A big move up for the overall market and the Dow managed a gain of 202 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is beginning to stall. The NASDAQ led the way higher with a gain of over 2 1/2%. That is a plus. It appears that the positive holiday week bias is in effect but we'll see how the rest of the week plays out. The S&P 500 was up over 100 points. The short term indicators here have turned up with room to go. The S&P has made it back to the 50 day moving average. Not sure if the recent decline is over but we're leaning that way. Gold was up $51 on the futures. The US dollar finished little changed again and interest rates dipped. The XAU climbed 15 2/3 and GDX jumped 4 1/3. Volume was slightly above average. The short term indicators for GDX have turned up with room to go. GDX also has held its 50 day moving average. It is right up against its short term down trend line. A break there would be positive. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX has another big drop today. The short term indicators here are moving lower. The VIX is still above the 20 level though. My guess is that it will continue lower and stocks higher for the rest of the week. Some economic data will finally be released tomorrow but I'm not sure what the effects will be. Europe finished mixed and Asia was generally higher to start the week. We'll see if we get some more upside follow through tomorrow.

Some relief from the selling today as the Dow gained 493 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving lower. It is heading towards the zero line which would lead to the market falling apart. Not there yet but we have to be aware of it. I don't think that we'll break down here but I could be wrong. The Dow was the leader to the upside today. I would think that more near term upside is upon us as the holiday week coming is usually positive. But who knows? The short term indicators for the S&P remain oversold. On the weekly chart they are heading lower and getting to mid-range. Holding above the 20 week moving average for now as price bounced off that this week. A breakdown on the weekly chart could take us to around 6200 which be be a 10% drop from the recent highs. However at this point we'll see how things go next week before making any decisions. Gold was off three bucks today on the futures. The US dollar finished flat again and interest rates dropped. The XAU was up 2 1/3, while GDX added 2/3. Volume was a bit above average. The short term indicators for GDX are back to stalling at the mid-range level. We are still waiting before putting on any trades there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits todays price action. The short term indicators are heading down but are still in overbought territory. The VIX remains above 20 so the volatility probably isn't over just yet. My guess is that the VIX will head lower next week as we see some buying but perhaps this year the holiday week won't conform with the usual probability. Rolling into the December option cycle so premiums will be high. The recent volatility adds to that as well. I'll be going over all the charts this weekend as usual. Asia finished lower and Europe mixed to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

