It was a one day downside reversal as stocks opened higher and closed lower to finish the month of January. The Dow fell 337 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were shy of 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving up. Inflation data came in where expected which led to a morning rally. But then sellers took over leading to closing losses for the major indices. The Dow led the way lower which isn't the most bearish scenario. The market is waiting to see what comes out of the Trump tarriffs over the weekend. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought on some of its indicators despite todays drop. I'm still in favor of the SPY February calls but am waiting for a decent signal in order to purchase. Still three weeks to go in the February option cycle. The main problem is that we are at the mercy of the next sound bite from Trump which makes the trading harder than it has to be. Gold dipped $15 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 2 points and GDX slipped about 1/2. Volume was average. GDX continues to remain short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher which fits with the downside price action today. The daily candlestick chart here has lost its bullish look. Not sure where the VIX is heading next. For now we are in a wait and see mode for this weekends tarriff news. I'll be going over all the charts in the next two days as usual. Europe and Asia were slightly higher to end the week. Monday morning should be interesting as we begin a new trading month. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Heading higher as the Dow gained 168 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The S&P 500 was the leader today. It remains short term overbought as we await the inflation data out tomorrow. End of the month tomorrow as well. The market has the feel of wanting to go higher as it has shrugged off the losses on Monday. However we are in a headline driven environment at the moment so anything could sway things in either direction. Also waiting on whether or not Trump starts to impose tarriffs on February 1st as promised. I'm still a fan of the SPY February calls at some point but we may have missed it. Gold rallied today as the futures climbed $56 to close at a new all time high. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates had a slight decline. The XAU was up 6 points and GDX added 1 1/2. Volume was good to the upside. I missed this move higher in GDX but it is too late to try the calls now. Short term overbought for an extended period of time so I won't be chasing it. I'll try and wait for GDX to reach short term oversold before attempting the calls here again. Or perhaps wait for GDX to return to its short term up trend line at around the 38 level. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and is back below both the 50 and 200 day moving averages. The short term indicators here are turning down in oversold territory. I still think that the VIX is heading lower. Both Europe and what was open in Asia finished higher. We'll close out the week and the month tomorrow.

Hanging around with a negative bias today as the Dow lost 136 points on average volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving up. The Fed didn't move interst rates as expected and there were no surprises during the speech. The NASDAQ was the leader moving lower but the losses were not sharp. Waiting on more earnings and the inflation data out Friday. The S&P 500 remains in short term overbought territory with some of the indicators beginning to track sideways. I'm still waiting for a decent signal one way or the other but leaning on the call side. Option premiums remain elevated with plenty of time left in the February option cycle. The market also is waiting on the threat of US tarriffs scheduled for February 1st. We'll continue to watch and wait for now. Gold was up a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU was up 1 1/8, while GDX rose 1/8. Volume remains light for the gold shares. GDX is still short term overbought as it has been for at least a couple of weeks. This won't last forever. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up slightly today. The daily candlestick chart here still looks like it wants to go lower but I'm not sure what's next for the VIX. Europe and what was open in Asia were up for the most part. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Back to the upside for the overall market and the Dow rose 136 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation idex is moving up. We got another signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within two days and we got that move today. The NASDAQ climbed back 2%. Was yesterday just a one day wonder for the NASDAQ? We'll see as we move forward. The fact that we didn't see any downside follow through is a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought and some of the indicators have turned back up. We've got to get through the Fed tomorrow and perhaps that will be a non-event for a change. Inflation data due on the last day of the month. The market also has to navigate the possibility of Trumps tariffs over the weekend if that comes to pass. Technically we don't have a signal at the moment so patience is required for now. I'm still in favor of the SPY February calls at some point. Gold was up $32 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rtes finished flat. The XAU was up 1 1/8 and GDX rose 1/3. Volume was light. GDX remains short term overbought. I'd expect some movement in the gold shares tomorrow in reaction to whatever the Fed decides to do or say. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down today and the short term indicators have rolled back over. Can't say for sure where this indicator is heading next but the daily candlestick chart looks like it wants to go lower. That would bode well for stocks. Most of the Asian markets will be on holiday for the rest of this week. What was open finished mixed. Europe was generally higher. We'll see how the market reacts to the Fed announcement tomorrow.

