We had a one day reversal to the dowside to finish the month as the market opened higher and closed lower. The Dow fell 158 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still moving down. The inflation data came in where expected which led to a higher market open. But the sellers then took over and most of the major indices finished in the red. Perhaps it was the final dumping of shares for the 3rd quarter. The NASDAQ did manage to post a very small gain. It looks like whatever small bounce that we saw in the market is over. The S&P remains short term oversold. Perhaps next week we'll make it down to the 4200 level but I think that will be about it for this decline. The short term technical indicators for most of the major averages have been blown out to the downside for an extended period. This can last longer than you think but it cannot last forever. I could be wrong but around the 4200 level should be the bottom for the S&P 500 for this move. Gold dropped another $13 on the futures. The US dollar finished about unchanged while interest rates fell. The gold shares had a negative one day reversal as well. The XAU and GDX finished will slight fractional losses on average volume. My GDX October calls remain entrenched in the red. Do I think there is nay chance for this trade to come back? Perhaps, as the gold shares are overdue for some kind of bounce. However if the overall market continues to fall, the gold shares will most likely follow as they have been. Still short term oversold on GDX and that condition cannot last forever as well. It is probably a cut the loss situation for this trade though as the entry timing was early. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and the daily candlestick chart here looks like it wants to go higher. That would not bode well for stocks. We have the weekend upon us and a potential US government shut down to consider. Probably not a positive for the markets if it occurs but as always the market goes where it wants. We'll begin the month of Octobers trading on Monday. Going over the charts as usual the next couple of days. Europe and Asia were generally higher. China is on holiday for a week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Today we got the bounce that we've been looking for as the Dow gained 116 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving down. The NASDAQ led the way higher today and that is a plus for the bulls. However we are not sure if this is a dead cat bounce or the beginning of actually trying to find a bottom. We still haven't gotten to the 4200 level on the S&P 500 but perhaps yesterdays low of 4240 was enough. There is a bullish bottoming pattern on the S&P daily candlestick chart after todays price action. But that could all change tomorrow if we get a high inflation reading with a big market sell off. End of the month tomorrow as well. So the jury is still out on where we go from here. Still short term oversold on the major stock indices despite todays rise. No doubt some short covering today ahead of the inflation news. Gold dropped another $7 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional gains on good volume. Both my October GDX call positions at different strike prices are solid losers. The only thing that this trade still has going for it is that there is a lot of time left in the October option cycle. The gold shares remain short term oversold. The VIX was lower today and that fits an up market. The short term indicators are trying to move lower but are not doing so convincingly. More overbought than oversold here. Not sure what's next for the VIX. My guess is that tomorrows market action will be dictated by the reaction to the inflation data. I have no idea what to expect. One thing for sure is that it will be interesting to see how the month of September ends. Europe higher and Asia lower in last nights trade. We'll close out the week, month and quarter tomorrow.

Trying to stabalize as the Dow fell 68 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index continues lower. Volatile today as we bounced around trying to find direction. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 had very slight gains to end the day. But we haven't seen the blow out heavy volume wash out that probably needs to occur to end the decline. I'm still looking for 4200 on the S&P as the most probable resting stop. What happens there will determine if the decline is over. Both short and medium term oversold for the S&P so I'm inclined to think that we're coming to the end of the selling very soon. But the market goes where it wants as we have seen when we've crossed the zero line in the summation index. No SPY trades just yet after we missed this recent bout of selling. Gold got pounded again as the futures fell $25 and closed below the $1900 level. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU lost over 2 3/4, while GDX shed over 3/4. Volume was heavy to the downside as the near term support for the gold shares did not hold. I did purchase some more closer to the money GDX October calls this morning and that was a mistake. The GDX October calls that I am holding are all showing losses. Gold and the gold shares are in free fall. I should have taken my losses on yesterdays gold shares call options and been done with that idea. However the techncial picture here is so blown out to the oversold and downside that I cannot imagine some kind of snap back not take place soon. But I could be wrong. Sometimes markets go farther and faster than you think and we may just be in one of those times. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today but remains short term overbought. Not sure what to expect next here with regards to the VIX. Coming up to the end of the month and inflation data on Friday. Not sure what to expect but we'll still look for 4200 on the S&P as the spot to see some serious buying. Asia was up and Europe slightly lower overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

