A mixed bag on a summer Friday as the Dow gained 235 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving lower. The NASDAQ lost over 150 points, while the S&P 500 had a very slight rise. As long as the NASDAQ continues to lead the way lower I don't see any sustainable rallies in the near future for the overall market. I could be wrong but probably not this time around. Some of the short term indicators on the S&P are beginning to stall and others are moving lower. Not yet completely short term oversold here. The market remains in headline risk mode and at the mercy of the US/Iran conflict. Gold was up five bucks on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates had a small bounce up. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves one way or the other on very light volume. The short term indicators for GDX are stalling at the mid-range level. I still like the idea of the GDX calls going forward. However the lack of volume in this space still shows that there isn't much trading interest here at the moment. Summertime might have something to do with that along with a negative fundamental picture right now for the precious metals. It could be that sideways price action is the most we can expect from this group for now. I'll take another look at things over the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was slightly lower today. The short term indicators here are hanging around and I'm not sure what to expect from this indicator next. I'll be checking out the charts over the weekend as usual. We've got a Fed meeting next week along with some inflation data so things should get interesting. Asia lower and Europe higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

To the downside with some conviction as the Dow fell 507 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is now heading lower. A late bounce in the last ten minutes prevented things from being worse. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way down and that is not a good sign. Trading began with a huge gap lower and never recovered. The S&P 500 lost ninety points. Most of the short term indicators there are heading south and not yet completely oversold. We can forget about new all time highs on the S&P for now. Gold dropped a hundred bucks on the futures today. The US dollar was up and interest rates continue to climb higher. The XAU lost 6 3/4, while GDX shed 1 2/3. Volume was light to the downside. Considering the drop in gold itself the gold shares held up rather well. That hasn't been the case lately and that shift has me thinking that the gold share calls might be the proper trade going forward. A few of the short term indicators on GDX are beginning to stall. I would like to see GDX get short term oversold again during the August option cycle but that may not happen. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up today and that fits todays price action. The short term indicators here have turned back up. Yesterday the daily chart for the VIX looked like it wanted to go lower. After today I'm not sure what to think. Still below the 20 level though. With the summation index now heading down we will look at the SPY August puts at some point. Premiums remain high since there are over four weeks left in the August option cycle. A light volume drift higher from here would be the ideal scenario. Markets rarely cooperate. Still at the mercy of the US/Iran conflict. Europe was down and Asia up with the exception of India overnight. We'll close out the trading week on Friday.

Pretty much a sideways summer session as the Dow dipped 6 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index remains in a channel. The NASDAQ led the way lower which is not a plus. Waiting on after the bell earnings as there isn't much to trade off of this week. The S&P 500 posted a small loss. The short term indicators there have begun to stall at the mid-range level. No clear signal one way or the other on the S&P so I will remain on the sidelines with regards to the SPY options for now. Gold continued higher as the futures gained $63. The US dollar was a touch lower and interest rates continued to climb. The XAU was up 9 3/4 and GDX added 2 1/2. Volume was average here. The short term indicators for GDX are moving up. It appears that I've missed this move higher for the gold shares but we'll have to see where it goes from here. I still like the idea of the GDX calls moving forward. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was bit lower today. Its short term indicators are stalling. The daily candlestick chart here still looks like it wants to go lower. Trying to remain patient here as we look for the next trade. The markets are still in headline risk mode. We will wait for the next good technical signal and go from there. Not sure how long that will take. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights events.