A huge gap lower for most of the major stock indices but not the Dow as it gained 289 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving higher. Tech stocks got crushed as the NASDAQ fell 3%. The S&P 500 dipped around 1 1/2% on a big week for earnings and economic data. We've got the Fed and inflation data later on in the week. The short term indicators for the S&P have rolled over with room to go lower. Not exactly sure what we'll see next but I still like the idea of the SPY February calls. I'll be looking to purchase some this week if we see some more weakness. Gold dropped $36 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were lower. The XAU lost 3 1/8, while GDX slipped 5/8. Volume was light. The gold shares did come off of their worst levels on the session. GDX remain short term overbought so we will wait for an oversold reading here before thinking about the calls again. That's the theory for now anyway. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX jumped up above the 20 level but then fell back to close below there. It was still 3 points higher on the day which fits with the overall market decline. The short term indicators here have turned back up with room to go. There is a big gap on he VIX daily chart now as well. I'm still in the camp of waiting for the Fed to get out of the way before taking on the next trade. Asia was mixed and Europe lower overnight. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

A little selling today to close out the week as the Dow fell 140 points on average volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. Nothing dramatic to the downside but the NASDAQ was the underperformer. We did get a signal from the McClellan oscillator last night for a big move within the next two sessions. We'll see if that pans out on Monday. The technical picture for the S&P 500 hasn't changed. Still short term overbought and staying that way. We'll get the Fed and some inflation data next week so there will be reasons for market movement. I'm still in the camp for the SPY February calls so hopefully we'll see some pullback to get the chance at that idea. Not sure that the technical indicators will get all the way back to oversold though. Gold was up $13 on the futures. The US dollar was down and interest rates wre slightly lower. The XAU was up almost 2 points and GDX rose 3/8. Volume was light. Still short term overbought on the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which doesn't fit with a down market. Short term oversold and staying there. Not sure what's coming up next here for the VIX. We've been in a two week rally mode for stocks and I don't think that its over anytime soon. The technicals put in a decent bottom and it is just a matter of how high things will go here in my view. The extra week in the February option cycle has kept the premiums high. There is no rush to put the next trade on and we may have already missed it if the market continues to go straight up. Patience for now as we'll most likely let the Fed get out of the way before doing anything. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend. Asia and Europe finished out the week mixed. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Up, up and away we go as the Dow gained 408 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues higher. The Dow again led the way here. The S&P 500 closed at a new all time high. The other major indices should get there too. The S&P is overbought and staying that way. Looks like I missed out on the SPY February calls but we'll see. Gold was off $8 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were mixed. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. GDX remains in overbought territory. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was off slightly. Still short term oversold on the indicators here. The VIX can stay oversold for extended periods of time and this may be one of those times. Todays post is short as I need to take a rest. Europe and Asia were generally higher overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Moving up as the Dow rose 131 points on good volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 negative though so perhaps the market is due for a rest. The summation index continues higher. The NASDAQ led the way again and that's a plus. The S&P 500 flirted with closing at a new all time high but just missed. The short term indicators here are mostly overbought. I still like the idea of the SPY February calls but we'll have to see some kind of selling in order to get a chance to purchase them. Plenty of time left in the February option cycle. You could argue that the best time to get the calls has passed and I can't really say that is wrong. But we'll wait for a technical signal before doing anything. Gold rose $7 on the futures. The US dollar was a little higher along with interest rates. The XAU dipped 3/4 and GDX was barely lower. Volume was light. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished flat for the session. Still short term oversold here. The Bollinger bands on the VIX are starting to converge and we'll keep an eye on that. The VIX remains below the 50 and 200 day moving averages. As earnings continue to be reported they will get stocks moving as will the latest headline out of the White House. That is the environmment at the moment. I'll probably wait until after the Fed next week to take a position. I'm still in the calls camp going forward. Asia was mixed and Europe generally higher overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

The rally has legs as the Dow climbed 538 points on good volume. The advance/declines were around 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The Dow continues to lead the way. The S&P 500 had a decent gain with some of its short term indicators in overbought territory. The NASDAQ lagged. I'm still looking at the SPY February calls for the next trade but would like to see a pullback in order to purchase. May not happen at this rate. Looking for new all time highs for the S&P as we move forward. Gold was up seven bucks on the futures. The US dollar had a big drop and interest rates dipped. The XAU gained 3 1/8 and GDX was up 7/8. Volume was a bit above average. GDX has broken through the down trend line that was in effect and is now short term overbought. It can stay overbought during rallies. GDX is now above both its 50 and 200 day moving averages. Might try the February calls here if we get a snap back to the line just broken. Not completely sold on that idea though. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower which fits an up market. Short term oversold here. Not sure what's next for the VIX but it can remain oversold for a while at times. Stocks are in rally mode. I believe that calls are the way to go here. Asia was mixed and Europe slightly higher in overnight trade. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