Down we go as the market got clobbered today. The Dow fell 388 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 5 to 1 negative. The summation index is heading lower and throught the zero line. Hence we get days like today when things fall apart for no apparent reason. Oversold, staying that way and that's a recipe for disaster. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way down. Another day like today will get us to 4200 on the S&P 500 and I would expect to see some buyers show up at that level. But who knows? Things are very over-extended to the downside at the moment on a technical basis. I suppose yesterdays price action was an attempt at a bounce that failed. End of the month coming up on Friday and I don't see any reason for players to step up to the plate ahead of that. It's a bloodbath but it could get worse if we don't hold things up at the S&P 500 200 day moving average at around 4200. That's also where the longer term up trend line from last October lies. It appears that's where we're headed. Gold dropped $18 on the futures. The US dollar continued higher and interest rates were steady. The XAU fell 3 1/3, while GDX was off 3/4. Volume was light. I did cancel my open order for the GDX October calls before the market opened. I then placed it again during the session and it was filled. I'm early here as the gold shares are oversold now and staying that way like the overall market. The trade is already showing a loss. I'm considering taking the loss tomorrow and trying to get the calls at a closer to the money strike price. I'm also considering getting out and heading to the sidelines. I'll ponder my choices overnight. Gold is not being sought as a safe haven and the fundamental picture here remains negative. That said, the technical picture is a buy here. Plenty of time left in the October option cycle. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up and closed above its 200 day moving average. It is short term oversold. Still below the important level of 20 but if it gets above there we'll only see increased selling. September is living up to its reputation as a poor time for the bulls. Tomorrow could get interesting as buyers are nowhere to be found. Europe and Asia were down. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Another day of marking time to begin the trading week as the Dow was up 43 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index continues lower. The market is waiting on something here but what that is, I have no clue. Overdue for some kind of decent bounce for the averages as the short term oversold conditions persist. Getting closer to the zero line on the summation index but we haven't see things fall apart yet. Uncertain times to be sure. Some economic data due out this last week of September. Inflation news on Friday will probably be the most watched. The NASDAQ did lead the way today but the gains were minor. We'll stick with the forecast of lower stock prices going forward for now. Gold was off ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates rose. The XAU dropped 1 1/8 and GDX lost 1/3. Volume was light. I adjusted my open order for the GDX calls over the weekend and it almost got filled today. Another down day tomorrow for GDX would most likely put me in this trade. GDX is not yet short term oversold so I might be early on this but I may cancel the order at the open depending on where gold is headed in the morning. I also might consider getting closer to the money calls as well. But it does appear that the time to make this trade is upon us. I could be wrong. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with an up market. The 200 day moving average has held the recent rise in the VIX for now. The short term indicators here are trying to roll over and that would be a plus for stocks. The VIX is also short term overbought so perhaps we'll see that bounce in equities that we're looking for sooner rather than later. We're still dealing with a light volume environment. Asia was mixed and Europe down to begin the week. We'll keep an eye on tonights market activity.

