Sellers took over today as the Dow fell 110 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is heading lower. We did get a sell signal from one of our indicators last night and it appears to be valid. How long it lasts is the question. The US/China trade talks ended peacefully but there were some earnings reports the weren't viewed as favorable. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading things lower by far. That is not a plus. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned down. Our hope is that things hold up here but the S&P did close practically at the low for the session. Gold rose $38 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates ticked up. The XAU gained 5 1/4, while GDX was up 1 2/3. Volume was a bit above average. GDX remains short term oversold but the indicators are trying to move up. Not sure if GDX is putting in a bottom here but it is possible. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX ended basically unchanged today which doesn't fit with a down market. Still short term oversold on the indicators here. Hard for me to figure out what the VIX is implying here as it hasn't matched up with the overall stock price movement for a few days. We are going to let tomorrow pass and look to next week to possibly make the next option trade. Asia and Europe finished lower. We'll close out the month of October and the trading week tomorrow.

A mixed bag after the Fed as the Dow fell 74 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to move sideways. No surprises from the Fed as rates dropped as expected. The NASDAQ was higher today but the Dow was lower and the S&P 500 finished flat. As long as the NASDAQ continues to lead we'll give the benefit of the doubt to the bulls. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. Next up is the US/China trade meeting tomorrow. Good news will take us higher and bad news will see some selling. Gold was off $24. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on good volume. GDX remains short term oversold hanging around its 50 day moving average. No GDX trades in mind for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and remains short term oversold. Not sure what to expect next there. Market breadth hasn't been all that great lately and the summation index has been having trouble going higher. Although we still give the bulls the edge for now we all know things can change in a hurry. We will see what happens overnight and go from there. Asia was generally higher and Europe generally lower in last nights trade. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Another positive session as the Dow gained 161 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative though. The summation index is still moving higher. The gains were better during the day but we had a sell off in the final hour. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way higher. New all time highs for the big 3 again. The S&P 500 is still short term overbought. We'll get the Fed tomorrow and that should get things moving one way or the other. If we can get a couple of days more of buying, a sell signal may pop up. We'll see. Gold dropped forty bucks on the futures to close below the $4000 level. The US dollar was a touch lower and interest rates finished little changed. The XAU was up 3 1/2 and GDX gained a point. Volume was good. The gold shares followed the overall market higher. GDX remains short term oversold. Not sure if it is putting in some kind of bottom here but we are not going to risk trying the GDX calls yet. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today on an up day and that doesn't fit. Still short term oversold here. Not sure what's coming next here. Still plenty of earnings to digest this week along with a US/China meeting of leaders. Trying to remain patient for now as we watch and wait. Asia and Europe were lower on Tuesday with the exception of the FTSE. We'll see how markets react to the Fed tomorrow.

Powering higher as the Dow gained 337 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. New all time highs all around again as news of a thaw in the US/China trade talks sparked a rally. The NASDAQ led the way up and that's a plus. The major indices have broken out and there is no overhead resistance. The S&P 500 is short term overbought but can stay that way during rallies. We will enjoy the ride for now. Gold lost $135 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates finished generally flat. The XAU fell 11 points, while GDX slid almost 3. Volume was pretty heavy to the downside. Once again traders are heading to the exits here. The gold shares did finish up from their lows on the session. But GDX has lost at one time today 20% of its value since hitting a high a week and half ago. The end of the parabolic rise is never pretty. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and is short term oversold. Nothing here says that the rally in stocks has to end as the VIX can stay oversold for extended periods of time. We will bide our time for now and wait for the next signal. The Fed on Wednesday and the US/China trade meeting on Thursday should be the next excuses for market movement. Asia and Europe began the week on a positive note. We'll keep an eye on any overnight developments.

Marching up to new all time highs as the Dow climbed 472 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving higher. Inflation data came in a touch lower than expected and there was a gap higher at the open. The market never looked back but had a drift lower in the final hour. New all time highs were reached by the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500. The S&P is still not completely short term overbought yet. There is no overhead resistance. I suspect that we will see higher prices from here in the near term. Gold was off $24 on the futures. The US dollar finished little changed again after being lower early on. Interest rates ended the day flat as well. The XAU fell 2 3/8, while GDX lost a point. Volume was a bit above average. GDX remains short term oversold on some of its indicators but not all. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. It is now short term oversold and closed below its 50 day moving average. The VIX still implies more near term gains for stocks. We are waiting for the next decent technical signal before taking on the next trade. There will be plenty of noise next week with a Fed meeting and a US/China get together. Headline risk will rise. I'll be going over the charts this weekend to try and come up with a game plan going forward. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Back to the upside as the Dow gained 144 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trying to get going to the upside. The NASDAQ led the way higher and that's a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 appears to be back on its way to short term overbought but is not there yet. Tomorrows reaction to the inflation data should set the stage for where the market is headed next. My guess is that we'll be heading to new all time highs for the S&P. Gold was up $67 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat again and interest rates rose. The XAU was up 2 3/8, while GDX added 7/8. Volume was a bit above average. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold but not completely so. The 50 day moving average here has held the decline for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and continues to be short term oversold. The daily candlestcik chart here looks like it wants to go lower which be be a boost for stocks. We'll see. Todays market action was a decent rebound from yesterdays losses but we are really just waiting for tomorrow. Europe and Asia finished higher last night with the exception of Japan. We'll see how it goes with the inflation report tomorrow.

Sellers took over today as the Dow fell 334 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still struggling to turn back up. The NASDAQ led the way lower and that is not a plus. It could have been worse though as stocks finished up from the lows on the session. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned lower but I'm still in the camp that we'll hit new all time highs soon. I could be wrong. We'll see ow the rest of the week shapes up. Gold finished up $9 on the futures after being lower early on. The US dollar ended the day unchanged along with interest rates. The XAU was up 1 1/2 and GDX rose 1/4. Volume was heavy again. The gold shares came up from their lows on the session as well. GDX has made it back to its 50 day moving average. We'll see if it holds. The short term indicators here are not yet completely oversold. It was quite a run for GDX but it has now at one point lost 17% in the past week. Gold itself is still very far from its 50 day moving average. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up a bit today which fits with a down market. The short term indicators are beginning to trend sideways. Some are oversold and others are not. The VIX was over the twenty level at some point today but then fell back. If the short term indicators for the VIX begin to rise again, volatlity will return and my prognosis of new all time highs will have to be put on hold. Fridays inflation data and the market reaction to it should give us some clues. Asia and Europe finished generally lower last night. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