Today we witnessed a dramatic one day downside reversal as stock indices had a huge gap up at the open only to turn around and close with big losses. The Dow fell 386 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving down. We saw the rally out of nowhere that we were looking for but were not able to take advantage of it. Things were simply moving too fast for our liking and there was only a couple of days left in the November option cycle. Opportunity lost you might say and you are not wrong. However I am more of a position trader as my short term trades usually end up in defeat. The NASDAQ led the way lower despite a good earnings report from NVDA which produced the early market buying. The S&P 500 was up over 125 points early on only to roll over and finish at the lows for the session down over 100. That is some kind of crazy volatility. The short term indicators for the S&P are oversold and the daily candlestick chart looks bearish. Near term support should kick in around 6500 but there are no guarantees. Something is going on here but we ceratinly don't know what. The market holds the ultimate truth. Gold lost $8 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates dipped. The XAU slid 15 points, while GDX lost 3 1/3. Volume was heavy to the downside. The short term indicators for GDX are back to heading lower and it closed below the 50 day moving average again. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher and that is not a surprise. The short term indicators are overbought and staying that way for now. As long as the VIX remains above the 20 level it will be a rocky road for stocks. Not sure how long this lasts. Option expiration Friday tomorrow which could be crazy but I can't see it being as volatile as today. But markets go where they want. Asia and Europe finished higher overnight as they were trading off of the NVDA earnings. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Volatility is in charge for now as the Dow gained 47 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues down. We were up and down more than once today as the market tries to figure out its next move. After the bell NVDA earnings should get things going overnight. Employment data due out tomorrow morning. I'm still thinking about perhaps trying the SPY puts if we see a big rally tomorrow but the more prudent course of action would be to sit things out with only 2 days left in the November option cycle. The NASDAQ led things higher today but it wasn't exactly what you'd call a rally. More of just hanging around until tomorrow. The S&P 500 posted a small gain. The short term indicators for the S&P remain oversold. Gold was up ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished generally flat. The XAU gained 3 7/8 and GDX was up 3/4 again. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX ended a bit lower today which fits with todays market price movement. The short term indicators here are still overbought. Not sure what's next for the VIX. We'll see how things go early tomorrow morning to decide if a trade in the SPY options is worth the risk. Europe was lower and Asia mixed overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Continuing to sink as the Dow fell 498 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive though. The summation index is moving down. The market dropped for the first hour and a half, attempted to make a comeback and then dropped again in the final hour. The NASDAQ led the way lower and that is not a plus. The S&P 500 is now solidly below its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators are oversold but not completely so. 3 days left in the November option cycle. I should remain on the sidelines as the short term trades are not usually my best efforts. But we'll see. NVDA earnings after the bell tomorrow followed by some employment data on Thursday. Perhaps if we get some kind of short term rally we can try the SPY puts into the close on Friday. But it would be pretty risky. Gold was off $3 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were slightly lower. The XAU was up 3 3/8, while GDX added 3/4. Volume was a bit above average. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to stall. Not trades in mind for the GDX options at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX jumped up again today and remains above the 20 level. It has reached short term overbought. However as long as it remains above 20, volatility is the rule. If we somehow see a big rally out of nowhere in the next couple of sessions, that could give us the opportunity to buy some SPY November puts to hold into the close on Friday. But the timing in and out would have to be precise and that is extremely hard to do with so little time left in the November cycle. Asia and Europe got whacked last night as we are seeing a worldwide exit from stocks. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Monday brought out sellers as the Dow fell 557 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 4 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving down. The Dow was the leader heading lower as all the major averages suffered losses. It is options expiration week and the last full week before Thanksgiving. So whatever needs to be done by the main players will take place this week. We will also start to get some economic data now that the US government is back in business. NVDA earnings after the bell on Wednesday should provide reasons for movement as well. On the technical front the S&P 500 closed below its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators here are moving lower and are not yet oversold. So the path of least resistance appears to be lower. With the summation index heading down it looks like some sustained selling is at hand. That said, I was looking at the SPY November calls today but did not make a purchase. I may consider them again tomorrow but the prudent course of action is probably to remain on the sidelines. We almost have a short term buy signal but not quite there yet. Also purchasing calls here flys in the face of the techncial evidence heading lower. Gold fell fifty bucks today. The US dollar was higher and interest rates were a touch lower. The XAU was off almost 5 points and GDX lost about 1 1/4. Volume was a bit above average. The short term indicators for GDX are moving down with plenty of room to go. GDX is once again trying to hold on to the 50 day moving average. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher and closed above the 20 level. The short term indicators on the VIX are almost overbought. If the VIX stays above 20 we'll see more selling and volatility. Right now that seems to be where the market is headed but we all know that things can turn on a dime in this game. Europe and Asia started the trading week on a down note with the exception of India. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Still a mixed picture as the Dow fell 309 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is turning lower. The NASDAQ posted a small gain and the S&P 500 had a slight loss. Indices opened with huge gaps lower and the NASDAQ made it all the way back to positive territory for a one day upside reversal. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are beginning to stall at the mid-range level. The S&P is once again trying to hold on to the 50 day moving average. It appears that things could go either way here but we'll look at the charts this weekend and take it from there. Gold dropped $111 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates rose. The XAU lost 2 2/3 and GDX shed 7/8. Volume was good to the downside but the gold shares held up much better than the metal itself. They also finished well up from the worst levels of the session. But we still don't have any GDX option trades in mind right now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX traded up to 23 today only to fall back below the 20 level at the close. The short term indicators here are also at the mid-range level. Not sure where the VIX is going though as my latest readings of its daily candlestick chart have been off. Plenty of work to do this weekend as we head into option expiration week. Hopefully we'll get some kind of SPY option trade going next week. Europe and Asia closed lower today. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Sellers returned today and the Dow fell 797 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is back to a stall. The NASDAQ led the way lower and has been the weakist link lately which isn't a good sign for the bulls. It looks like my idea of new all time highs for the S&P 500 in the near term were wrong. That index got clocked today as well, down over 100 points. The short term indicators here have rolled over with room to go. We were not totally convinced that things would continue higher after bouncing off of the 50 day moving average on the S&P but it looks like we've missed the chance for the SPY November puts. If we continue lower tomorrow the weekly chart on the S&P will have a bearish look as well. Not exactly sure what is going on here but the market always know more than we do. Gold dropped $48 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates ticked up. The XAU fell 8 points, while GDX shed 2 1/4. Volume was heavy heading lower. The short term indicators for GDX have started to turn lower. Not sure where the gold shares are headed next. I don't have any GDX option trades in mind right now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits the down market. It closed at the important level of 20. The short term indicators are back to moving up with room to go. The VIX is bouncing from its 50 day moving average that it could not get through. That is not a positive for stocks. Running out of time in the November option cycle but we won't try anything just for the sake of making a trade. Asia higher and Europe lower overnight. Tomorrow should be interesting.

