Adding to yesterdays stellar gains as the Dow was up 272 points on light volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. Not many sellers on the last day of the month as the S&P 500 closed at the highest level since the beginning of February. The short term indicators here still have room to run higher so perhaps we'll finally make it to 4200. We'll have the Fed to deal with next week and the employment report. But right now it looks like we're at the start of a rally. Gold finished flat again on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates fell. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on the continued light volume. My GDX May calls are now showing a small loss. GDX remains short term oversold so there's still a chance that this trade will work. Unless of course it just trends lower from here and stays oversold. That's certainly a possibility. We'll see how it goes next week. Mentally I'm feeling a bit mixed since in retrospect we chose the wrong trade between the gold shares and the S&P. However you have to try and make the best decisions with the information that you have in front of you at the time. Always moving forward is another way to try and stay sane in this difficult game. The VIX was lower again and closed below 15. Getting short term oversold but not completely there yet. The lack of volatility and the low VIX reading is another reason why we think that this rally will have legs despite the overall low volume. Perhaps we'll get some beginning of the month money flows starting on Monday. We'll be going over the charts this weekend as usual. Europe and Asia finished the week with gains. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The market exploded to the upside as the Dow soared 524 points on light volume. The advance/declines were around 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving down. We had a gap up at the open and just kept going. The NASDAQ led the way and that's a plus. Probably some short covering involved as well after the past two down days. GDP was weaker than expected but earnings came in better than thought. Let me be clear in stating that we are not in the business of predicting what the market is going to do on a day to day basis. That is usually just a 50/50 proposition. However there are times when the numbers and technicals line up in such a way that the odds favor one direction over the other by a wide margin. It doesn't happen often but today was one of those days that under normal market conditions where we could see it coming before it happened. Had we been further along in the May option cycle, the option premiums would have been less and we would have given the SPY calls a shot. Although correct in the direction we can never tell the magnitude of what to expect. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have now turned back up. Light volume is a concern though. Inflation data out tomorrow and if it is stronger than expected the market will most likely turn back lower. But we'll see. Gold finished flat on the futures. The US dollar ended the day little changed as well. Interest rates rose. The XAU added 1 1/2, while GDX gained 1/2. Volume remains light here. My GDX May calls are showing a slight profit. Not sure how long we'll hold on to this one. Mentally I'm feeling a bit frustrated for not having the SPY May calls but what can you do? I'm usually not that good when it comes to the short term trades. The VIX dropped and that fits today price action. The indicators here are now rolling over which implies more gains for stocks. Inflation data out tomorrow should get things going one way or the other. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. We'll close out the week and the month tomorrow.

Lower again today for the most part as the Dow fell 229 points on light volume. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is heading lower. The NASDAQ managed to post a gain but was off of the best levels for the session. We did get follow through selling for the S&P as it is getting short term oversold. Once again I am very confident that tomorrow will be an up day. Not sure what the reasons will be but technically it fits our work. If tomorrow is lower though, then the market is in much more trouble that I thought. But we don't think that will be the case. The premiums on the SPY May calls were too expensive in our view to try a short term trade there but in retrospect that might have been a mistake. We'll see what happens. Gold was off $5 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates ticked up. The XAU was down 1 1/3, while GDX shed 3/8. Volume remains pretty light here. GDX opened higher and closed lower for a one day downside reversal. It is short term oversold but not extremely so just yet. I did adjust my open order for the GDX May calls a couple of times and it eventually got filled. So we are in the next trade. Not sure how long we'll hold on to this idea and I don't know if the gold shares will follow the overall market higher tomorrow. Todays price action was pretty negative. However on the GDX hourly chart we have a potential positive RSI divergence that would play itself out tomorrow if GDX follows up with a gain. If NEM has a decent earnings report that would also help the bullish cause for the gold shares. Or gold and the gold shares could just continue lower as the market always simply goes where it wants. The light volume here is a concern. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today but did bounce around back and forth. The short term indicators here are still pointing up which would imply more decline on the horizon. Still below the 50 day moving average and the 20 level. GDP on tap tomorrow and that could be a market mover. Earnings will be coming out as well. The TRAN got slammed again today and perhaps that might be the story that we should be looking at going forward. With the summation index now heading down, the path of least resistance should be lower. But we still think that Thursday will be positive. Europe and Asia were lower with the exception of Hong Kong. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