A mixed bag today as the Dow gained 218 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move higher. The NASDAQ posted a small loss and the S&P 500 finished flat. It was a sideways trading day for the most part. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P are beginning to stall. We will get some inflation data on Friday to trade on despite the continued US government shut down. Option premiums remain high. Gold got clobbered today after yesterdays stellar gains. The precious metal futures lost $238. The US dollar was higher and interest rates a touch lower. The XAU fell thirty points and GDX shed 7 3/4. Volume was extremely heavy to the down side again. The gold shares dropped 9 1/2% in a day. The short term indicators for GDX are heading lower. Traders are heading to the exits here. This is most likely the end of the rally for gold and the gold shares for now. Violent moves in both directions usually occur at tops or bottoms. The short term up trend line for gold is still intact but not for the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today. The short term indicators here are still moving down. Below the 20 level on the VIX but still above the 50 day moving average. No imminent trades in mind right now. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Stocks rallied to begin the week as the Dow climbed 516 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to move higher. The NASDAQ led the way up and that's a plus. If things conitinue at this pace we'll be at new all time highs soon. That is probably what is about to happen. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are pointing up with room to go. Barring some unforseen negative event, we're going higher. Earnings season is upon us. Option premiums are high so we'll have to wait for now on the next trade. Gold soared $180 on the futures to a new all time high. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates were a bit lower. The XAU was up 8 points and GDX gained 1 2/3. Volume was good to the upside. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to stall. The gold shares should have gotten more of a boost today with gold up as much as it was. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and the short term indicators are moving down. This is in line with what we expected for the near term. I'd expect the VIX to continue lower and stocks to hit new highs at some point this week. If we get a sell signal after that occurs we'll have to decide what action to take then. But like I've already said the option premiums are high with the November cycle having an extra week in it. So we'll have to wait and see. Asia and Europe were up to start the week. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Volatility is the name of the game for now as the Dow gained 238 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were barely positive. The summation index is still heading lower. It was a back and forth trading day with an upwards bias. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 had the same percentage gains on the session. The short term indicators for the S&P are now mid-range. So it could go either way. However with earnings season upon us my guess is that we'll get the usual beating of low expectations that lead to rallies in particular stocks. We'll see. Rolling into the November option cycle. Gold took a breather today as it dropped sixty bucks. The US dollar was slightly higher along with interest rates. The gold shares got clobbered. The XAU fell 23 1/3 and GDX dropped almost 6 points. Volume was extremely heavy in a run to the exits. The short term indicators for GDX have turned down again with room to go. Time will tell if this is the beginning of a sustained move lower or just another blip on the way up. Long overdue for some kind of correction in gold and the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX jumped up to 29 today only to drop all the way back near 20. The short term indicators here have turned down. The daily candlestick chart for the VIX implies that the decline is over. We'll have to wait and see about that. I'll be going over all the charts this weekend as usual. No rush to trade as November has an extra week in its option cycle so premiums are high. Combine that with the recent volatility and options are pricey. Europe and Asia were down with the exception of India to close the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Heading lower today as the Dow fell 301 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is back to moving lower. We had a gap higher at the open and a short rally that turned around. It was a one day reversal to the downside for the major indices. The Dow and S&P led things lower so it wasn't the most bearish possible scenario. But the short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned lower again. Could lead to an interesting expiration Friday. I did not place any trades and decided to stay on the sidelines as the short term trades are not usually my best efforts. Had some opportunities this week but recognized that I was not up to the challenge. We are now looking at the November option cycle. Gold was up $125 on the futures, past the $4300 level and a new all time high. This rally in the precious metals is getting a little insane. The XAU was up 10 7/8 and GDX gained 2 7/8. Volume continues to be strong to the upside. The short term indicators for GDX continue to be overbought and it has broken above the upper Bollinger band. Perhaps gold knows something that we don't. Or maybe it's just another tulip bulb mania. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX jumped to 25 today and is short term overbought. Volatility is back. As I've already said the trades have to be short lived and profits taken when they are there because that's where we find ourselves at the moment. Tougher than usual trading atmosphere. Asia and Europe were generally higher overnight. We'll close out the trading week with expiration Friday tomorrow.

Bouncing all around today and the Dow finished with a loss of 17 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trying to turn back up. We had a gap higher and rally at the open followed by a steep decline. The market then made it all back and then some. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted gains with the NASDAQ leading the way. The short term indicators for the S&P have turned back up. I did put in an order today for the SPY October puts but it wasn't filled. Might be too late now for this idea but we'll see. Only a couple of days left in the October option cycle. We did make it to the resistance at 6720 on the S&P today. Perhaps if we get there tomorrow I'll try the puts but probably the more prudent thing to do would be to stay on the sidelines and roll into the November cycle. Gold was up over sixty bucks today and crossed the $4200 level. The US dollar finished lower and interest rates ticked up. The XAU was up 11 1/3 and GDX climbed 3 points. Volume was good to the upside. GDX is back to short term overbought. Gold is going straight up and the gold shares follow. An incredible run higher so enjoy it while it lasts. No telling when it will end but that will be spectacular as well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower and remains above 20. The short term indicators are starting to move sideways. Not sure where the VIX is heading next. Wild moves in the market lately so the risk factor has increased. You need to take your profits if you have them quickly in this trading environment. Asia was higher and Europe lower except for France overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

A mixed bag today but the Dow managed a gain of 202 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. The NASDAQ had a decent drop and the S&P 500 was slightly lower. We retested the recent lows on the S&P early this morning and they held for now. The question now is will the S&P head down there again and will the lows hold on a third drop? Today the S&P made it back to the first resistance at 6680 and was turned back in the final half hour. With only three days to go in the October option cycle is it worth the risk for another trade here? Well yes, if the timing in and out is correct. But that is no easy task. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P are still heading lower and others remain at mid-range. I'll consider what I want to do overnight. Gold was up $27 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was off 2 1/2, while GDX slid 7/8. Volume was average. The short term indicators on GDX are overbought but not completely. Some of them are starting to turn down. Gold up and the gold shares down isn't a positive. Mentally I'm feeling a little tired. The VIX bounce around and finished higher on the session. The short term indicators here are back to pointing up. The VIX is back above the important level of 20. So volatility should stick around for a while. Headline risk remains front and center since there is no economic data to trade on. Asia and Europe were lower overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

A huge bounce back to the upside as the Dow gained 588 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving lower. There was a big gap on the open and the market never looked back. The NASAQ led the way higher and that's a plus. The S&P 500 was up over 100 points. Normally we'd be looking for a retest of the recent lows but the price action of the past couple of days has been headline driven so I don't know what to expect. Not looking at the SPY October calls anymore as the jump has already happened. Might try the puts again but with only four days left in the October option cycle the risk is very high. The short term indicators for the S&P are at mid-range with some of them pointing higher. There is some short term resistance at 6680 and plenty more at 6720. Those would be areas to think about the puts if we get that far. However there is also the possibility that the market simply continues to move higher from here. Gold gained $125 on the futures today to a new all time high. Silver hit a new high as well. The US dollar was up and interest rates finished flat. The XAU jumped 14 and GDX was up 3 1/2. Volume was a bit above average. The short term indicators for GDX have turned back up. There is no stopping the money flowing into precious metals or so it seems. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX dropped today and closed back below 20. The short term indicators here have turned back down. That would imply more stock gains in the near term. We'll see. Asia lower and Europe higher to start the week. I'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

The tariff tantrum returned and markets got clobbered as the Dow fell 878 points on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were shy of 6 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving down. The NASDAQ led the way down and was off 3.5%. The S&P 500 was off 2.75%. Players all headed to the exits at the same time. The S&P is no longer short term overbought and some indicators have already made it down to short term oversold. All the recent up trend lines for the S&P have been broken. Support could come in at the 50 day moving average at 6530 but we are practically there already. Selling out SPY October puts yesterday proved to be the wrong move but we did what we thought we had to at the time. If we had left the original stop loss order intact we would have been stopped out for a loss this morning when the market rallied at the open today. We've had this problem using the stops loss orders before where we've missed out on moves. However without them the losses can pile up pretty fast. Doesn't matter now. Our sell signal was valid but we are now concerned with where we go from here. I'm looking at the SPY October calls for next week. My guess is that todays tariff tension will be walked back over the weekend. Perhaps if we get some follow through selling on Monday we'll try the calls. Monday is a partial holiday in the US, so trading may be thin. Gold bounced back $57 today on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional moves one way or the other on above average volume. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to move sideways. Waiting to see if it breaks support at the 74 level. Mentally I'm feeling a bit frustrated. The VIX jumped today and now is above the important level of 20. Short term overbought now but not completely. The volatility implied by the tight Bollinger bands finally came to fruition today. Not sure if this is a one day event or the beginning of a sustained decline for stocks. Plenty of work to do on the charts over the weekend. Europe and Asia were down with the exception of India. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Minor selling today as the Dow fell 243 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving lower. The Dow led things lower but that isn't the most bearish scenario. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 had small losses and came up from the lows of the session in the final hour. The short term indicators for the S&P have turned lower but are still overbought. During the day I adjusted up my stop loss order on the SPY October puts as the decline didn't have any steam in it and I did not want to book another loss. It got stopped out in the final hour for a 5% gain. We don't take the risks involved trading options for 5% gains but this trade was not working as I had thought it would. The entry wasn't all that good and neither was the exit. Might try this idea again but running out of time in the October option cycle. Yesterday I was thankful that we abandoned the GDX put idea. Today gold and the gold shares got crushed. The precious metal futures fell $82. The US dollar was higher and interest rates were up slightly. The XAU lost almost 13 points and GDX was off 3 1/2. Volume was heavy. The short term indicators for GDX have now rolled over with plenty of room to go. The near term up trend line comes in at just below 74. A break there will tell us that the party is over for the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today. The short term indicators here are stalling at the mid-range level. Not sure what's next for the VIX. The Bollinger bands remain tight but that hasn't led to any big increase in volatility yet. Asia was generally higher and Europe generally lower overnight. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

The overall market continues to plow ahead but the Dow lags as it dropped a point on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trending lower but could be trying to turn around here. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. The S&P continues to remain short term overbought. It appears that our recent sell signal only lasted a day. I did adjust my open order for the SPY October puts and it was filled during the session. It is showing a small loss. At the rate things are going it will get stopped out tomorrow. Unless we see a quick turnaround lower this trade will be another loser. Gold was up fifty bucks today as the straight line higher just keeps on going. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU was up 8 7/8, while GDX gained 2 1/8. Volume was good. GDX remains overbought on all timeframes and for longer than one could reasonably expect. Not sure when this will end and remain thankful that we shelved the GDX put idea. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits with an overall up market. The short term indicators have turned around lower and imply more stocks gains to come in the near term. That would kill our SPY October put trade but it appears that's where we are heading. Seven days left in the October option cycle. Asia lower and Europe higher overnight. We'll keep watch on the overnight developments.