An attempt at stabalization would best describe todays market action as the Dow fell 106 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is moving lower and heading to the zero line. The Dow was the underperformer today. Not a lot of volatilty today as things basically progressed sideways. The S&P 500 remains short term oversold and I still think that it's headed towards 4200. We are due for some kind of bounce though as the market is stretched to the downside short term. But there isn't much positive out there right now and we are in a weak seasonal time frame. It appears that a collapse has started and we'll have to see how low things go. Gold was up $5 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates dipped. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. The short term indicators for GDX are now mid-range. My open order is still out there but I will most likely be adjusting it over the weekend. The gold shares will probably follow the overall market south in the near term and I need to take that into consideration. I do still like the idea of the GDX October calls but the entry timing will have to be pretty good in order for this idea to work. Plenty of time left in the October option cycle as it had an extra week in the time frame. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was a bit lower today and is short term overbought. Still below the 200 day moving average here and not close to the 20 level. That doesn't mean that stocks can't go lower though. There is no denying that we had a sudden change in market perceptions this week. So we need to change our way of thinking about the current market as well. Sellers are in charge until further notice. With the zero line in plain view on the summation index, things could fall apart even quicker than we think. So keep that in mind going forward. We'll go over the charts as usual this weekend keeping those things in mind. Asia was mixed and Europe generally lower to close out the trading week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Sellers have taken over as the Dow lost 370 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 5 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving down. It is approaching the zero line and it looks like it will pass through it. That doesn't happen often. The market is in the falling apart mode at the moment. Once again the NASDAQ led the way down and that's a negative. The S&P 500 is short term oversold and staying that way which is never a good sign. How far down will we go? We've got a longer term up trend line and the 200 day moving average coming in at 4200 give or take for the S&P. So it looks like we're at least headed to that level. We've got some head and shoulders patterns on some of the other major indices just getting started so this decline has room to run. Can't see any reason for things to turn around but we may get some bounces to relieve the oversold conditions. We'll remain on the sidelines with regards to the SPY for now as we obviously missed this move lower. Plenty of time remaining in the October option cycle. Gold dropped over $25 on the futures. The US dollar was up along with interest rates. The XAU fell 3 points, while GDX slid over 3/4. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX have rolled over and have room to go lower. I'm not sure why I'm still a believer in this GDX October call trade but I'm keeping my open order out there. Another day like today will get it filled. I'll have to think about this trade idea over tonight. The gold shares could actually be headed much lower. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX jumped today and is getting to short term overbought. It is now above the upper Bollinger band but still below the important 20 level. Below the 200 day moving average as well but we'll see what happens tomorrow. Volatilty is making a comeback. Look out below is how we can sum up what's going on in the stock market right now. I doubt we'll see a lot of buyers ahead of the weekend but who knows? Realistically the trend is down until further notice. Asia and Europe were down as it's a worldwide head for the exits. We'll see how the week closes out tomorrow.

The Fed came and went and it led to one day downside reversals for most of the major averages. My higher stock prices thesis was wrong and the positive daily candlestick patterns from yesterday were negated. The Dow fell 76 points on light volume. It had been up around 250 early on. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is on the cusp of breaking lower from the recent congestion zone. The NASDAQ led they way lower and that's a negative. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are now oversold and it is about to touch the lower Bollinger band. Will that be able to hold prices here? Stay tuned. I'm not sure what to expect next but the market goes where it wants. We'll wait and see what happens overseas tonight but still on the sidelines with regards to trading the SPY options. Gold finished flat after being up early on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates slightly rose. The XAU added 1 1/8, while GDX gained 1/3 on average volume. Both finished off of the best levels for the day. GDX remains short term overbought and we have seen recent interest here that had been lacking. I still have the order out there for the GDX October calls but if GDX starts to head lower now it may be time to cancel it. GDX was pushed back from the 30 level which is where a down trend line in effect since May occurs on the daily chart. My thinking is if we can make it through that line more buying will come in and the GDX October calls will benefit. That may just be wishful thinking on my part though. Mentally I'm still not 100%. The VIX was higher today and closed above its 50 day moving average. Not yet short term overbought here. I'm not sure what's next for this indicator. Interesting day today but where are we going from here? I don't have a good handle on things at the moment so we will have to watch and wait with regards to the SPY. The lack of volume is a concern as liquidty and participation could become a problem. But we'll see how things go tomorrow. Europe higher and Asia lower overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

Some volatility returned on Tuesday as the Dow fell 106 points on light volume. The advance/declines remain negative. The summation index continues sideways for now. We had a sell off in the morning and spent the rest of the day clawing back. The Dow was the leader lower and that's not the most bearish scenario. The market has a feel of wanting to go higher here but we'll have to wait for tomorrows reaction to the Fed. The technical picture for the S&P 500 has some of the indicators getting oversold but not all. The daily candlestick chart has a potential hammer put in today, which would be bullish. This hammer configuration is also on some of the other major index daily charts. But we'll have to get through whatever the Fed has in store for us tomorrow. We are remaining on the sidelines with regards to the SPY for now. Gold was off a buck on the futures today. The US dollar was flat and interest rates rose. The XAU dropped 2 points and GDX shed 1/3. Volume remains light. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to roll over. I still have an open order out there for the GDX October calls. If the indicators here continue to fall I will probably have to give up on this trade attempt. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was slightly higher today and fell back from its best levels. It does remains below the 50 day moving average. The short term indicators on the VIX are now mid-range so it could go either way. It is a seasonally weak period for the stock market but I do think that there's a good chance to see a rally from here. I could be wrong. We'll know more as we go along. Asia was lower and Europe mixed in last nights trade. All eyes and ears on the Fed Wednesday.