Higher from the start today as the Dow gained 385 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index remains in a rising channel. The NASDAQ led the way up and that's a plus for the bulls. Waiting on earnings reports as there is not much economic data due out this week. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned back up but they never made it all the way down to oversold territory. Waiting on some kind of signal here as option premiums are high and there is plenty of time in the August option cycle. Gold rallied today as the futures were up $73. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. Normally higher rates along with a strong US dollar would be bearish for gold. Not sure what's going on here. The XAU climbed 15 3/4, while GDX added 3 1/2. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are starting to move up from oversold territory. Will they finally make it higher this time around? Stay tuned. I still like the idea of the GDX calls going forward but will not chase this move as all the recent previous attempts to move up have failed. I will also try to not let the previous losing GDX call trade influence the next trade here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX dropped and that fits with a rally in stocks. The short term indicators here are now heading south and it appears that the 20 level has kept things in check. The daily candlestick chart on the VIX looks like it wants to go lower which would bode well for stocks. However we do remain in headline risk mode as geo-political tensions have not gone away. Asia mixed and Europe higher overnight. We'll see what tomorrow has in store for us.

We had one day downside reversals for most of the major averages today as the Dow fell 307 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still stuck in a channel. The Dow led things lower and that isn't the most bearish scenario. Still at the mercy of the next war headline and now there's earnings season to deal with as well. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are still heading down and are not yet completely oversold. No trades in mind here yet as we don't have any technical signals in place. Gold dipped $8 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher as were interest rates. The XAU was down 1 1/3, while GDX slupped 1/2. Volume remains light here. The short term indicators for GDX are trending sideways in oversold territory as buyers are yet to be found. That said, we did see on the longer term charts that one of our preferred indicators for GDX is getting close to a buy signal. If that signal is hit I will be trying the GDX calls again. Hasn't happened yet but we are keeping an eye on it. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a touch lower today which doesn't fit with a down market. Some of the short term indicators here are now moving sideways and are not yet overbought. Not sure what's next for the VIX. Getting close to the 20 level but still shy of it. If the VIX gets above 20 we'll see more volatility. No summer doldrums so far for this year. Asia and Europe were mixed overnight. We'll keep and eye on tonights developments.