Some overdue selling today as the Dow fell 92 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is trending lower. It was a one day downside reversal as stocks opened higher and closed lower. The NASDAQ led the way down but it wasn't anything dramatic. That is exactly how it has been lately. When we have seen any selling it has been minor and short lived. That could again be the case here but we don't know for certain. The S&P 500 remains short term oversold. My open order for the SPY October puts almost got filled in the morning but didn't. I adjusted it during the session but still no fill. I will probably adjust it again overnight. My thinking now is that this is something that I want to get filled on but I am not looking for a major decline to be starting here, just a tradeable one. I'll give this some more thought tonight. Gold simply continues to move straight up climbing another $27 on the futures to finish above the $4000 level. The US dollar was higher and interest rates dipped. The XAU dropped over 4 3/4 and GDX shed 1 2/3. Volume was average. Gold up and the gold shares down isn't exactly a positive development here but it's only one day. The short term indicators on GDX have turned down but it remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that fits with a down market. The short term indicators here are moving up and are almost short term overbought. This points to the possibility that the selling that we are seeing will be ending rather quickly. That would mean the risk in trying the SPY puts here may not be worth it. Which is something else to consider later tonight. Europe and Asia were slightly higher overnight. Some Asian markets a closed for holiday this week. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Another mixed market as the Dow dropped while the overall market gained. The most watched index fell 63 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trending lower. Both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ closed at new all time highs. The S&P remains short term overbought. My open order for the SPY October puts remains out there. Hopefully it will get filled tomorrow as the sell signal on one of our indicators remains out there. I might have to adjust the order to get it filled but we should see some selling this week according to the techncials. Gold continues to move straight up as the futures gained $74 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates moved up as well. The XAU was up 5 1/8 and GDX rose 1 1/2. Volume was a bit above average. Thankfully we took off the GDX put idea last week. I'm still a believer that this rally in gold and the gold shares will have a nasty pullback at some point. GDX has remained short term overbought for such a long time that you begin to think that it will never drop again. But it will. Straight up moves never have a good ending. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today. The short term indicators are starting to roll over by the mid-range level. This would imply higher stock prices in the near term. That would not bode well for the SPY put idea. The Bollinger bands here remain pretty tight but we haven't seen any really big moves despite that. Asia was generally higher and Europe lower to begin the week. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

A mixed bag to end the week but the Dow managed a gain of 238 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is beginning to stall. The NASDAQ posted a small loss, while the S&P 500 finished basically unchanged. The S&P remains short term overbought. I'm leaving my open order for the SPY October puts out there but might adjust it over the weekend. Still on a sell signal for one of our indicators that we like but it can be early at times. But not more than a couple of days. We will most likely try and buy the puts on Monday barring a huge rally. Gold was up $44 on the futures to a new all time high and also crossed the $3900 level. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates were higher. The XAU was up 3/4 and GDX finished flat. Volume was light. Gold up and the gold shares really didn't follow. That is not a plus for the bulls. GDX remains short term overbought as it has been for weeks. Will gold reach $4000 next week? Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished little changed. The short term indicators are trending higher but not yet overbought. I'm still not sure where the VIX is headed next. Another positive week for stocks as the rally seemingly has nothing to derail it. Plenty of money still to go around. It will end at some point but we certainly don't know what the catalyst will be. Two weeks left in the October option cycle. I'll be checking the charts over the weekend as usual. Europe and Asia finished Friday on the plus side except for the Hang Seng and the DAX. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The Dow gained 78 points in an up and down session to a new all time high again. The advance/declines were slightly negative and volume was heavy. The summation index continues to trend lower. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ posted new records as well. The S&P continues to be short term overbought and continues to move higher. This has been the case for a couple of months now. We're getting another sell signal from one of our indicators. I've placed an open order for the SPY October puts and I'm leaving it out there. Ideally this order would be filled early next week but markets rarely cooperate. It is also a more tricky trading environment with the US government shutdown. We'll stick with the technicals though. Gold dipped $17 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates ended flat. The XAU lost 1 2/3 and GDX fell 1/4. Volume was heavy. It was a very volatile session for the gold shares as GDX had an intraday swing of 4 points. Not sure what it all means but the gold shares finished well up from the lows of the session. Still considering the GDX October puts for now but really looking at the SPY options for the next trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which once again doesn't fit with an up market. The short term indicators here are moving up from the mid-range level. Still not sure what's next for the VIX. Asia and Europe were higher with the exception of the FTSE. We'll see where things go on Friday and take it from there.

We had a one day upside reversal to begin the month of October as stocks opened lower and closed higher. The Dow rose 43 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trending lower. The NASDAQ led the way up. Even a US government shutdown wasn't enough to derail the bulls. However another problem to deal with here is that the economic reports might be delayed. We won't know when important trading data will be released. As if trading itself wasn't hard enough as it is. The DOW and S&P 500 set new all time highs. The NASDAQ is almost there. I'm still considering the SPY October puts if we stay positive into Friday. The S&P remains short term overbought. Gold was up twenty bucks on the futures to another new all time high. The US dollar finished little changed and interest rates dropped. The XAU was up 3 2/3, while GDX added 3/4. Volume was average. I canceled my open order for the GDX October puts. I'll reconsider this idea tonight. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished unchanged and the short term indicators are hanging around the mid-range level. Not sure what's next now for the VIX. More than the usual amount of uncertainty right now but the market continues higher. There is no overhead resistance. Liquidity doesn't seem to be a problem. It's a teflon market at the moment. Nothing sticks to it on the downside. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of Japan. I'll keep watch on the overnight headlines.

End of the month buying as the Dow gained 91 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still heading lower. The McClellan oscillator gave a signal last night for a big move within the next two days. Didn't get it today so we'll see about tomorrow. Today was a sideways affair until a mild rally in the final two hours. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 led the way. The short term indicators for the S&P are slowly moving higher. I still think that new all time highs are coming soon for the NASDAQ and S&P. The Dow closed at a record today. The question now is how to postion ourselves ahead of Fridays jobs report. If we continue higher ahead of Friday I might try the SPY October puts but it would be risky. The market is overbought on many of the indicators though. Gold was up $32 on the futures to another new all time high. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU was up 2 7/8, while GDX rose 2/3. Volume was average. GDX remains short term overbought. I did place an overnight order for the GDX October puts and I'm leaving it out there. Not a lot of money invovled so I'm willing to take the risk here for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was slightly higher today which again doesn't fit with an up market. The Bollinger bands on the daily chart are getting tighter. Still mid-range for the short term indicators here. My guess would be that the VIX drops and we see a rally for stocks but who knows? Beginning of October tomorrow. Europe finished higer and Asia was mixed again. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