Hanging around today as the Dow crept up 6 points today on pretty light volume. The advance /declines were negative. The summation index remains in a sideways channel. Running in place ahead of the Fed on Wednesday is about how to describe todays lack of action on Wall street. The short term technical picture for the S&P 500 remains the same. We do not have a good signal one way or the other for the SPY so we'll remains on the sidelines for now. Gold was up $8 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates finished flat. The gold shares didn't tag along with gold this time as they were flat on the session. That is not a plus. Volume was light. GDX is getting short term overbought and perhaps the time for the October calls has passed. My order for them is still out there but I am considering abandoning this idea. Mentally I'm feeling tired as I was ill over the weekend. The VIX was up slightly today but remains below its 50 day moving average. The blog is short today as I recover from being sick over the weekend. Europe and Asia were lower to begin the week. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Back to the downside on option expiration Friday as the Dow lost 288 points on expiration heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index remains stuck in a sideways channel. The overall market was weaker than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. That is not a plus. But just as we didn't know if yesterdays price action was option expiration related, we can say the same thing about today. There wasn't any really negative news to be used as an excuse for the decline. Yesterday the short term indicators for the S&P were turning up and today they have turned back down. The S&P is back below its 50 day moving average. The techncial picture here now argues for more downside going forward. Perhaps we will have better clarity after the Fed on Wednesday. Gold was up $11 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates rose. The XAU gained 2 1/4, while GDX was up 5/8. Volume was average here. GDX is not yet short term overbought but both GOLD and NEM are. We will look to purchase the GDX October calls on any decline in GDX from here. That's the best we can hope for at this point since we have already missed the ideal entry point for this trade. We are still believers in a rally for the gold shares here but will not chase it unless there is some kind of short term pullback. We have seen the signs that interest is picking up for the gold shares. There is an extra week in the October option cycle and that could work in this trade ideas favor as well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and the short term indicators here have turned back up. The daily candlestick chart for the VIX looks like it wants to go higher. But there's always the chance that today was a one day wonder and we'll only know that as time moves on. For now the market will be waiting on the Fed next week. We'll go over the charts as usual this weekend but our minds are made up as far as trying the GDX October call trade if we get the chance. The option premiums for SPY will be high as we move into the October cycle. Europe and Asia were higher once again to finish the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The big move showed up as projected by the McClellan oscillator as the Dow soared 331 points on light volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 positive. The summation index remains in a sideways channel. The Dow outperformed today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. The inflation data came in hot and the market didn't care. The S&P 500 made it back above its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators there are turning back up. Perhaps September won't be such a cruel month this year. But we've still got a couple of weeks to go. Not yet short term overbought for the S&P so perhaps we'll continue higher. Or todays positive price action could just be option expiration related. We'll continue to monitor the price action. Gold was off a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher, while interest rates were up a bit. The XAU gained 1 3/4, GDX was up 3/8. Volume remains light. Once again the gold shares are doing better than gold itself and that is bullish going forward. The short term indicators for GDX are at mid-range. My open order for the GDX October calls is still out there but this idea has been hanging around for a while now. It appears that we could simply have already missed this opportunity. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower and closed at a new low for the year. That is bullish. The short term indicators are oversold and staying that way which is the indication of a rally. I'm not sure how long this conditon can persist but it's usually longer than you think. Not to mention that a market that rallies on what is perceived as bad news is bullish. So perhaps we're on our way to new recovery highs for the year. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. We'll see how expiration Friday goes to close out the week.

Another mixed bag today as the Dow fell 70 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still in a sideways channel. The overall market was positive, with both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posting small gains. The market is still undecided on which way to go. We did get a signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two days. We'll see if that works tomorrow. The inflation data came in about where expected and the market bounced around a bit at the beginning. It spent the rest of the day moving sideways until bouncing around again in the final couple of hours. The S&P is looking for direction as it has been trading sideways for a week. The short term indicators are going sideways as well and are stuck at mid-range. Not sure what will get us going one way or the other but perhaps tomorrows economic data will give us a clue. Gold was off $4 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates slightly lower on the day. Rates did manage to drop from from earlier gains in the session. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional losses on very light volume. The gold shares are hanging in there despite the drop in the precious metal. I think this bodes well going forward. My open order for the GDX October calls remains in place but at this rate it won't get filled. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX fell today and remains short term oversold. I'm still not sure what to expect here. Once again the market appears to be in a holding pattern. Maybe it's waiting for next weeks Fed meeting to really get going. Only 2 days left in the September option cycle so SPY trades will be on hold. We'll let the rest of the week play itself out and go from there. Europe and Asia finished lower with the exception of India. We'll see if we get that big move telegraphed by the McClellan oscillator tomorrow.