The Dow continues to lead the way here as it gained 314 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were about even. The summation index is moving higher but does not seem to have conviction along the way. The NASDAQ posted another small loss and the S&P 500 managed to eek out a slight gain. Some of the short term indicators on the S&P are moving sideways while others continue higher. Not yet short term overbought here. I'm still thinking that the S&P 500 is about to make new all time highs here but I could be wrong. The recent bounce off of the 50 day moving average started out strong but seems to be losing steam. Maybe we'll try the SPY November puts ahead of the weekend. Gold jumped $84 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat along with interest rates. The XAU climbed ten points and GDX added another 2 1/2. Volume was good again to the upside. Some but not all of the short term indicators for GDX are overbought. It looks like the gold shares are on their way to new all time highs but we'll have to wait and see about that. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a but higher today and remains above its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators here are beginning to stall. Not yet oversold here either. I don't know what to expect next on this indicator. We'll look things over again tonight and go from there. Seven days to go in the November option cycle. Asia and Europe were up overnight. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

A mixed picture today but the Dow had a huge gain of 584 points to close at a record on good volume. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is starting to move higher. The NASDAQ posted a small loss and the S&P 500 managed a small gain. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are moving up. A partial holiday today in the US, so all the players weren't in the game. The governemnt shutdown could end tomorrow but that is probably already baked into the market. Waiting on a signal for the next trade. Possibly could be the SPY November puts next week. Or maybe the calls if we see some selling during this week. I still think that we are heading to new all time highs for the S&P 500 though. Gold was up $14 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates were unchanged. The XAU was up 3 1/2, while GDX rose almost 2/3. Volume was light. GDX is getting to short term overbought on some of its indicators. I don't have any GDX option trades in mind at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was slightly lower and isn't short term oversold yet. Almost back down through the 50 day moving average here. The daily candlestick chart here looks like it wants to go lower. Asia was mixed and Europe higher overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

A nice rally to begin the week as the Dow gained 381 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn up once again. The NASDAQ led the way and was up over 500 points. The S&P 500 gained over 100 points. The short term indicators for the S&P have turned back up with plenty of room to go. This looks like the beginning of a rally that will take us back to new all time highs. It looks like we are too late for the SPY November calls but we'll see. The US government shut down is about to end and that is the excuse for buying. I'd like to get some kind of trade in before option expiration but we'll see. Gold was up over $100 on the futures as money came back into this space. The US dollar and interest rates finished flat. The XAU jumped almost 13 points, while GDX added 3 3/8. Volume was good to the upside. The short term indicators for GDX are moving up. GDX is now above its 50 day moving average. Although GDX traded below that level it managed to hang around in that area before moving higher. We missed the GDX November call trade however I am not as sure that the gold shares will be heading to new all time highs here right away. But I could be wrong. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. The short term indicators here are mostly heading lower. This fits with our idea of new all time highs for the stock market sooner rather than later. Europe and Asia were up as money is being put back in stocks around the world. Tomorrow is Veterans Day and a partial holiday in the US. The stock market will be open but banks and Federal offices will be closed. We'll keep an eye on any overnight developments.