Expiration Friday was a downer as the Dow fell 406 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 negative. The summation index remains in an ascending sideways channel. There was a huge gap lower at the open and the market spent the rest of the session trying to make it back. It didn't make it. The NASDAQ led the way down and that is not a plus. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have rolled over with room to go. It looks like new all time highs there will have to wait. The market remains at the mercy of the next US/Iran headline. Gold found a bid and the futures rose $27. The US dollar finished around unchanged as were most interest rates. The XAU was off 1 1/4, while GDX dipped 1/8. Volume was light. GDX continues to remain short term oversold. There remains no interest in owning the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX jumped up today which fits the downside day for stocks. The short term indicators here are moving up. Another day like today would put the VIX back over the 20 level. Hasn't happened yet. I'll be checking the charts over the weekend to try and come up with the next trading idea. Asia and Europe were lower with the exceptions of India and the FTSE. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Heading lower today and it would of been worse but we got a pop back up in the last 10 minutes. The Dow dipped 105 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index remains in a sideways channel. The NASDAQ led the way lower. Retail sales came in where expected. The S&P 500 was lower and has remained in a sideways pattern for a little over a week. The short term indicators here are trending sideways with most in overbought territory. I've been looking for a new all time high on the S&P but the longer it takes, the less I think it is going to happen. Markets can stay overbought for quite a while at times though. The question is whether or not now is one of those times. Gold remains weak and dropped $68 on the futures to close below $4000. The US dollar was up and interest rates had a slight gain. The XAU lost 11 3/4 and GDX dropped 2 1/2. Volume was a bit above average. GDX closed below the near term support at 73. The short term indicators are still oversold. The longer term up trend line support for GDX comes in at 55. Is it going to go that low? We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was back up today as it tries to make up its mind where to go. The short term indicators on the VIX are back to pointing higher. These indicators have moved back and forth for a couple of weeks. So you can see that the market is trying to make up its mind on which way to go. Europe and Asia finished mixed. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Back and forth today and the Dow managed a gain of 150 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving sideways. The inflation data was weaker than expected just like yesterday. The NASDAQ is still leading the way higher and that's a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 posted another modest gain as the short term indicators here remain overbought. Continuing to wait and see if we can get to a new all time high on the S&P as earnings season begins. However we are still at the mercy of the US/Iran renewed conflict. Gold was off four bucks as it bounced around today. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates again. The XAU was off 2 3/8, while GDX shed 7/8. Volume remains light. The short term indicators for GDX are tracking sideways in oversold territory. I booked a 95% loss on my GDX July call trade. Did not have a stop loss order this time around and it cost me. I let a recent previous trade where the stop loss order stopped me out of a big winner dictate my tactics here. That was foolish. Should have been out of this trade yesterday when GDX opened with a big gap higher and could not move up from there. Also should have realized that nobody is interested in gold now as the light volume proves. Not sure if I simply fell in love with this idea or did not want to admit it wouldn't work. GDX is still holding on to the support at 73. Not sure if I want to try the August calls here. Mentally I'm feeling disappointed. Just took my biggest loss of the year with nobody to blame but myself. But you still have to move on because the market certainly doesn't care how you feel. The August option cycle has an extra week built in so premiums will be high. The VIX was lower today. It remains short term oversold with some of short term indicators drifting down. Not sure where the VIX is heading next. Asia higher and Europe lower overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Moving up today on weaker than expected inflation data but the Dow only managed a gain of 9 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues sideways. The NASDAQ led the way higher and that's a plus. The S&P 500 posted a small gain. The short term indicators there have turned back up in overbought territory. Perhaps there is still a shot at new all time highs this week. Gold bounced as the futures gained $56 but it was off from the best levels on the day. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU rose 4 1/2 and GDX was up 1 1/2. Volume here remains light as there is no interest in buying the gold shares. GDX had a huge gap higher at the open and then sold off for the rest of the session. My GDX July calls remain dead. I will book the loss at some point this week. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower and some of its short term indicators have turned back down. I'm not sure where it is heading next. The market has a summer feel to it as many players are out and the trading day seems slow. Being held hostage again by the US/Iran conflict plays a part as well. We'll get more inflation data tomorrow followed by retail sales on Thursday. Asia was up with the exception of India and Europe barely moved higher again. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Lower to begin options expiration week as the US/Iran conflict has once again taken center stage. The Dow lost 138 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving sideways. Markets are now held hostage by headline risk as whatever cease-fire agreement that there was isn't working. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted decent losses with the NASDAQ leading the way. Inflation data out tomorrow and we expect it to show a decline. However if some war news breaks out overnight it may not matter. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P have turned lower and it remains in short term overbought territory. The new all time highs on the S&P 500 that I am looking for won't happen if we continue down from here. Gold got clobbered to start the week as the futures fell over a hundred bucks. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU dropped around 7 1/2, while GDX lost 2 1/8. Volume was a bit below average. The short term indicators for GDX rolled back over in oversold territory. It is trying to hold on to the 73 level. My GDX July calls are dead. GDX has simply continued to stay oversold without anything more than a minor bounce. I thought about getting some more calls today at a lower strike price ahead of the inflation data due out but did not. The US/Iran conflict flare up has changed the trading environment. However my management of the trade was wrong as it did show a profit that I did not take early on. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX jumped up today which fits a down market. The short term indicators here have turned up. If the VIX continues to rise it will spell more trouble for stocks. The new Fed chairman will be speaking to Congress in the morning for the next two days. That could influence where stocks are going as well. So it should be an interesting week despite the light volume that we've seen lately. Asia was mixed and Europe barely higher to begin the week. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Today was a summertime Friday as the Dow gained 149 points on pretty light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. We saw some brief volatility early on and then the market drifted higher for the rest of the day. The S&P 500 led things up today and the NASDAQ posted a small gain as well. However the volume this week has been light as many players are out. Things should perhaps pick up next week with option expiration and inflation data on tap. But you can also make a case that the summer doldrums are starting to kick in. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P 500 remain overbought and others are on their way there. I still believe that we'll be setting new all time highs for the S&P at some point next week. Gold dropped $25 on the futures. The US dollar finished slightly higher as did interest rates. The XAU slipped 1 1/4 and GDX shed 1/4. Volume here was extremely light as there is no interest in the gold shares at the moment. That should change next week. The short term indicators for GDX are trying once again to turn up from the oversold level. My GDX July calls are solid losers but at this point I'm committed to holding them until the inflation data starts to come out on Tuesday. You really don't want to be stuck in a losing trade over the weekend but that is the position that I find myself in. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX closed at a fresh new low as the short term indicators head sideways in oversold territory. It is looking like the rally in stocks can continue according to the VIX. I'll be looking over the charts this weekend but I do not anticipate any SPY option trades next week right now. The chance to try the calls there has passed the ideal entry point. I'll wait and see what happens with the gold shares as we move forward. Asia was higher and Europe mixed to close the week overseas. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