More buying to finish off the week as the Dow rose 334 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. Once again the NASDAQ led the way higher and htat's a plus. The S&P 500 broke above the resistance of its short term down trend line. The short term indicators here are moving higher. I'm still looking for new all time highs for the S&P in the coming weeks. I'm looking at the SPY February calls but the premiums are pricey. Declines can be purchased in my view going forward. We will look to get some calls on weakness if we see any. Gold was off a dozen on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU was up a buck and GDX rose 1/8. Volume was light. GDX is short term overbought on some of the indicators. It is trying to get through both the 50 and 200 day moving averages. GDX now has a short term up trend line in place that has held so far. It has also broken through the down trend line on the weekly chart and the indicators here have turned back up. Perhaps it is time to take a closer look at the calls here. Or we can continue to wait for GDX to return to the longer term up trend line at 30. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and is still hanging around both the 50 and 200 day moving averages. Short term oversold here but not completely. Quite a comeback for the stock market this week. The weekly candlestick charts for the major indices now look bullish. Only a complete reversal to the downside whould change things next week. I don't see that happening. Hopefully we'll get an opportunity to purchase some SPY calls. A long weekend here in the US and I'll have plenty of time to go over all the charts. Asia was mixed and Europe higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

Treading water today with the exception of the NASDAQ as the Dow fell 68 points on average volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is now moving higher. Sideways trading action this Thursday ahead of option expiration. It's also before a long holiday weekend in the US as the markets will be closed on Monday. The NASDAQ fell the most today and that is not a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 had a small loss as it is right up against the longer term down trend line on a daily basis. The short term indicators here are at mid-range. My guess is that we'll get through that line in short order but maybe not tomorrow. Sometime next week at the latest or else my prognosis here is wrong. I also believe we are in the beginning of a multi-week rally for the S&P. Gold was up $30 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. That is two days in a row now that gold had good moves higher and the gold shares basically did nothing. Not a good sign for the gold share bulls. I'm on the sidelines with regards to trading the GDX options for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit higher today as it stalls on both the 50 and 200 day moving averages. No clear signal from the short term indicators here. The game plan for now is to let expiration Friday pass and head into the February option cycle which has an extra week on it. So premiums will be high. I'll be looking at the SPY calls again as I think that we are heading to new all time highs for the S&P. I could be wrong. Europe and Asia finished higher. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

It was a blast off from the start as the inflation data was just a touch soft and the Dow climbed 703 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 5 to 1 positive. The summation index is turning back up. It should continue higher from here as the zero line area has held for now. The NASDAQ led the way and that's a plus for the bulls. We had a big gap the open and continued on from there. The S&P 500 has made it back to its 50 day moving average and the short term indicators are now moving up. It is almost back to the longer term down trend line that is in place. We will probably get through there soon and on to new all time highs in my opinion. I sold the SPY January calls that I had for a 75% profit. Could have done even better than that but I took the gift that the market gave me. This trade had a bad entry and a not so good exit and still somehow came out on top. Gold was up $35 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly lower and interest rates dropped. The XAU rose 3/4 and GDX added 3/8. Volume was light. GDX is now barely above the down trend line that's been in place since last October. It is also short term overbought on some of the indicators. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX was sharply lower and the short term indicators are moving down. The VIX has made it back down to its 50 and 200 day moving averages. The VIX seems to be implying that the rally will continue. Asia was mixed and Europe higher overnight. I'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

Bouncing around today to another mixed bag finish but the Dow gained 221 points on average volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn around. The NASDAQ was lower again and the S&P 500 had another slight gain. A lot will hinge on tomorrrows inflation report in my view. If it comes in strong things will get ugly. If it comes in weak we could see a nice up move as short covering will be required. Of course I'm hoping for the latter as I'm still holding on to the SPY January calls at a loss. We did manage to break the shortest down trend line in the S&P today but could not get any traction beyond that. The short term indicators for the S&P remain oversold but not completely so. We'll see what happens tomorrow morning and take it from there. Gold rose $13 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates remained flat. The XAU was up 3 3/4, while GDX climbed 7/8. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX turned back up. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The shorter term trading usually requires more attention than a longer term idea. The VIX was lower today but some of the short term indicators are still pointing up. Not sure what to expect next here as the VIX is above both its 50 and 200 day moving averages but below the 20 level. Asia was higher with the exception of Japan and Europe up as well except for the FTSE. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments and try to manage whatever tomorrow brings.