Volatility returned and we finally got some movement as the Dow fell 344 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 5 to 1 negative. The summation index has turned down. The sell off was broad based with the TRAN taking the biggest percentage hit. I still don't think this is the start of something big to the downside but what do I know? The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are trending down but not completely oversold yet. We are about to have the 50 day moving average cross below the 200 day moving average on the Russell 2000. That is not a positive. We haven't broken the up trend line in the NASDAQ that began at the start of the year. So the bulls have that. I'm not sure about tomorrow as we'll see if there is any downside follow through. But I am pretty sure that Thursday will be positive. Whether it's GDP, earnings or whatever that should be an up day according to the work we do here. The question is whether we buy the SPY May calls on weakness tomorrow. The premiums there are pricey though. Gold was up $7 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates dropped on a flight to safety. The XAU had a fractional loss and GDX had a slight fractional gain. Volume remains light. My order for the GDX may calls remains out there but at this rate it won't get filled before Thursday. I might just buy the calls there above the price that I want and take my chances. However the light volume in the gold shares is telling me that there is no real demand there at the moment. I'll have to decide one way or the other tonight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX perked up today but did finish off of the highs for the day. The short term indicators have turned up with some room to go. The VIX remains below the 20 level which is another reason why I don't think a huge decline is in the cards here. If the VIX gets back above 20 then that would change our view. As is the usual story with this game, always plenty of questions with no easy answers. Asia and Europe were generally down. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

The week started right where we left off with a listless, going nowhere for now market. The Dow was up 66 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is moving sideways. A mixed bag as the NASDAQ was negative. The S&P 500 remains stuck in a range. The short term indicators here are trying to turn back up so perhaps we'll see some buying tomorrow. But who knows? Still waiting on a catalyst or something to get things going. Earnings haven't provided much direction as yet, perhaps the GDP report on Thursday will get things moving. Inflation data out on Friday. We just rolled in to the May option cycle so the premiums are still high. Gold rose $8 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates a bit higher. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on pretty light volume. I did place another open order for the GDX May calls and I'm leaving it out there for now. Not completely short term oversold for GDX but we're getting there. I might adjust the order and take this trade ahead of the NEM earnings report on Thursday. We'll see. There's been a lack of volume lately for the gold shares and that is not a positive. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was basically unchanged today but was higher during the session. Still short term oversold on the daily indicators but that has been the case for weeks. Not getting a good idea of what comes next here with regards to the VIX. Plenty of earnings due in the next few days. Asia was mixed and Europe slightly lower to begin the last week in April. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

Just another day of watching paint dry as the Dow gained 22 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is stalling here. We saw a little back and forth early but have finished just about where we started. The was no expiration volatility and no positive expiration week bias. Not sure what the market is doing here but it ain't much. It's a trendless game at the moment and that isn't appealing to options trading. It's still a week and a half until the Fed. The S&P 500 has been trading sideways for a while and we're still waiting to get to 4200. The short term technical indicators here have rolled over from overbought. I'm not sure what comes next here but we'll move on to the May option cycle. Gold lost over $25 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates a bit higher. The XAU fell 1 3/4, while GDX lost 3/8. Volume was light. GDX is moving towards short term oversold but isn't there quite yet. I am looking at the May calls here now and will probably place an order before the open on Monday. We'll put the order in only to be filled if GDX continues to decline. There's a possibility that gold rolls over here and we do not want the calls if that happens. GDX could be headed back to the 50 day moving average which is below 31. So we will have to look at things this weekend and try to come up with the right game plan here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today as there was no upside follow through to yesterdays slight gain. Still short term oversold and the VIX is still saying that higher stock prices are in our future. It is a low volatility environment at the moment. The low volume is a concern for the bulls. But there is an old adage saying to never short a dull market. We'll stick to the techncials and right now there isn't a clear signal with regards to the SPY. We'll check the charts this weekend and take it from there. Europe was higher and Asia lower to finish the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