Back to the upside today as the Dow gained 139 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving sideways. Good gains for both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 with the NASDAQ leading the way. The market remains at risk from the next headline. The short term indicators for the S&P have turned back up but remain in overbought territory. My thinking is that the S&P will be on its way to new all time highs next week on benign inflation data. Probably too late for the July SPY calls as the lows yesterday would have been the ideal purchase time. But we'll see what happens between now and Tuesday of next week. Gold bounced back $49 on the futures. The US dollar finished about unchanged and interest rates were slightly lower. The XAU gained 10 1/2, while GDX added 2 1/8. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up again from oversold territory. My GDX July calls remain solid losers. We'll see how GDX finishes the week tomorrow. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an upside market. The short term indicators here have turned back lower in oversold territory. The VIX can remain oversold during rallies so we'll have to wait and see where stocks go from here. The light volume today is not a positive for the bulls. Asia and Europe were generally higher overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

A mixed bag today but the Dow lost 576 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. Middle East tensions are back in the picture. The Dow led they way lower but the NASDAQ did post a small gain on the session. The S&P 500 had a small loss after being down hard early in the morning. The short term indicators there are still tracking sideways. Not sure what to expect next here as we are back in a headline risk environment. The technical picture isn't clear but the S&P did hold at its 50 day moving average. Gold dropped $65 on the futures. The US dollar finished about unchanged and interest rates went up. The XAU fell 11 1/4, while GDX shed 2 1/4. Volume was above average to the downside. GDX closed below its support at 73. The short term indicators there are trending lower in oversold territory. My GDX July calls are all but dead in the water now. I did not use a stop loss order on this trade and it looks like that was a mistake. Once again the management of the trade was poorly executed. I will still hold on to it for now but it is in the cut the loss mode. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today but finished well off of the best levels for the session. The short term indicators here are starting to rise. If that continues we'll see lower stock prices going forward. Europe and Asia were lower overnight with the exception of Hong Kong. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Sellers had the upper hand today as the Dow fell 130 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues to move forward. Yesterday the NASDAQ led the way up and today it led the way down. This week could end up going nowhere as there isn't much economic data to trade off of or earnings reports to speak of. I'm not saying it will be the summer doldrums but I believe that next week will provide more movement. I would not be surprised if we see a negative bias for the rest of the week as well. I could be wrong. The short term indicators for the S&P are stalling. Gold fell forty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was up and so were interest rates. The XAU fell 10 3/4 and GDX lost around 3. Volume was about average. Some of the short term indicators for GDX have turned back down. Another day like today would take us to fresh lows there. It appears that yesterday was the day to exit our GDX July call trade as it is back to being a loser. A week and a half left on this trade. It does not look as promising as it once did but we'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit higher today which fits a down market. The short term indicators here have started to turn up from oversold territory. The most the bulls can hope for here is that the VIX trends sideways. Asia and Europe were down overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Stocks moved higher coming back after a long holiday weekend as the Dow gained 155 points on good volume to a new high. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trending higher. The NASDAQ led the way up and that's a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 was up over fifty points and made it through the short term down trend line. The short term indicators here are trending up. Not yet short term overbought on the S&P. Gold was up $48 on the futures. The US dollar finished unchanged and interest rates dipped slightly. The XAU was off 1 1/3, while GDX rose 1/3. Volume was light. Gold itself up and the gold shares not moving is not a good sign as it shows no interest. The short term indicators for GDX are starting to move sideways. The gold shares had a big gap higher at the open and then sold off before moving sideways for the rest of the session. Not a promising picture. The GDX July calls that I own are still showing a profit but it is possible that early today was the time to sell them. My thinking here though is to hold this trade until sometime next week. The down trend line on the daily GDX chart comes in at 84 which is where I think it will get back to. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. The short term indicators here are now very oversold. They can stay that way during rallies but some near term selling would not be unexpected. That would not bode well for holding onto the GDX calls that we own but if it is just a pause the trade could probably handle that. We'll see. Asia was generally higher and Europe mixed to begin the week. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