Today we had some one day upside reversals as the Dow rose 74 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still moving lower. Most stock indices opened with a gap lower and then closed higher with the exception of the NASDAQ which ended negative. The turnaround began around noon time and went all the way into the close. We are looking at the SPY November calls perhaps on any weakness Monday. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are stalling once again and are not yet completely short term oversold. The 50 day moving average held things in check today. We have to figure out if the recent weakness was just another pause in the longer term rally or the start of maybe a five to ten percent drop which is long overdue. We are leaning towards the bullish outcome for now. However we'll look things over this weekend and go from there. Gold was up $16 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU gained 6 2/3 and GDX added 1 3/4. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX are now moving higher and there's a chance that the decline in the gold shares is over. GDX closed just below its 50 day moving average. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX traded above the 20 level early on only to close below it. It finished lower which fits with an overall slightly higher market. The short term indicators here are beginning to stall. Although the daily candlestick chart for the VIX looks bullish again this indicator has not panned out lately. Not sure which way it goes from here. I'll be checking the charts over the next couple of days to come up with a game plan for next week. Asia and Europe were lower on Friday to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Back to the downside today as the Dow fell 398 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index continues lower. The NASDAQ led the way down again and that is not a plus. Once again we had a final hour sell off which translates into something bearish. Not sure for the reasons right now. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are back to moving down with room to go. It appears that it is on the way to test its 50 day moving average at 6665. That might be the spot to try the SPY November calls. Or not. Since we are not exactly sure what is going on here the sidelines are probably where we need to be. We also have yet to see a solid signal one way or the other for the next SPY trade. Option premiums are beginning to become better priced though. We'll look things over again tonight and take it from there. Gold was off four bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves one way or the other on average volume. GDX remains short term oversold. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was back up today and the short term indicators are moving higher with room to go. It closed a half point away from the important level of 20. If we make it past that level the decline in stocks will be more than I expect and last longer. Europe finished lower and Asia higher with the exception of India. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Heading back up today as the Dow gained 225 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving lower. The NASDAQ led the way today which is a plus for the bulls. The market did fall in the final hour though and that isn't usually a good thing. I'm not exactly sure what is going on here so we are still on the sidelines for the time being. One of our models showed yesterday as a medium term low for the market with prices rising from here. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are stalling here as they head lower. I'm still considering the SPY November calls at the moment. Gold was up $33 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were higher. The XAU was up 7 points and GDX climbed 2 1/3. Volume was slightly above average. GDX remains short term oversold and we're still on the sidelines when it comes to trading the options in GDX for now. Mentally I feel OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term oversold. Once again the daily candlestick chart here looks like it wants to go lower but that hasn't worked out recently. When in doubt stay out is usually solid advice in this game. We'll wait for the next decent signal and go from there. Asia lower and Europe higher overnight. We'll keep an eye on this evenings developments.

Moving lower today as the Dow fell 251 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving down. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow with the NASDAQ dropping 2% and leading the way. My idea of higher prices and new all time highs has been negated by todays price action. We had a big gap down at the open, tried to rally and then fell down for the rest of the session. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are moving down with plenty of room to go. Getting to mid-range on some. Not sure what to expect next as I do not seem to have a good handle on things at the moment. With the summation index moving down I'd expect lower prices to follow in the near term. I am now looking at the SPY November calls. The US government shutdown continues but that will not last forever. The US Supreme court will meet tomorrow regarding the US tariff legality but a decision won't be coming right away. So there are things in the pipeline that will most likely affect stocks one way or the other. Gold lost $66 today on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates ticked lower. The XAU fell 12 1/2, while GDX lost 3 points. Volume was above average. Money is moving out of the alternative assets such as gold and bitcoin at the moment. Not sure why or where the money is going. GDX closed at a new recent low and remains short term oversold. I'm still considering the November GDX calls but that may not be the best idea right now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and the short trm indicators have turned up. The VIX got above the 20 level during the day. Yesterday the daily candlestick chart here looked like it wanted to go lower but todays action has canceled that. Once again my reading of what's happening is not correct so I will probably have to take a step back for now. Still plenty of time in the November option cycle. Asia and Europe were down overnight with the exception of the FTSE. Perhaps money around the workd knows things that we don't. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Another mixed bag to begin the trading week as the Dow was lower while the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted gains. The most watched index fell 226 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still trending lower. The NASDAQ once again was the strongest and that's a plus. The S&P 500 has been going sideways for a week and remains in short term overbought territory. My thought here is that it is consolidating before going on to new all time highs again. I could be wrong. The SPY November option premiums are still pricey so we continue to wait on the next trade. Gold was up $26 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates finished flat again. The XAU fell 2 1/8 and GDX slid 3/4. Volume was light. GDX remains short term oversold and hanging around its 50 day moving average. Starting to think that maybe the November calls here could be the next trade but we'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today and is still short term oversold. The daily candlestick chart for the VIX appears like it wants to go lower. That would be supportive for stocks. Plenty of earnings to deal with as the US government continues to be on hold. Asia was higher and Europe mixed to start the week. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.