A bit of volatility returned as the Dow fell 110 points on light volume. We opened with a gap to the downside and then moved back up until when there was 2 hours left in the trading day. Then we had a huge sell off only to rebound again in the final half hour. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is starting to congest. The NASDAQ led the way lower. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are finally starting to roll over. They are still overbought but coming off of higher levels. I do not think that this is the beginning of some kind of extended downside correction. But I've been wrong before. Gold rose $7 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates dipped too. The XAU and GDX had minimal slight fractional moves lower on very light volume. I did not try the GDX April calls again with 2 days left in the April option cycle. We are moving out to the May GDX calls for the next possible trade there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that fits with a down market. The short term indicators here are now coming off of the extreme oversold levels. It doesn't mean that a big decline is in the cards because we are well below the level of 20. I'm still looking for the 4200 level on the S&P 500 before we take a different view of where we're going. Asia was generally higher and Europe was down. We'll see about expiration Friday tomorrow.

It was still just another day of hanging around as the market opened lower, made it all the way back and then some only to fall back again in the final half hour. The Dow fell 79 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index continues up. Most of the major indexes finished little changed. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought as if it were in an endless loop. So far option expiration week has been a big yawn. I'm expecting higher prices as we have yet to reach the target of 4200 on the S&P. Volatility is low and the trading is lackluster. Gold was off a dozen on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher along with interest rates. The XAU was off 2 7/8, while GDX shed 1/2. Volume was a bit above average. I did place another order for the GDX April calls but it wasn't filled. I adjusted it a couple of times during the day because I thought that this idea still might work. However the short term indicators on the daily chart for GDX have rolled over and are not yet oversold. But we have shorter time frames that we look at and some of those are indicating a bounce possible there in the next 2 days. Perhaps if GDX is lower on the open we'll try the calls for a very short term trade. But the risk may not be worth the reward. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX is still lower today and remains extremely short term oversold. The RSI is around 34 1/2. We are not going to be able to base a trade on that in the April option timeframe. The premiums for May will be inflated with so much time remaining there. So we may just have to pass on the trade based on the RSI for the VIX. Looks like we'll be remaining on the sidelines for now. Asia was lower and Europe higher in last nights trade. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

We had a gap to the upside to start things off. Then the market sold off into negative territory and spent the rest of the session going sideways. It can't seem to make up its mind. The Dow lost ten points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues to the upside. All the major indices finished with slight moves either way. The S&P 500 is still short term overbought. It doesn't look like we'll be making a trade this week there. Gold was up $10 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were steady. Both the XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. I did place an overnight order for the GDX April calls but it wasn't filled. Might try again tomorrow but we are really running out of time for this idea. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower again today and the short term oversold condition persists. It doesn not look like the RSI here will make it down to our target of 30 in order to attempt the SPY April puts. So it looks like we'll remain on the sidelines until the next option cycle unless we try the GDX calls with three days to go. Asia was mixed and Europe higher overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Some back and forth today but the final 2 hours saw an advance as the Dow gained 100 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. The S&P 500 continues its short term overbought condition. We're still looking for a trade in the SPY this week but have come up empty so far. Some economic data due out this week but nothing that is expected to be a big market mover. Earnings will continue to be the focus in our view. My guess would be that the positive option expiration bias takes effect and we'll see higher prices going forward to Friday. But with the overbought condition a drop could appear out of nowhere. It looks like we'll be on the sidelines with respect to the SPY. Gold was off eight bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher again along with interest rates. The XAU lost 3 1/4 and GDX shed 3/4. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX have turned down and they have plenty of room to go lower. That said, we still might try the GDX April calls with only 4 days left to go in the April option cycle. Those that missed the recent run up in the gold shares might be looking to jump in on this slight decline. Or this could be the beginning of a move back to the 50 day moving average which GDX is still pretty far from reaching. I'll have to look at the shorter term technicals tonight and see if a trade is the right thing to do here. The risk would be very high either way. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and closed below 17. It remains very short term oversold. The RSI on the daily chart is at 36 1/2 and I don't know if it will make it down to 30 this week. Plenty to consider overnight as we try and decide if a trade is worth the risk this week or should we simply wait for better opportunities. Asia up and Europe down to start the week. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