A positive start to the week as the Dow gained 69 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index continues lower. The NASDAQ led the way higher and that's plus. End of the month tomorrow. The highlight of the week will be the jobs report on Friday. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are starting to stall after turning back up. They are not as overbought as they have been. My guess is that we'll be heading back to new all time highs at some point this week. Gold was up $47 to a new all time high on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 3 points and GDX gained a point. Volume was average. The gold shares did finish well below their highs on the session. I'm still considering the GDX October puts and may place an order overnight. The 5 wave upside pattern for GDX that began in August that I thought was valid has been negated. GDX has moved above what I thought was the fifth and final wave higher. However on the gold itself weekly chart it appears that gold is in the 5th and final wave higher from 2022. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which doesn't fit with an up market. The short term indicators here are at mid-range so it could go either way from here. I'm still not sure what to expect next from this indicator. Asia was mixed and Europe little changed to begin the trading week. There is a potential US government shutdown tomorrow night but the market doesn't seem to care. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Back to the upside today as the Dow gained 300 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving lower. We opened with a gap higher, gave it all back and then rallied for the rest of the session. The inflation data came in where expected. The Dow led the way higher today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. However we did turn around where the S&P short term indicators have in the current rally so far. That leads us to believe that the rally will continue from here. The NASDAQ is beginning to lag though and that may be a cause for concern. The summation index is heading lower as well. We'll see how it goes at the beginning of next week but for now it appears the selling is done in the short term. Gold was up $23 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU was up 6 1/3, while GDX climbed 1 1/2. Volume was average. I adjusted my order for the GDX October calls and eventually canceled it ahead of the weekend. The short term indicators for GDX are turning sideways and it remains overbought. I'm going to have to take another look at the GDX put idea over the weekend as my 5 wave count in the current up trend might be wrong. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits an up market. The short term indicators here have moved lower. The VIX now looks like it is heading lower and that would be supportive for stocks. Plenty of work to do over the weekend to come up with an idea for next week. Asia down and Europe up to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

More selling today as sellers continue to have the upper hand and the Dow fell 174 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving down. The NASDAQ barely led things lower followed by the S&P. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have now rolled over with room to go. They are close to the mid-range level though and that has stopped every minor decline that we've seen on the way up. So if things hold up here we would have to figure that the selling is done for now. If not then we may actually see some kind of correction or extended decline. Tomorrow should tell a lot when the market reacts to the inflation data. Gold was up ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates moved up as well. The XAU gained 2 2/3 and GDX added 3/4. Volume was about average. GDX remains short term overbought and we are still considering the October puts here on a move back to the 75 level. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up today which fits with a down market. The short term indicators are on the overbought side of things but not completely so. I think the VIX could go either way here. Again, a lot will have to do with how the market reacts to the inflation data tomorrow. No idea how that will shape up so we'll watch and wait for now. Europe and Asia finished lower with the exception of Japan. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Some follow through selling today which we haven't seen in a while as the Dow fell 171 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trending lower. The Dow led the way down today and that isn't the most bearish scenario. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned lower but it still remains short term overbought. Not sure if this is the beginning of something sustained to the downside or just a pause in the rally. We'll know more by the end of the week. Gold dropped $52 today. The US dollar was higher and so were interest rates. The XAU fell over 9 3/4, while GDX lost 1 7/8. Volume was good to the downside. The short term indicators for GDX have turned lower but it remains short term overbought. However it appears that the 5 wave rally that began in the beginning of August for GDX is valid and completed. We are looking to purchase some GDX October puts. Ideally we'll see a light volume bounce from here that fails. The short term up trend line for GDX comes in at 68 and that would be the first downside target. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that doesn't fit with a down market. Some of the short term indicators here have started to turn down. Still not sure what comes next here for the VIX. Some economic data due out tomorrow and a lot of Fed speak. Inflation data on Friday is the main event. Europe and Asia were mixed again overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Sellers showed up on the street today as the Dow fell 88 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is beginning to trend lower. We got a signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two sessions. We'll see if that happens tomorrow. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. That is not a plus for the bulls however one day does not make a trend. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. Gold finished up $25 to the $3800 level on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower as were interest rates. The XAU was fractionally higher and GDX fractionally lower on the gold shares. Volume was slightly above average. GDX is still short term overbought as well. If the 5 wave count on the rally is correct the gold shares should take a pause here or perhaps enter a decline. I am looking at the GDX October puts. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits with a down market. The short term indicators on the VIX are moving higher. The VIX is at its upper Bollinger band. I still don't know what's in store next for this indicator. Europe was higher and Asia mixed again overnight. Asia trading will be impacted tomorrow by a major typhoon bearing down on Hong Kong. We'll keep watch on tonights developments.

The beat goes on as the Dow rose 66 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were about even. The summation index is moving sideways. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way higher. There is no overhead resistance. New all time highs for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 once again. The overbought condition for the S&P remains in place on both a daily and weekly basis. Enjoy the ride. Gold jumped $76 on the futures to a new all time high. The US dollar was lower and interest rates ended slightly higher. The XAU climbed 7 1/3, while GDX was up 1 7/8. Volume was good to the upside. Gold is moving straight up now and that cannot last forever. It is extremely overbought but I can't say when that will end. Same for the gold shares. I have started looking at the GDX October puts. However the money just continues to pour into precious metal assets. As I have stated before, this won't end well. The problem here is we don't know when it will stop. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today in an up market and that doesn't fit. The short term indicators here have turned higher. Not sure what is going on right now with this indicator. Most of this weeks economic data will be later this week higlighted by the inflation news on Friday. Asia and Europe started the week on a mixed note. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Higher and higher we climb as the Dow gained 172 points on expiration heavy volume. The advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative though. This will have the summation index going sideways again. New all time highs for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 again. No overhead resistance and apparently plenty of liquidity to go around. The S&P is simply overbought and staying that way. Sort of like the same situation we have with gold right now but not as extreme. We are in a seasonally negative period for stocks but that doesn't seem to matter. Just sit back and enjoy the ride for now I suppose. Gold gained forty bucks today. The US dollar was higher and interest rates edged up. The XAU jumped 12 7/8, while GDX climbed 3 2/3. Volume was heavy to the upside. Is there any point to saying GDX is still short term overbought? It doesn't seem to matter. Until it does. The gold shares are extremely overbought on all time frames and about as far away from their 200 day and weekly averages as they get. Money just keeps pouring in there though. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and its short term indicators have turned down. The Bollinger bands on the daily chart here are starting to contract again. I'll be checking the charts this weekend to try and come up with a game plan for the October option cycle. Asia and Europe were lower to complete the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

Moving higher today as the Dow gained 124 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is back to trying to move higher. The NASDAQ continues to be the leader to the upside and that is a plus for the bulls. There was a gap higher at the open and then we traded in positive territory for the rest of the session. The market did finish off from the highs of the day though. The short term indicators remain overbought for the S&P 500. New all time highs for most of the major stock indices today, now including the Russell 2000. It's been a bull run since the lows in April and there doesn't seem to be anything to derail things at the moment. I'll wait for the next technical signal and go from there. Gold was down $38 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and so were interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on average volume. The gold shares held up better than the metal itself most likely following the overall stock market. GDX is overbought as it has been for the last month and a half. One more run higher would complete a five wave upside pattern from the breakout in the beginning of August on the daily chart. We'll see of that occurs. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was just a touch lower today. The short term indicators here have stalled and came in sideways today. Not sure where the VIX is going next. Expiration Friday tomorrow so things could get strange. We'll let that pass and move on to next week. Asia finished mixed and Europe was higher overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

A volatile session after the Fed announcement but the Dow managed a gain of 260 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were abut even. The summation index is still trying to move higher. Rates were lowered as expected. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small losses. The market rallied after the Fed announcement only to give it all back and have a sharp decline. Then things turned right back around again to positive territory and finally drift lower in the final half hour. We finished well up from the lows on the day. The S&P is still short term overbought. During todays gyrations my SPY September puts got stopped out for a 33% loss. At one point they were showing a 100% gain. Todays results are an example of the stop loss order working against you as there could have been profits if not stopped out. However you are trying to cut your losses with the order so the trade doesn't go to zero. Perhaps I should have canceled the stop loss when things got volatile but hindsight is always correct. I wouldn't say the trade was mismanaged but obviously I'd feel a lot better if there would have been a profit. The sell signal we had did work but for only a very short period of time and not with a huge move in price. Not what I expected. Or perhaps the selling isn't done yet. We'll know more as the trading week is completed. Gold finished off $31 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates ticked up. The XAU fell 1 1/8 and GDX lost 1/3. Volume was good. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling frustrated booking another losing trade. There wasn't a lot of money involved but it has been a tough year on the trading front so far. The VIX finished lower today despite the increased volatility. Some of the short term indicators have turned back down. The daily candlestick chart here looks like it wants to go lower. We'll see. Two days left in option expiration week and I'm back on the sidelines. I'll start looking at the October options. Europe and Asia were generally higher in last nights trade. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