We saw some selling in the overall market ahead of tomorrows inflation data as the Dow fell 17 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is moving in a sideways channel. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow with the NASDAQ once again leading the way lower. That is not a good sign for the bulls. The S&P 500 remains below its 50 day moving average. The short term technicals here are mid-range. Although I do think that tomorrows inflation data may come in hot, it's a guessing game based on the current technical factors what will happen in the market tomorrow. Hence we remain on the sidelines with regards to the SPY. We'll wait to roll into the October option cycle for the next potential trade there. Gold fell $11 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates held steady. The XAU and GDX finished the day flat on very light volume. The fact that the gold shares didn't decline with gold itself is a positive. However with no volume there is no interest in this sector for now it seems. I still like trying the GDX October calls and my open order for them remains out there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and that fits a down market. Still short term oversold here but not at an extreme. Not sure what to expect next here but volatility did pick up today. So it seems the market is holding its breath as it awaits tomorrows consumer inflation report. Thursday will bring producer prices and retail sales data. Plenty for stocks to chew on in the next couple of sessions. It was not a positive development for the market that Apple released its new phone today and it was met with a yawn. We'll just have to see where things go from here. Europe and Asia were mixed in last nights trade. On to Wednesday.

Options expiration week starts off with some buying as the Dow rose 87 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still in a sideways configuration. The NASDAQ was the leader today and that's a plus for the bulls. The short term indicators for the major averages are starting to turn back up. Perhaps the positive options expiration week bias will be in effect. There's still plenty of economic data to sift through in the coming days. I'm considering the SPY September puts ahead of the inflation data due out on Wednesday. But this is more of a gut feel idea based on my belief that the data will come in hot. Technically the SPY is neither short term overbought or oversold. So perhaps the sidelines is a more prudent path to take when it comes to this idea for a trade. We'll see. Gold was up a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were steady for the most part. The XAU rose 1 3/4, while GDX gained 3/8. Volume was pretty light. The short term indicators are turning back up for GDX as well. My open order for the GDX October calls remains out there. Again, I might have to adjust the order depending on what happens the rest of this week. I still like this idea but we may be too late if the gold shares simply continue higher from here. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was a touch lower today. it remains short term oversold and below its 50 day moving average. Not sure what to expect next for the VIX. Some of our work points to higher stock prices coming this week and today confirms that prognosis. But there's still plenty of time left in the week with plenty of economic data to digest on the one hand. On the other there's only 4 days to go in the September option cycle so the risk in a potential trade for this week is very high. Never easy in this game. Europe up and Asia mixed overnight. We'll keep watch on tonights developments.

We tried to bounce today but it wasn't all that successful as the Dow rose 75 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index continues sideways. We opened higher but then trended down for the rest of the session to basically tread water on the day. There certainly doesn't seem like there is any interest from buyers lately. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 remain below their 50 day moving averages. The short term technical indicators for these two are now mid-range. So you could make a case that we could go either way from here. I'm still looking for a better bounce than what we saw today. The TRAN was lower again though. Only a week remains in the September option cycle. Still on the sidelines with regards to trading the SPY for now. Might try something ahead of the inflation data but we'll see. Gold, the US dollar and interest rates all ended the day flat. I guess they are trying to figure out where to go next. The XAU and GDX finished flat today as well on light volume. This is the kind of trendless trading day that we witnessed. The daily candlestick chart for GDX looks like it wants to head lower. The short term indicators here are beginning to move sideways. GDX is neither overbought or oversold on a daily bais at the moment. My open order for the GDX October calls remains out there. Might have to adjust it next week. The inflation data will probably get gold moving but which way is the question. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term oversold. It still looks like it wants to move down but I'd be guessing if I said that I knew what to expect here next. It does remain below its 50 day moving average. It was a quiet and negative short week for the major stock averages. Not sure what to expect next but I'm pretty sure that things will get moving after the inflation news. We'll be checking the charts over the weekend as usual. Europe was up and Asia lower with the exception of India to finish out the week overseas. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