A one day reversal to the downside as the market opened higher and closed lower. The Dow fell 143 points on light volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving up. The economic data was mixed with retail sales coming in lighter than expected. Bank earnings were in line or better than anticipated but after a breif early rally in stocks, sellers took over. The market did however finish well off of the lows for the day though. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. It's hard to make a case for trying anything with the SPY considerign there's only a week to go and no clear signal. If we do try anything it will have to be very short term in nature. However the short term trades are not really my strength so perhaps caution will be advised. Gold dropped $35 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell over 2 3/4, while GDX lost 3/4. Volume was good to the downside but the gold shares came back well off of their lows for the session. Still short term overbought here as well. Yes I'd still like to try the gold share calls but we are running out of time in the April option cycle. We'll consider what to do over the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that doesn't fit with a down market. Not sure what the story is here. Still short term oversold which has been the persistent condition. Firmly below the 18 level now on the VIX with the RSI at 37. Maybe we'll get to 30 on the RSI next week but will there be enough time to try the SPY April put trade? The VIX still projects higher stock prices going forward. It was a positive week for stocks as all the major averages posted gains. The only caveat here is that the volume wasn't robust. We'll see if that means anything going forward. There are always many questions without easy answers in this game. We'll go over the charts in the next couple of days and try to come up with a game plan for a trade next week. Europe and Asia posted gains to close out the trading week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Off we go to the upside as the Dow gained 383 points on light volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. Producer prices came in tame and it was a rally from the start. The NASDAQ led the way. It appears that prices now will probably run up into option expiration next week. Perhaps 4200 will be in the cards for the S&P 500. It does remain short term overbought but that may not deter things from going higher. The S&P has been overbought for about 3 weeks. Only six days left in the April option cycle and a trade in SPY looks less likely at this point. Gold rallied $30 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were up a bit. The XAU climbed 4 points, while GDX added about a point. Volume was good to the upside as there are no sellers for now. The gold shares remain extremely overbought and now are pretty far from their 50 day moving average. I canceled my open order for the GDX April calls as it was nowhere near to getting filled. It has been quite a move in gold and the gold shares and I missed it. I'm not sure how much longer it can go on but we'll be buyers on any pullback if it can get short term oversold. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX dropped today and closed below the 18 level. It dropped lower out of the recent congestion and that implies higher prices yet to come. Remaining short term oversold here. One possible trade before expiration next week would be the SPY April puts if the RSI on the daily VIX hits 30. It is currently 39 and change. Not sure that it will reach that level but we'll keep an eye on it. Retail sales data out tomorrow and some earnings start to trickle in. So the market will have excuses to move. Asia and Europe were higher overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

It was another back and forth session as the Dow dropped 38 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is moving up. We waited for the inflation data to show up and there were no surprises. Producer prices out tomorrow. The NASDAQ was the leader heading lower. The short term indicators there have now rolled over. Despite todays drop the S&P 500 remains short term overbought. It has been traveling sideways for a week and a half. We would like to try a SPY trade in the April option cycle but have yet to receive a decent signal one way or the other. I'll try not to press things here just for the sake of making a trade. Gold was up ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates remained steady. The XAU rose 1 1/4, while GDX added 1/3. Volume was light. I did place an open order overnight for the GDX April calls. It wasn't filled and it will take some decline in GDX for that to happen. I'm leaving the order out there for now. GDX continues to be short term overbought and has been for over 4 weeks. This won't last forever. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished about where it started today. It's still below the 20 level and in a sideways channel. Also still short term oversold. I don't know what to expect here next. Stocks seem to still be waiting for some kind of catalyst to get them going up or down. I'm not sure what that would be or where it will come from. We'll stick with trying some kind of gold share call trade for now as money continues to find a home there. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of the Hang Seng. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