A mixed Monday to begin the week as the Dow was higher and the NASDAQ lower. The most watched index gained 358 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving lower. We had one day upside reversals in some of the major averages today as the market gapped down at the open. The S&P 500 was one of the indexes that had an upside reversal. This is important for the bulls because the S&P is bouncing off of its longer term up trend line that goes back to 2023. If the S&P can hang in here I believe that we'll be moving higher medium term. We'll probably know by Wednesday when the inflation data comes in. The short term indicators for the S&P remain oversold. My SPY January calls are still losers with only four days to go. They are so far out of the money that it will take some strong gains to perhaps make it back to break even. Another downside day will wipe them out. At this point I'll most likely hold them until the CPI on Wednesday. Gold dropped $35 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost almost 3 points and GDX was down 5/8. Volume was light. Some of the short term indicators for GDX have rolled over while others have simply stalled. The down trend line from last October remains in place on GDX. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished lower today after rising above the 20 level. The short term indicators here are beginning to head sideways with some at the mid-range level. So the VIX could go either way from here. My hope would be that the VIX heads lower from here as the overall market rises. However hope is not a trading strategy. My timing on getting the SPY January calls was not good. The summation index is dancing around the zero line so there is still a chance of a major drop. It is options expiration week so anything goes. Europe and Asia opened the week lower. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

The jobs report came in better than expected but good news was bad news for the stock market as the Dow lost 696 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving back down. Most of the major stock indices lost at least 1 1/2% on the session. The S&P 500 lost over ninety points and the short term indicators are moving lower. Not yet completely oversold on the S&P. My idea for the SPY january calls seems to be a mistake. However I did purchase some of them today despite the decline. This looks like an ill timed trade as it is showing a loss with only five days left in the January option cycle. The S&P 500 now lies on its up trend line that began back in October of 2023. Whether or not it holds on here will determine the outcome of this SPY trade. It appears as if the market is going to continue lower though as the summation index is falling below the zero line. I can't say that I wasn't warned. Gold was up $25 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves one way or the other on about average volume. Both finished well off of their best levels on the day. GDX met resistance at the short term down trend line and 50 day moving average. The short term indicators here are beginning to stall. Gold up and the gold shares not following is not a plus for the gold share bulls. Mentally I'm feeling a bit frustrated as I probably should have just stayed on the sidelines with the current market environment. The signal to attempt the SPY calls here was not as strong as the most recent one that we saw last week. I'll be lucky to get out of this trade with a small loss and that may not even be possible. The VIX jumped today and the short term indicators are now moving up with plenty of room to go higher. This would be another reason to remain bearish heading into next week. Still below the 20 level but just about ready to head north of there with a repeat of todays price action. I'll be going over all the charts this weekend to get ready for Monday morning. Asia and Europe closed lower to finish the week overseas. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Just hanging around today as the Dow rose 106 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still in a sideways trend. The Dow was the outperformer today. The NASDAQ had a small loss and the S&P 500 a small gain. The short term indicators for the S&P are now mid-range. I put in a few orders for the SPY January calls today trying to get the price that I wanted. None were filled. If we get early selling on Friday I might take a look at this idea again. Or it could be too late. The market is closed tomorrow ahead of the jobs report and there are only six days left in the January option cycle. So the risk of any option trade here is high. Might have to remain on the sidelines. Gold was up $14 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU climbed 3 1/2, while GDX added 7/8. Volume was a bit above average. GDX is getting close to the down trend line that is in effect at 36.5. It also is nearing both the 50 and 200 day moving averages. Not yet short term overbought on GDX so perhaps it will make it to that down trend line. Mentally I'm feeling like I want to take on the SPY call trade but the signal isn't as strong as I'd like it. I also do not want to make a trade just to do it. I can always just wait until the February cycle. It's something to think about on Thursday. The VIX was just a bit lower today. The short term indicator picture here is mixed with an oversold bias. The VIX is above both its 50 and 200 day moving averages. The daily candlestick chart here looks like that it wants to go lower which would be a boost for stocks. Europe and Asia were generally lower overnight. We'll take a break tomorrow and get ready for Friday morning.