It was a one day downside reversal for most of the major indices as stocks opened higher and closed lower. The Dow fell 125 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still trying to move higher but has had a tough time doing so. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 had very slight declines. It's simply a waiting game ahead of whatever happens with the Fed tomorrow. The S&P is still short term overbought. I've still got the SPY September puts with only three days left before option expiration. They are still showing just a very small profit. The outcome of this trade will lie with the market reaction to the Fed tomorrow. One of our indicators remains in sell signal territory, so we'll see if this works tomorrow. Gold was up $7 on the futures. The US dollar was sharply lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost 6 1/3 and GDX fell about 1 1/2. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX are still overbought but they have turned down. Gold should move off of the Fed tomorrow as well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and the short term indicators are moving up. The VIX did close above its 50 day moving average. My hope is that it keeps moving higher but hope is not a trading strategy. Not sure where the VIX is heading tomorrow. Waiting on the Fed and that's all we can do at this point. Management of the trade in progress will be key. Asia was generally higher and Europe lower overnight. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

We had a gap higher at the open and spent the rest of the day in positive territory as the Dow gained 49 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move higher again. The overall market did much better than the Dow, with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closing again at new all time highs. The NASDAQ led the way up and that is a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 remains in its short term overbought condition. One of our indicators is flashing a sell signal however it might take another day or so for it to work. I did adjust my open order last night for the SPY September puts and it was filled at the open this morning. Todays price action gets me thinking that the market still wants to go higher in the short term as it can stay overbought for extended periods of time. But I'm also looking for selling on the Fed announcement if the trade can stay alive that long. The stop-loss order is already in place. The trade as it stands now is showing a very small profit. Gold was up $35 on the futures to a new all time high above the $3700 level. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up over 4 3/4, while GDX added 3/4. Volume was below average. GDX has been extremely short term overbought for an extended period of time. At this point I would only be guessing as to when that will end. It is not normal price action and I'm pretty sure that it won't end well. As money continues to pour in there, enjoy the ride. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that does not fit with an up market. The short term indicators here are starting to move higher. If that continues stocks would move lower and volatility would increase. I'm not so sure that is what will happen near term even though I own the SPY puts. Money continues to find a home in stocks and liquidity doesn't seem to be an issue. Four days left in the September option cycle and we are in the next trade. Asia was generally lower and Europe generally higher to start the week. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

A day of hanging around for the most part after yesterdays gains but the Dow did lose 273 points on good volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is starting to trend sideways again. The NASDAQ posted a solid gain and the S&P 500 was barely lower. The S&P is still short term overbought but is possibly beginning to stall where it has to for the SPY put trade to work. My open order almost got filled today at the high of the session but didn't. I adjusted the order but the market began to sell off in the final hour. I'll try again on Monday to purchase the September SPY puts but it may be too late. We are close to getting a sell signal on one of our own indiators. I suppose we'll hope for some early strength on Monday and take it from there. Gold was up $8 on the futures. The US dollar was barely higher and interest rates rose. The XAU was off 3/4 and GDX finished flat. Volume was light. The technical picture on GDX hasn't changed. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was barely higher today. It remains short term oversold but not completely. I'm back to not sure what comes next on this indicator. We made it through the inflation data this week and now it's on to the Fed. My guess is that it will be a sell the news event. Our game plan for now is to buy the SPY September puts on Monday if we get a chance to be filled at the premium that we're willing to risk. If not we will maybe try the SPY puts ahead of the Fed announcement on Wednesday. Plenty of charts to check over the weekend. Asia was higher and Europe little changed to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

There was another signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two trading sessions and we got that move today as the Dow jumped 617 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is now moving up. The inflation data came in about where expected and the market took off higher from the start. New record highs again for Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500. The S&P continues to remain short term overbought. Sellers are no where to be found. I did place another order for the SPY September puts but once again canceled it in the morning. This appears to be the wrong idea with the current market but I'm leaving in an open order overnight. If we continue with a good move up again tomorrow I'll have to forget about the puts. If we start to level off, then this idea might have a chance. With no overhead resistance on the major averages, a rally may be starting. If the RSI on the S&P daily chart gets above 70% tomorrow, that will put the end to any ideas of a negative divergence. With the summation index now moving higher the path of least resistance is up. Gold was off $6 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished little changed. The gold shares continue to soar. The XAU was up 4 1/2, while GDX added 1 1/4. Volume was a bit below average again. GDX is extremely short term overbought. The volume has started to decline on the rise though so it is probably getting near the end of this tremendous run up. Sour grapes that we didn't get to go along for the ride but as always the market doesn't care. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today. The short term indicators are oversold but not completely. Six days left in the September option cycle. I'd like to get some kind of trade in before expiration but must be wary of trading just for tradings sake. Tomorrows price action should give us an idea of what to do going forward. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of the Hang Seng. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

A mixed bag after todays inflation data as the Dow fell 220 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still in a sideways channel. Producer prices came in less than expected and we had a gap higher at the open. The market spent the rest of the day selling off before a bounce in the last half hour. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 had small gains to close at record highs. The S&P continues with its short term overbought condition. I canceled my open order for the SPY September puts this morning as it did not get filled on the gap higher open. I'll reconsider placing an open order for them again overnight. However the risk on this idea increases with each passing day as we are running out of time in the September option cycle. The S&P is still hanging around its upper Bollinger band. If the market remains positive into Friday I'll probably give the puts a try. Or perhaps an overnight order will get filled tomorrow. The timing on the entry will need to be good. Gold ended pretty much flat on the session as was the US dollar. Interest rates were mixed. The XAU climbed 6 1/2 and GDX was up 1 2/3. Volume was a tad lighter than lately. GDX is overbought and staying that way. The gold shares continue to attract money as any selling quickly dries up. Not sure how far this ride will go but I will say expect some kind of sharp sell off eventually. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit higher today and its short term indicators are starting to bend up. I'm still not sure what to expect from the VIX. Tomorrow is all about the market reaction to the inflation data. Asia was up and Europe mixed in last nights overseas trading. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Hanging around waiting on the inflation data as the Dow gained 196 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still trying to move up but it can't seem to break free from the sideways channel. We did get a signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move in the next two sessions so we'll have to see if that happens tomorrow. The Dow was the leader today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. Record highs across the board for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500. There is no overhead resistance. The S&P 500 continues to be on the overbought side of things. I did adjust my open order for the SPY September puts but it will take some more gains to be filled. I'm trying to be cautious right now because it looks like the market can go either way here. There are not enough clear signals to go one way or the other right now. The negative RSI divergence on the S&P daily chart is still there but I believe that we'll be moving on the inflation data in the next couple of sessions. Gold was off $7 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU dipped 3 1/8, while GDX lost over 1/3. Volume was a bit above average. The technical picture for GDX remains the same. Short term overbought for weeks and staying that way. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was just a touch lower again today. Still on the oversold side of things for the short term picture. Can't say that I have a good idea on what to expect next on the VIX. The daily candlestick chart here looks to me as though it wants to go lower which would be supportive of stocks. Asia and Europe finished mixed overnight. We'll keep an eye on the market reaction to the data tomorrow.