Mixed is the best way to descibe todays price action although things were looking pretty positive until the final half hour. The Dow gained 98 points on light volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 positive. The summation index continues higher. We were looking at gains all around the stock indices but sellers took over in the final half hour. The NASDAQ posted a loss and the S&P finished little changed.. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. I still think that we'll get to 4200 on the S&P before we see the end of this rally but I could be wrong. Tomorrows inflation data should prvide the catalyst one way or the other. Not sure exactly what to expect there. We're still looking for some kind of SPY trade before option expiration next week. Gold was back up $15 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates held steady. The XAU gained 1 2/3, while GDX added 5/8. Volume was light for what we've seen here lately. I may put in an order overnight for the GDX April calls in case we get a sell off early in the morning. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up a touch today, remains short term oversold and I don't know what to expect here next. Still below the 20 level and that's a plus for the bulls. Where we go next will depend on the reaction to tomorrows data. Europe and Asia finished higher overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments and see what the inflation data has in store for us tomorrow.

An early sell off was met with buying for the rest of the session as the Dow gained 101 points on light volume. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving to the upside. We did get a signal on Friday from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two days. We'll see if that pans out tomorrow. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 finished about where thay started. Both remain short term overbought. Waiting on the inflation data due out on Wednesday and Thursday. Earnings season will begin on Friday with some of the major banks. So there will be plenty of reasons for stocks to move around this week. We still like the market to progress higher and look for 4200 on the S&P. Gold dropped $20 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates ticked up. The XAU fell 1 1/3, while GDX shed 3/8. Volume was light. GDX remains short term overbought. We're still considering the GDX April calls but are hesitiant to put on that trade due to the sustained overbought condition. If GDX makes it back to the 33 level we may give the calls a shot. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher which doesn't fit with an up or sideways market day which we saw today. Still pretty oversold on a daily bais here. However the daily candlestcik chart here still looks like it implies lower readings for the VIX going forward. Never any easy going in this game. Less than 2 weeks now left in the April option cycle. We will be looking to put on some type of trade either in SPY or GDX. Most of the foreign markets were still on holiday last night. What were open finished mixed. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Just hanging around before a long weekend as the Dow rose a couple of points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still moving up. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 were higher today as well. They also both remain short term overbought. Waiting on tomorrows jobs report and there isn't much else to say but that. We will just have to wait and see how it goes on Monday morning. Gold was off a dozen on the futures today. The US dollar finished little changed as did interest rates. It is a waiting game here as well. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional gains on pretty light volume. The overbought extremes continue for the gold shares. We still are hoping for some type of pullback during the April option cycle here but if not we'll move on. All the players should be back at their desks on Monday. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and is getting to support at the 18 level. If it can get through there the rally will have even more legs. Still remaining very short term oversold on the VIX but that can last for a while in uptrends. My guess remains that the S&P will make it up to 4200. Our open order for the natural gas ETF BOIL was filled today. This is an idea that we plan on holding for less than a year. If and when we see a move higher and the indicators get overbought, we'll be out. However this isn't a fast moving instrument and the possibility of holding on for months isn't out of the question. It could be a buy in the spring, sell in the winter kind of deal. We'll be keeping an eye on it and be ready to take the loss if it simply continues to drop. It is our first endeavor with a leveraged ETF so we'll see. Europe was up and Asia mixed overnight. A long weekend is upon us. We'll go over the charts, enjoy the extra day off and get ready for next week.