A mixed bag today as the Dow managed a gain of 57 points on light volume. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is still tracking sideways. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 were lower today, with the NASDAQ leading the way by far. This is not a good sign for the bulls. The short term indicators for both of these indexes have turned lower. On a very short term basis we are oversold so a bounce within the next couple of sessions isn't out of the question. But the lack of volume is a concern as players remain on the sidelines ahead of next weeks inflation data. It's as if the summer doldrums arrived late this year. Gold finished flat on the session. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates slightly lower today. Both the XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. The short term indicators for GDX are still moving lower but are not yet oversold. MY open order for the GDX October calls remains out there. Might have to adjust it again or perhaps move to a different strike price. I'm still a fan of this idea for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was flat on the session and remains short term oversold. The daily candlestick chart here appears poised to head lower, which would be a plus for those long stocks. The VIX remains below its 50 day moving average and can remain oversold for some time. However we'll have to wait and see what it has in store for us this time around. Asia was generally lower and Europe mixed overnight. We'll close out the short and slow trading week tomorrow.

Sellers had the upper hand again today as the Dow lost 198 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is now heading sideways. Lower from the start today although the market did cut its losses in the final three hours. The NASDAQ led the way lower and that is not a plus for the bulls. It wasn't a complete rout though so we'll see how it goes tomorrow. The short term indicators on the S&P 500 have now turned lower with plenty of room to continue. But I'm not exactly sure what's next for the market going forward. The Feds beige book was a non-event. We are going to stay on the sidelines with regards to the SPY for now. Gold was off ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was flat and interest rates continued to rise. The XAU had a slight fractional loss, while GDX finished flat. Volume was light. My open order for the GDX October calls remains out there. The fact that the gold shares didn't drop with the loss in gold today should be a positive sign going forward. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today but did come off of the worst levels on the session. Still short term oversold here but the indicators are pointing up which would imply more volatility going forward. Not sure where the VIX is headed next though. The market seems to be waiting around for something to get it going. What exactly that is, I don't know. So far this week seems more like summer rather than everyone back at their desks. But we'll see where we go from here. Europe was lower and Asia mixed in last nights trade. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Back to work Tuesday as the Dow fell 195 points on light volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to track sideways. The Dow led the way lower and that isn't the most bearish scenario. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 remain short term overbought here. They are both holding up for now but if things roll over here we might retest the recent lows. The Russell 2000 had a lousy session and it is sometimes the leader of things to come. The TRAN had a decent drop today as well. So we'll be keeping a close eye on what happens next. It is a light week for economic data. Gold slid $15 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 3 points, while GDX lost 5/8. Volume was almost average. The short term indicators for GDX have rolled over. I adjusted down my order for the GDX October calls. May adjust it again tomorrow if the gold shares continue to fall. We still like this idea but have to be careful as the overall market is in a negative seasonal time period. If the summation index were to roll over it will take stocks with it and the gold shares would most likely go along for the ride. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that fits a down market. Still short term oversold here. I'm not sure where the VIX is headed next. The Fed beige book is out tomorrow and might be a reason for the market to move. No SPY trades in mind at the moment. Asia was mixed and Europe lower last night. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Employment data came in just about where expected and the Dow rose 115 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. Early strength was sold off and a couple of hours into the day we were negative. But the market spent the rest of the day trying to move higher. Our idea of buying the SPY puts on early strength would have had to be a pretty quick trade in order for it to work and that is not what we are looking for. Might try the SPY September puts at some point next week. The Dow leading the way today isn't the most bullish scenario as the NASDAQ posted a very slight loss. The S&P 500 had a small gain and remains short term overbought. It was a good week for equities but the volume was light and we do not trust light volume rallies. The summation index turning back up is a huge plus for the bulls though. Gold finished flat on the day and off of its best levels. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on average volume. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn lower. My open order for the GDX October calls remains out there as I still believe in this idea going forward for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower yet again today and is close to breaking below the 13 level. It remains short term oversold and looks like it wants to stay that way. This is another supporting factor for stocks at the moment. Less than two weeks to go in the September option cycle as we begin a long holiday weekend in the US. Summer will unofficially be over and everyone should be back at their desks on Tuesday. I don't have a good feel for where things are going to go but we are short term overbought for the major indices. However in rallies they simply stay that way. I'll be looking over the charts this weekend to try and come up with a game plan for the remaining September option cycle. Asia was generally higher and Europe generally lower to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.