. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that fits with the big cap decline. The short term indicators have moved up here but not with any conviction. That may indicate that the decline that I'm hoping for is more far off than I'd like. We're still looking at the 20 level as the near term resistance for the VIX. If we could some how make it through there it could be off to the races for stocks. Hasn't happened yet. I'd like to put on some kind of trade before the December expiration but remaining patient for now. Not a lot of economic data out this week. Brexit talks are in the background here in the US. Europe and Asia were generally lower to start the trading week. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

The jobs report came in weaker than expected but the market didn't mind. The Dow gained 248 points on the continued heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. No overhead resistance for stocks as the major indexes again hit new all time highs. I keep wondering when it will end but probably should just enjoy the ride. Overbought and staying that way for longer than you think it can go on. I keep checking those SPY December puts but without a legitimate sell signal there is no point in trying that idea. Money just keeps pouring into equities with no end in sight. It will end though at some point. Two weeks to go in the December option cycle so there's plenty of time for a trade. GE was up another 1/4 and volume was better than average. Very overextended here as well. Gold was off a few bucks on the futures. The US dollar finished little changed. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional losses on very light volume. GDX is trying to hold its 50 week moving average at the 34 level. The weekly candlestick charts for the gold shares and the precious metals all show bullish candles for the past week. Perhaps if we get a retest of the recent lows another trade for the GDX January calls is warranted. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today but did come off of its best levels for the session. The 20 region seems to be the barrier here. Still overbought and staying that way, which makes sense with the rally that we've seen. Sentiment remains extremely bullish. The sell signal from one of the more reliable indicators is still out there but the timing is suspect. It can sometimes take a month for it to work but it does at least have a recent 75% success rate. That's why I wouldn't chase the rally here. There will probably be a better entry point as time goes by. I could be wrong and often am. Plenty of charts to check out over the weekend. Europe and Asia were higher to close the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Up and down was the norm for this session as the Dow gained 85 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving higher. The Dow had a much better gain but fell apart in the final half hour. The technical picture remains the same, overbought and staying that way. The S&P 500 has reached the top of the Bollinger bands. It will either break through to the upside or get turned back. Perhaps the jobs report tomorrow will be the catalyst one way or the other. No SPY trades for now but I'm still looking at the puts there. GE was up over 1/8 and the volume remains good. Still overbought for GE. Gold was up another ten bucks as the US dollar continues to fall. The XAU fell a point and GDX dropped 1/2. Volume was light. Once again the gold shares are not following the price of gold higher. That isn't a positive for the bulls. However if GDX gets back to being short term oversold again, I will consider the calls there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up a bit again with the market higher as well. This pattern has led to recent declines for stocks. We'll see if that pattern holds true this time around. The short term indicators have turned back up on the VIX. We're overbought and hitting new all time highs on many stock indices. There is no overhead resistance. The trend is and has been up since the beginning of November. There's still plenty of time in the December option cycle for a trade. I'll let tomorrows employment report get digested and go from there. Asia and Europe were mixed in last nights trade. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

It was a one day reversal to the upside as the Dow opened lower and closed higher. The most watched index gained 60 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ finished with a slight loss. Still short term overbought for the S&P 500. The stimulus talk is back in the news but there's no deal. I'm not sure how much a deal will move the market at this point. We've been overbought for quite a while and I think that the next sustained move will be lower. I'm still waiting for a legitimate sell signal. GE was up 1/4 on lighter volume. Gold added to yesterdays gains and was up over ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar continued its downward spiral. The gold shares didn't come along for the ride. The XAU was only up 3/4, while GDX was basically unchanged. Volume was light. GDX has climbed back above its 200 day moving average. We'll see if it can stay there. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was a bit higher today despite the slight rise in stocks. Oversold and staying that way. The VIX has yet to close below the 20 level. If it can that usually inplies a longer term rally in effect. However I still think that the next sustained move will be lower, as things cannot remain overbought indefinately. The totally bullish sentiment is another warning sign. Staying patient for now. The Fed chairmans speeches didn't move the markets. We'll see about the employment report on Friday. The background of the pandemic virus remains. Waiting on the vaccine rollout. Europe and Asia were mixed. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

December begins to the upside as the Dow gained 185 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving back up. The overall market was stronger than the Dow. New all time highs for some of the major stock indices. Remaining short term overbought for most as well. We did finish off of the best levels for the day but there is not overhead resistance and the rally remains intact. GE lost a couple cents on average volume. Gold found buyers to start the month and the futures climbed over $35. The US dollar was lower and appears to be breaking down again. That would support gold if it continues. The XAU was up 5 1/8, while GDX added 1 1/4. Volume was average. The short term indicators for the gold shares have turned back up and it's possible that the decline there is over. Gold itself did not make it down to the $1750 level that I was looking for. I'm not in a rush to try the gold share calls here again and will simply watch and wait for now. There is a possiblity that I'll try the GDX January calls in the coming weeks. The medium term technical picture there is oversold. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today along with stocks. That isn't the expected pattern. Still short term oversold and that condition needs to be changed eventually. It's already been quite a long time. I'm not sure if that means we're about to see some selling but we'll see. The market is running on all cylinders now to the upside. It can remain overbought much longer than you think. I am still thinking about the SPY December puts only because of the reliable sell signal that one of the indicators is giving off. However as I've said, the timing isn't guaranteed. I'll continue to wait for an actual sell signal for now. Europe and Asia were higher as money is flowing around the world. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.