Another mixed bag as the Dow was up while the overall market struggled. The most watched index gained 80 points on light volume. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is still moving up. The NASDAQ led the way down for most of the indices. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought despite a couple of down days. It feels as though stocks are just hanging around and waiting for the next catalyst. Or perhaps it's just a holiday week feel as the markets will be closed on Friday. Whatever the case we will remain patient for now and look to put on a trade next week after we get the jobs report out of the way. Plenty of time in the April option cycle to make something happen. Gold was flat on the session. The US dollar was higher and interest rates were slightly lower. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional gains on good volume. Waiting on some kind of pullback here as both gold and the gold shares are extremely overbought. It will be risky to try the calls but that is the plan for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished barely higher today and remains short term oversold. The daily chart still looks like it wants to go lower. We are in a waiting game at the moment. One trading day left this week tomorrow and I'm pretty sure that we will just let it pass. We won't try and force things here but try and let the markets tell us where we go next. Having patience isn't the easiest thing in the world sometimes but it is necessary in the game. So we'll simply stay on the sidelines until next week. Europe and Asia finished mixed. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

Some selling today and that wasn't unexpected as the Dow fell 198 points on average volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving up. We were due for some give back and saw some today. We don't think it's the beginning of any kind of sustained downside activity. The S&P 500 does remain short term overbought along with the Dow and the NASDAQ. But as we've said before, in rallies the markets simply stay overbought. We still expect higher prices going forward. Gold took off today and gained almost forty bucks on the futures. The US dollar continued its slide and interest rates were lower. The XAU jumped 4 1/3, while GDX was up over a point. Volume was heavy to the upside. I did place another order for the GDX April calls but then canceled it. There is no doubt that the gold shares are heading higher but I have to at least wait until they pull back before trying to trade them now. Obviously the best opportunities here have passed us by. But with GDX going straight through the 33 level without hesitation tells us there is more room to run. We will look to try the calls on a pullback to 33. The short term indicators here are extremely overbought. GDX is also moving pretty far away from its 50 day moving average. So trying the calls here may not be the best move in the world but the momentum is strong. We'll try and figure things out as we move forward. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today but finished well off the highs of the session. It remains short term oversold but the daily candlestick chart appears to look like it wants to go lower. Still below the 20 level here. We saw selling in the market today and the question is whether it will be the start of some actual downside or just a sideways pause to take a breather. I'm inclined to believe the latter. Asia was generally higher and Europe mixed overnight. Halfway through the trading week and we'll see how it goes tomorrow.

A mixed bag to start the week but the Dow gained 327 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ posted a loss along with the TRAN. The S&P 500 was up and the technical condition there remains the same. Short term overbought. Plenty of data out this week with Fridays jobs report the most anticipated. However Friday is also a holiday so we will have to wait out the long weekend to see the market response. For now the trend is up until further notice. We still believe any decline can be bought successfully. Gold was up $15 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 2 1/4, while GDX gained 3/4. Volume was good. The gold shares continue to plow higher despite being overbought for weeks. We still would like to try the GDX April calls but haven't taken the chance. It is hard to get long a trade when it is already overbought but in rallies that condition just keeps on going. It will end at some point and sometimes I get the feeling that point will be the moment you put on the call trade. However money continues to find a home in gold and I don't see anything to change that narrative right now. GDX is at some resistance now at the 33 level so perhaps we'll get a pause to try the April calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today and that fits with most of the market being up. Very short term oversold now so I would expect to see some type of decline in stocks this week. Not anything that would change the overall bullish scenario though. We'll see. Asia and Europe were higher to start the week with the exception of the DAX. We are considering a trade in natural gas as it has been hammered down to levels that we think are worth taking a risk on the long side. We are looking at a leveraged instrument, BOIL, which is an ETF not an option. We do have an order in for it if the price gets down to where we'd like to purchase. I haven't traded this product before but it does appear to have enough liquidity to give it a try. Unlike the option trades, there are not deadlines for selling it once purchased. However for us this is a trading vehicle and not something to be held on to for more than a year. We'll be keeping an eye on it and let you know if our order gets filled. As always we'll keep watch on tonights trading activity.

Yesterday saw the inflation data come in weaker than expected which led to a broad rally. The Dow was up over 400 points and the NASDAQ continues to lead the way. The summation index is moving higher and we'll take our cues from there. Declines can be used to get long in our opinion. Gold fell back a little bit. We have a shortened trading week on tap with the Good Friday holiday. I'm feeling better and should be back to normal on Monday. Enjoy the weekend.