Kind of a mundane Monday as the Dow rose 114 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trying to move higher. We opened with a gap higher and it was a sideways affair after that. Waiting on inflation data due out on Wednesday and Thursday. The NASDAQ led the way higher today and closed at a new all time high. The S&P 500 was slightly up today with most of its short term indicators still on the overbought side of the ledger. My open order for the SPY September puts remains out there but I might be adjusting it tonight. I am still looking for a big move one way or the other due to the contracting Bollinger bands on the S&P daily chart. Gold was up another $23 today. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU added almost five points and GDX was higher by 7/8. Volume was a bit above average. GDX is overextended on the daily chart any way that you look at it. Not sure exactly how much longer this can go on but it's usually longer than you think. Enjoy the ride because these kind of moves usually don't end well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down ever so slightly today. Still on the oversold side of things here but not completely. I'm still not sure what's next for the VIX. Both Asia and Europe started the week on the positive side. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

It was a one day downside reversal as after a brief upside burst at the open, stocks sold off for the rest of the day. The Dow fell 220 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move higher. The employment data came in weaker than expected. The selling wasn't as bad as it could have been and the NASDAQ barely posted a loss. The S&P is still on the overbought side of the ledger. My open order for the SPY September puts wasn't filled this morning and I'm leaving it out there. If we see some upside in stocks early next week it may get filled. The Bollinger bands on the daily chart for the S&P are getting pretty close. This implies that a big move is coming. Which way is always the question that needs to be answered. Gold was up $32 on the futures to a new all time high. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 6 1/3 and GDX climbed 1 3/4. Volume was good to the upside. GDX has been short term overbought now for over a month. Overextended here any way you look at it. I'm not going to try and pick a top though. We'll let the market for gold speak for itself. Money continues to find a home there. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was a little lower today despite a down market. The short term indicators here are beginning to stall. Yesterday the VIX looked like it implied higher stock prices going forward. It still has that look on the daily candlestick chart. The Bollinger bands here are contracting as well. I'm in the camp for some kind of big move in the stock market and soon. Plenty of charts to go over this weekend ahead of next weeks inflation data. I'm sticking to the game plan of trying to get some SPY puts for now. Asia was higher and Europe lower to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Buyers took control today as the Dow rose 350 points on good volume. The advance/declines were shy of 3 to 1 positive. The summation index remains in a sideways channel. The NASDAQ led the way up and that's a plus. The S&P 500 closed at a new all time high. The market seems to be saying that tomorrows jobs report is nothing to worry about with todays price action. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned back up. Another day like today on Friday will negate any kind of negative RSI divergenes on the S&P daily chart. I did adjust my open order for the SPY September puts to a closer in the money strike price. We cannot rule out that the market takes off to the upside here but I am not counting on that scenario. I could be wrong. Gold took a breather and was off $29 on the futures. The US dollar was up a bit and interest rates dropped. The XAU fell 2 2/3, while GDX was down 2/3. Volume was above average. GDX is still short term overbought on the indicators. We are remaining on the sidelines with regards to the gold shares for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and is back below its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators here are pointing down with room to go. The VIX is implying that the gains for stocks will continue in the short term. We'll see. But we'll know more after the market reaction to the employment report. Asia finished mixed and Europe was generally higher overnight. We'll close out the short trading week tomorrow.

Some back and forth today as the Dow fell 25 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index remains in a sideways channel. The overall market did much better than the Dow with the NASDAQ up 1%. The S&P 500 was higher and its short term indicators are stalling at mid-range. Still waiting on Fridays jobs report and the feeling here is that things could go either way at this point. I still have my open order for the SPY September puts out there but I'm ready to adjust it as the market moves dictate. Perhaps we'll see another run at a new all time high before things roll over or we will just head lower from here. Either way I'd advise caution for now. Gold continues with its bull run, up another $29 today on the futures. The US dollar was lower as were interest rates. The XAU was up two points and GDX added 1/3. Volume was good. GDX remains short term overbought on all of the indicators and is trading above its upper Bollinger band. I would think that maybe the GDX September puts would work here but I'm not stepping in front of this freight train. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits with an overall positive day for stocks. Some of the short term indicators here are beginning to turn lower. Not sure what lies next for the VIX. I will most likely not be taking on a position ahead of Fridays employment report but we'll see. The fact that the market didn't continue lower today is a plus for the bulls but we all know things can turn on a dime in this game. Europe was higher and Asia lower with the exception of India. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Sellers had the upper hand returning from a long weekend as the Dow lost 249 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is still in a sidewyas channel but another day like today will send it lower. The NASDAQ led the way south. It could have been worse but the market came back from the lowest levels on the day. There was a huge gap down at the open. We saw price action like this at the beginning of August but the market quickly recovered and went on to new all time highs. Will that be the case this time around? We'll see. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P 500 have made it down to the mid-range level. I canceled my open order for the SPY September puts as it had no chance of being filled after the drop. I still like this idea and will be looking to place another order. Obviously the ideal time to place this trade has passed. Gold jumped $83 on the futures to close in on $3600. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU gained six points and GDX added 1 2/3. Volume was heavy to the upside. I was looking for the gold shares to take some kind of rest but they continue to find buyers. Gold has had a 4 month consolidation and is now breaking out to the upside. There is no telling how high it will go here. It is getting parabolic on the monthly chart and we know that won't end well. But we don't know when. I'm not going to chase GDX here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX climbed up to its 200 day moving average and then fell back today. The short term indicators here are moving up. Not sure what's next for the VIX. It was a rough start to the month for stocks but it could have been worse. I'm not sure exactly what is going on here but we do know that the market knows more than we do. Employment data to deal with on Friday. Might look to own some SPY puts ahead of that. Asia was generally lower and Europe down overnight. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Inflation data came in where expected but the market still sold off as the Dow fell 92 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index remains in a sideways channel. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow, with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. That is not a positive. We opened with a gap down and stayed lower thoughout the session. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned lower. The Bollinger bands here are starting to tighten. My open order for the SPY September puts did not come close to being filled and I'm leaving it out there. Might have to adjust it again next week. Gold was up $42 on the futures to close at a new all time high. The US dollar finished about unchanged and interest rates closed mixed. The XAU gained 6 7/8 and GDX was up 1 7/8. Volume was about average. GDX is still short term overbought and far from its 50 day moving average. Not sure how much longer that can go on. I still think the gold shares are ovedue for a rest but the market knows more than I do. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which fits a down market. The short term indicators here have again turned up. Not sure what's next for the VIX. We made it through the week and now there's an extra day off for Labor day. All the players should be at their desks on Tuesday. I'm still in favor of some SPY puts although it could already be too late. We'll see. Plenty of charts to check over the weekend. Not sure if todays selling was the start of something sustained to the downside or just an end of the month issue. Perhaps inflation data related. Plenty to ponder in the next few days. Asia was mixed again and Europe lower to close out the week. Its Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

The drift higher continues as the Dow gained 71 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is trying to move higher but continues to track sideways. The earnings report from NVDA was about in line with estimates but it guided lower going forward. Markets shrugged it off. This is a market that wants to go higher. The Dow and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. The S&P simply continues to remain short term overbought. Will the inflation data tomorrow bring some selling? We'll see. I adjusted my open order for the SPY September puts to a closer to the money strike price. I still like this idea but the timing will have to be spot on. Now I'm looking at perhaps the beginning of next week to put this trade on but we'll see what happens tomorrow. Gold was up $30 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates generally finished little changed. The XAU was off over a point and GDX lost 1/4. Volume remains light here. The gold shares have started to underperform the metal itself lately and that is not a positive. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today. It remains short term oversold but not completely. If and when it gets there we will take a harder look at the SPY puts. For now I'd probably just take letting tomorrow go by and head to next week after a long weekend. But it will be up to the market activity on the inflation news. Asia and Europe were mixed overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Moving higher on a Wednesday as the Dow gained 147 points on average volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move higher but does remain in a sideways channel. The McClellan oscillator gave a signal last night for a big move within the next two days. We'll see if that pans out tomorrow. Waiting for NVDA earnings after the bell that the market seems to be fixated on. The Dow led the way higher. Technical conditions here have not changed. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. My SPY September put order remains out there. Gold added $16 on the futures. The US dollar finished unchanged and interest rates were a bit lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on very light volume. GDX is still short term overbought and overdue for a rest in my opinion. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit higher today which doesn't fit with an up market. That sometimes leads to selling the next day. The short term indicators there are trying to turn back up and it remains short term oversold. Not sure what to expect next on the VIX. Nothing to do now except wait to see how it goes in the next couple of sessions before a long weekend. We are not going to try and force a trade ahead of the inflation data as I made that mistake a couple of weeks ago. Asia and Europe were generally lower in last nights trade. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Just another summer trading day as the Dow gained 135 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. The market drifted sideways for much of the day and then rose in the final couple of hours. The S&P continues to be short term overbought. I did place an open order for the SPY September puts and I'm leaving it out there. It will take some more gains to get filled. If the market gets into rally mode and powers on up from here, I'll cancel the order. Gold was up twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with most interest rates. The XAU added 4 2/3, while GDX climbed another 1 1/4. Volume was light. There seems to be no sellers in the gold shares. GDX remains short term overbought and is even further away from its 50 day moving average. That doesn't mean that GDX can't go higher but my guess would be that it is getting close to a near term top. Perhaps the lighter volume is simply a function of it being the last week of August. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today. Remaining short term oversold on its indicators. Not sure what's next for the VIX but the low levels are generally bullish for stocks. Still waiting on NVDA earnings and Fridays inflation data ahead of a long weekend in the US. Europe and Asia were lower overnight. I'll keep an eye on the evenings news events.