Back to the downside today as the Dow fell 178 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is tracking sideways. It was a one day downside reversal for stocks as we had a gap higher at the open and then sold off for the rest of the day. The NASDAQ led the way lower and that is not a plus. The S&P 500 closed below its 50 day moving average. Some of the short term indicators here have turned back down from the mid-range level. It puts our bullish bias here in question. We did want to see some selling in order to purchase the SPY January calls and we certainly got that today. I'm still wary of the summation index and the zero line but I do think that it will hold. I will probably place an overnight order for the SPY calls unless the futures sell off hard tonight. We'll see. Gold was up $18 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU was up 1 7/8 and GDX rose 1/2. Volume was on the light side. The gold shares finished off of their best levels on the day. The short term indicators for GDX are around mid-range. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which fits a down market. Most of teh short term indicators here remain in the oversold area. The VIX remains below the 20 level but if it was to start to rise from here it would spell trouble for stocks. So we are in a tough trading environment right now. Trading on Wednesday followed by a day off followed by the employment report. I suppose remaining on the sidelines is a possibity as well. Europe and Asia were generally higher overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

A positive start to the week for the overall market but not the Dow as it fell 25 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trying to turn back up. We had a big gap higher to get things going but then eventually sold off for the rest of the day. Even so the NASDAQ led the way with a gain of over 1%. The S&P 500 did cut its gain in more than half for the session. The short term indicators here are still moving up. It looked like we missed our chance for the SPY January calls but the S&P was turned back by its short term down trend line of resistance at around the 6000 level. I suspect that we'll get through that area at some point before option expiration. So if we continue lower in the near term that might give us the opportunity to purchase some SPY January calls. That is the game plan at the moment. Gold was off ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU dipped 1 1/3, while GDX was off 3/8. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to roll over. No GDX trades for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower but not by much. Still hanging around the 200 day moving average here. The short term indicators on the VIX are beginning to track sideways. Not sure what's next here but I would not be surprised if the VIX continues lower. One less trading day this week and the jobs report looms on Friday. Running out of time in the January option cycle but if things line up I'll be trying the SPY calls. Asia was mixed with big losses in Japan and India. Europe was higher. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Buying was the order of the day as the Dow gained 339 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn around and I believe that it will be successful. The NASDAQ led the way up and that is a plus. The S&P 500 rose 1 1/4%. The short term indicators here have turned back up for the most part. Declines can now be bought in my opinion. I think that the zero line will hold here on the summation index. I did place an order overnight for the SPY January calls but it wasn't filled. I will try again next week if we see some selling. There is one less day in the January option cycle now as the markets will be closed next Thursday in mourning of former president Jimmy Carter. So the timing of any trade will be even more critial than usual. But it looks like a double bottom on the S&P daily chart for now. Gold was off $17 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates ticked up. The XAU fell 1 1/2, while GDX shed 1/3. Volume was light. No GDX trades in mind for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits an up market. The short term indicators on the VIX are turning lower. The VIX is back to its 200 day moving average. I'm guessing that the VIX will continue to decline and htat stocks will move higher. I could be wrong. We didn't get the Santa Claus rally this year and that is a cause for concern in the near term. Beyond that however it doesn't have a good forecasting record. Years ending in the number 5 usually are good for the stock market but that didn't happen in 2015. There are always exceptions to any rule. For now we are sticking with the idea of a SPY January call trade to be made at some point next week. Asia was mixed and Europe higher to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Certainly an interesting day to begin the new year as the Dow fell 151 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still moving lower. The day began with a rally that then faded. Another rally was attempted and then there was a sharp drop only to try and meander back to positive territory but we didn't make it. The Dow led the way lower which isn't the worst scenario. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 had small losses. The short term indicators for the S&P are oversold but not completely. They may be trying to turn around here. One of our short term indicators is flashing a buy signal. I'm still considering the SPY January calls for a short term trade here but did not have the guts to try it today. The proximity of the summation index to the zero line is a factor. However I might have the courage to try that idea tomorrow. We'll see. Gold was up $30 on the futures most likely as a reaction to the terror attack in the US. The US dollar was higher as well and interest rates finished flat. The gold shares found a bid as the XAU climbed 5 3/4 and GDX was up 1 3/8. Volume was a bit above average. It was the best day for GDX in a while and its short term indicators are now moving up. There is a down trend line in place here that comes in at around the 37 level. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher but off from its best levels on the day. The short term indicators for the VIX are trending sideways. It is above both the 50 and 200 day moving averages. I can make a case for the VIX moving lower from here but it is not cast in stone. I'll take another look at things tonight and then decide if I want to try the SPY calls. Many of the foreign markets remained closed overnight but those that were open were weaker in general. We'll close out the week tomorrow.