Another sideways summer Monday session though the Dow did drop 349 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is drifting higher. The Dow led the way lower as both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small losses. We did not see any upside follow through the Fridays big gains and that is somewhat of a concern. Waiting on NVDA earnings after the bell on Wednesday and the inflation report on Friday. But there is plenty of time before that. I'm still in favor of some SPY September puts at some point. It looks like the short term indicators for the S&P are starting to roll over. We could have a very thin trading market this week as some traders take off for the last unofficial week of summer ahead of Labor day. I'll try and remain patient for now. Gold was off $8 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates creeped up as well. The XAU and GDX had minor fractional rises on extremely light volume. GDX continues to be short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits a downside market. Still short term oversold here but not completely so. Not sure what's next for this indicator. Would like to wait for it to get completely oversold before trying the SPY puts but markets rarely cooperate. Asia up and Europe mostly down to start the week. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

We certainly got more than just a bounce today as the Dow soared 846 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 9 to 1 positive. The summation index has turned around and is heading higher. The Dow and NASDAQ led the way with the Dow closing at a record high to finally catch up with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500. The Fed chairman spoke and stocks like what they heard. The short term indicators on the S&P have turned back up. Expect new highs for the S&P next week with no overhead resistance. The move lower from the negative RSI divergence is over. Not sure if we'll see another divergence soon. It will depend on the price action next week. Gold added $35 on the futures. The US dollar got pounded lower and interest rates dropped. The XAU was up 4 1/4, while GDX rose another 7/8. Volume was about average. GDX remains short term overbought and is getting pretty far from its 50 day moving average. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX sank today to its lowest level in months. The short term indicators have rolled back to oversold territory. My guess is that the rally continues with the VIX at these low levels. The market was waiting on the Fed and now that is out of the way. Not a lot of econmoic data next week but we will get inflation data on Friday. It will also be the last unofficial week of summer with Labor day weekend on tap. Not sure now what the next trade will be. I'll check the charts over the weekend to try and come up with something. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of India. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The selling continued today but nothing drastic as the Dow fell 152 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is beginning to trend lower. The selling was pretty even across the board. Waiting to hear what the Fed chairman has to say tomorrow. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are now mid-range and moving lower. That said, we are receiving a short term buy signal from one of our indicators. So I would not be surprised if we see some kind of bounce tomorrow regardless of the Fed. Gold was off five bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU was up 4 3/4 and GDX rose 7/8. Volume was lighter than average. The gold shares went back to outperforming the metal itself which is what has been the case for most of this month. The gold shares are just breaking out to the upside from their two week consolidation. GDX remains short term overbought as it has been since early this month. Volume has been light though. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and I did not expect that. Still closed below the 50 day moving average but the short term indicators are now moving up. It now looks like anything could happen with this indicator tomorrow. I'm hoping that stocks hold up here as I do believe that getting the SPY September puts will be a good idea at some point in this option cycle. But if we drop tomorrow it may be that it's too late. Ideally we'd see a bounce higher tomorrow so traders get complacent over the weekend. That would maybe set us up for a put purchase sometime next week. We'll see. Europe and Asia were mixed overnight. We'll see where things go tomorrow.

More overall selling today but the Dow once again managed a gain. The most watched index rose 16 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index continues to move sideways. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posted losses with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. This is not a positive development. Stocks did come up off of the lows today and that may lead to some kind of try to rally from here. The short term indicators for the S&P are still heading down but might be trying to turn around. I would think that tomorrow will be a wait and see session before the Fed chairmans speech on Friday. I'm all for letting this week go by before attempting the next trade. Gold was up $33 on the futures. The US dollar finished unchanged while interest rates were a touch lower. The XAU was up five points and GDX gained 1 2/3. Volume was light once again. GDX is still in a sideways range that now has lasted two weeks. The short term indicators here have turned back up but they are not completely overbought yet. No GDX trades for me here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today and did come back from touching its 50 day moving average. Most of the short term indicators here are still oversold. The daily candlestick chart for the VIX looks like it wants to head lower. That would imply a dovish Fed on Friday. We'll see. Still a summertime market here getting to late August. Asia was higher with the exception of Japan and Europe was lower with the exception of the FTSE. We'll see if there are any breaking news developments overnight.

Sellers had the upper hand today but the Dow managed a gain of 10 points on average volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues sideways. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted losses on the day with the NASDAQ off 1.5%. The short term indicators for the S&P are rolling over but are still on the overbought side. It appears that the negative RSI divergence for the S&P on the daily chart is valid but we don't know how long the decline from here will last. I'm not sure if this is the beginning of a sustained move lower but it could be. The SPY September options are pricey though with plenty of time left in them. We've got the Fed chairman giving a speech on Friday and that may have an impact on things. Gold was down $18 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates a bit lower. The XAU fell six points and GDX lost 1 1/2. Volume remains light for the gold shares. The gold stocks clearly underperformed the precious metal today and we haven't seen that happen in a while. The short term indicators on GDX are rolling over. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which fits with an overall down market. Still short term oversold here. If the VIX starts to climb here it will be trouble for stocks. I'm not sure what is about to happen but the weak NASDAQ is not a good sign. The bulls will hope today was a one day affair. I'm hoping things hold up for a while to make the September puts cheaper but hope is not a trading strategy. Europe was higher and Asia lower with the exception of India. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Today was your typical summer Monday going nowhere type of session. The Dow fell 34 points on average volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 finished basically unchanged. The S&P remains short term overbought. It is a light week for economic data. Some major retailers will be reporting earnings but that's about it. I will probably try and let this week pass before trying the next trade. Gold was off $4 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates ticked up. The XAU and GDX had very slight fractional losses on extremely light volume. Volume has dried up for the gold shares lately. GDX remains in a sideways channel and short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a touch lower today and remains short term oversold. Nothing new to report here. Perhaps we have finally hit the summer doldrums. Asia was generally higher and Europe lower to start the week. We'll see if things pick up tomorrow.

We had a one day downside reversal on many of the stock indices but the Dow managed a gain of 35 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving sideways. The overall market was weaker than the Dow with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posting losses. Retail sales came in where expected. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. If it heads lower from here the negative RSI divergence on the daily chart will be valid. I am already looking at the SPY September puts but the premiums are high. Gold finished flat on the session. The US dollar was higher and interest rates ticked up. The XAU was up two points and GDX added 1/2. Volume remains light. GDX is still short term overbought and has been trending sideways for a week. No trades planned there for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and that fits with an overall down market. Still short term oversold here. The Dow hit a new intra-day high today but did not close at a record. Perhaps next week. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend. The extra week in the September option cycle makes it tough to find a reasonably priced option at the moment. Asia was generally higher and Europe mixed to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The inflation data came in hotter than expected but after a small gap lower at the open the market basically went sideways. The Dow was off 11 points on good volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is now starting to track sideways. Bad news was not met with extended selling as liquidity doesn't seem to be a problem for this market. Perhaps it is the positive option expiration bias but we don't know for sure. The negative breadth does show some underlying weakness. But we can't argue with price. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 both ended the day about unchanged. We'll get retail sales tomorrow on expiration Friday. The technical configuration for the S&P remains the same. Short term overbought with a possible negative RSI divergence. Gold was down $22 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and so were interest rates. The XAU fell two points and GDX shed 1/3. Volume is still pretty light here. GDX remains in short term overbought territory. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit higher today but still at a low overall level. The short term indicators are oversold. Not sure what to expect next here on the VIX but being this low it's expected for the rally in stocks to continue. We will be rolling into the September option cycle that will have an extra week in it. Premiums will be high. Asia was lower except for India, while Europe was higher overnight. We'll see how expiration Friday goes tomorrow.

Continuing higher as the Dow climbed 463 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were shy of 4 to 1 positive. The summation index has turned back up. The Dow was the leader today and is back to approaching new all time highs. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 set new records today. The S&P 500 is short term overbought on some of its indicators. There is a potential negative RSI divergence on its daily chart though. Only two days to go in the August option cycle. I'll try my best not to do anything stupid here as I've already booked a loss this week. Gold added ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional losses on very light volume. The volume for the gold shares has dried up lately. Not sure what's going on with that. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX is still heading lower. It is short term oversold. As long as it continues to be at these low levels the rally will go on. PPI data due out tomorrow. Asia and Europe were higher overnight as money finds a home in stocks around the world. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Inflation data came in where expected and the markets took off to the upside as the Dow gained 483 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. The NASDAQ led the way and that's a plus. New all time highs for the NASDAQ and S&P 500. No overhead resistance now. The S&P remains short term overbought on some of its indicators. My SPY August put trade went from a small gain to a medium loss overnight. My stop loss order was hit for a 40% drop on the trade. The techncial set up was OK for this idea but not the best that it could have been. I think that I was anxious to make a trade since I hadn't done one in a few months. I also think that I relied too much for a favorable reaction to the economic data on the trade rather than the techncial set up. Although the entry was good, the gap higher at todays open doomed this trade. The theme for me so far this year has been missed trades and losing trades. Needs to be corrected. Gold was off five bucks today. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU was up 2 2/3, while GDX rose 1/2. Volume was pretty light. GDX continues to be short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was sharply lower today and is now below the 15 level. The short term indicators here are oversold. During rallies they remain that way and that might happen now. Three days left in the August option cycle and I should remain on the sidelines. But who knows? I might try the August puts again ahead of Friday but it would be very risky. Asia and Europe were up for the most part. India and Germany posted losses. If the up/down pattern holds the S&P will be lower tomorrow. We'll see.

The market continues with its alternating up and down day pattern as the Dow fell 200 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still trending lower. It was quiet for much of the session until we got some last minute gyrations. The Dow led the way lower and that isn't the most bearish scenario. The NASDAQ along with the S&P 500 posted small losses. The short term indicators for the S&P are beginning to stall. I did place an order for the SPY August puts this morning and this time it got filled near the high for the day. The entry point was spot on. It is showing a small profit at the moment. Tomorrows inflation data will probably determine the fate of this idea. Gold lost $90 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished little changed. The XAU fell a point and GDX dipped 1/3. Volume was light. Gold got clobbered and the gold shares did not. That is a positive for the gold share indices. GDX remains short term overbought. Money simply continues to flow into this area. Mentally I'm feeling a little tired. The VIX was up today and that fits a down market. The short term indicators here are trying to turn back up. If successful, the market will continue lower and the SPY put idea will work. If not we'll probably head up to new all time highs. Tomorrow will most likely be the key. Asia higher and Europe lower to start the trading week. I'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

We've been moving back and forth between gains and losses each day for the past week. The Dow gained 207 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trending lower. The NASDAQ led the charge and that's a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 had a decent gain and is almost to its upper Bollinger band. The short term indicators here are moving higher with room to go. I might have to reconsider my SPY August put idea at this rate. Something to ponder over the weekend. Gold was up a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates a bit higher. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on below average volume. GDX is now short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. Getting to short term oversold on the indicators but not all the way there yet. Plenty of work to do over the weekend as I have to try and figure out what to do next week. The short term trades are not my best efforts usually. However we'll see how it goes this time around. The stock market has shown a lot of resilience lately and it may not pay to go against that. But we'll have to wait and see what happens over the weekend. Europe was mixed on Friday and Asia lower with the exception of Japan. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

Another one day downside reversal as markets opened higher and closed lower. The Dow fell 224 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index continues lower. We have had a few one day downside reversals lately and none of them have amounted to more than a day. Eventually that will change. The NASDAQ made it back to positive territory at the close but the S&P 500 had a minor loss. The short term indicators for the S&P are still around the mid-range level and beginning to track sideways. It is a sign of indecision. I'm still looking at getting the SPY August puts ahead of the inflation data next Tuesday. Gold was up $37 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates a touch higher. The XAU was up 4 1/4 and GDX added 1/2. Volume was average. Short term overbought now on GDX. If we see a move back to 54.5 on GDX we may try the calls there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today in a mixed market. The short term indicators appear like that they want to turn back up. That would not be a plus for stocks if it happens. I am probably going to let Friday go by and look to make the next trade on strength at some point on Monday. Asia and Europe were higher overnight with the exception of the FTSE. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Moving higher today as the Dow gained 81 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still moving lower. The overall market did much better than the Dow. The NASDAQ was up 1 1/4%, while the S&P 500 posted a decent gain. Earnings were the main driver today. The short term indicators for the S&P are moving higher with room to go. I still like the idea of the SPY August puts again ahead of the inflation data next Tuesday. The timing of when to purchase them will be the key. Gold was off a buck today. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished little changed except on the long end. The XAU rose 3 points and GDX gained 7/8. Volume was light. GDX has gotten to short term overbought and may need a rest. The gold shares have followed the market higher while gold itself has stalled. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down today and the short term indicators are heading lower. This implies more gains for stocks in the coming sessions. I guess what we'd like to see now is a new all time high for the S&P with a lower RSI reading. That would set us up to try the SPY puts. However as you all know markets rarely cooperate with the best laid plans that we have. Europe and Asia were up with the exception of India. We'll watch for any overnight developments.

Back to the downside today as the Dow dipped 62 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues lower. The overall market was weaker than the Dow. The NASDAQ led the way lower. It was another one day downside reversal. The short term indicators for the S&P are about mid-range. I'm getting the idea that things could go either way here. I still want to try the SPY puts at some point before option expiration next week. The Bollinger bands for the S&P remain tight so I believe that we will get some kind of tradeable move soon. Gold was up $8 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were mixed. The XAU was up 6 1/8, while GDX added 1 1/2. Volume was good to the upside as the gold shares have broken out. Our only hope now is that GDX revisits the breakout point at around 54.5 so that we can get some calls. GDX is on the way to short term overbought but not there yet. The gold shares outperforming the metal itself is bullish. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was a bit higher today. The short term indicators here are stalling at the mid-range level. Not sure what's next here for the VIX. Volatility has returned though. The market is light on economic data this week. Asia and Europe finished generally higher. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Quite a bounce back today as the Dow gained 585 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving lower. We were looking for a rally out of nowhere and we got it today. However I have to say not so fast on buying those SPY August puts as this particular rally might have legs. We are going to have to patiently wait for a signal with less than two weeks to go in the August option cycle. The NASDAQ led the way higher and that's a plus for the bulls. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P 500 are moving back up. The broadness of todays price action leads me to believe that there will be more near term gains. Gold rose thirty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates dropped a touch. The XAU was up 9 1/4 and GDX jumped 2 1/2. Volume was above average. GDX is on the verge of breaking out of a two month consolidation to the upside. The short term indicators are moving up with room to go. It looks like I've missed out on the calls here again. Just as we started looking at the GDX September calls they took off to the upside without us. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX turned right back down and closed beneath both the 50 and 200 day moving averages. Some of the short term indicators have turned back down. Tomorrows VIX movement could tell us a lot about where things are going. Perhaps. We didn't see any real selling today in the stock market as it gapped higher at the open and just kept on going. This happened despite the huge losses on Friday. Interesting times. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of Japan. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Stocks got clobbered today as the Dow fell 542 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is heading down. The employment report came in weaker than expected and some earnings were a disappointment. For now it looks like any rally can be shorted. The NASDAQ led the way lower and that is not a good sign for the bulls. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have rolled over with room to go. We will look for a strong rally out of nowhere in order to try the SPY August puts at some point next week. We have missed the ideal entry for this trade though. However at least we know that our ideas are on the right track. Gold rallied in a flight to safety as the futures gained $64. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU gained 2 1/4, while GDX added 3/4. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up. I'm now looking st the GDX September calls as a possible trade. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX shot up today and closed above the 20 level. It is now also above both its 50 and 200 day moving averages. The short term indicators here are moving up and some have room to go before getting overbought. It appears that the tight Bollinger bands on the VIX implied a move higher for this indicator. It was quite a week for the markets and we were expecting some kind of fireworks with all the data coming out. But the most important thing now is where we go from here and how do we capitalize on it? Certainly we will expect more selling to occur. I'll be going over all the charts this weekend in an attempt to find the best opportunity. Asia and Europe finished down as we had a worldwide head to the exits. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.