It was another back and forth session for the overall market but the Dow plowed ahead with a gain of 594 points on heavy volume to a new all time high. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues to trend higher. The jobs report came in weaker than expected and stocks took off to the upside early. As quick as they went up things turned around and were quick to go back down. A final half hour rally saved the S&P 500 but not the NASDAQ as it dropped over 200 points. The S&P finished basically unchanged. It is still hanging around the near term down trend line that it hasn't been able to break through. The short term indicators for the S&P are trending sideways. So the jury is still out with regards to which way things will go here. Gold was up over fifty bucks today. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU climbed 11 3/4, while GDX was up 3 1/3. Volume was good to the upside. The short term indicators for GDX are starting to move north. Our GDX July calls are now showing a profit. The management of the trade from here will be the key to the trade as it always is. A continued rise in GDX from here would be welcome but we know that markets go where they want. There is still a down trend line in effect here however it is several points away. We'll have an extra day over the weekend to try and decide the proper course of action from here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today. The short term indicators here remain oversold and are starting to trend sideways. Not sure where it is going next. The Dow leading the way isn't the most bullish scenario. The lagging NASDAQ isn't a plus as well. I'll go over the charts this weekend and take it from there. Not a lot of economic data due out next week. Europe was higher and Asia mixed overnight. It's Thursday afternoon and time for a rest. Enjoy the 4th of July.

Back and forth today ahead of the employment report and a long weekend as the Dow dipped 14 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trending higher. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 finished lower with the NASDAQ leading the way. The S&P opened with a gap lower then made it all the way back to positive territory only to drift down for the rest of the session. The short term indicators here are beginning to stall but are not yet overbought. The S&P has for now been stopped at the near term down trend line. Not sure what to expect next. Could go either way. The reaction to the jobs report will most likely tell the story. Gold was up $15 on the futures after being much higher early on. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU was off a point and GDX shed 1/2. Volume was average. The gold shares were much higher early on and then gave everything back during the session. That is not a positive. The short term indicators for GDX are stuck in oversold territory. My GDX July calls are back to being losers after turning positive this morning. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up a bit which fits a slightly down market. The short term indicators here are oversold but not completely. Not exactly sure what is next for this indicator. I'd expect tomorrow to be busy in the beginning and then slow down as players head out early for the holiday weekend. The S&P is stalling at the daily down trend line. Getting through there would be a solid plus for the bulls. If the line holds the bears would be back in charge. Probably will find out tomorrow. Asia was generally higher and Europe mixed overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Moving higher as the Dow added 136 points on heavy volume for another closing record. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is trending higher. Once again the breadth did not match the price action. But the NASDAQ led the way up again and that's a plus. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are moving higher. It is now right up against the short term down trend line that began at the beginning of the month. What happens here will be the key to whether we move back to the record high on the S&P or roll over with another lower near term high on the daily chart. Perhaps the market reaction to the jobs report will tell the story. Gold dipped $9 on the futures to end the month. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates rose. The XAU and GDX had fractional moves one way or the other on light volume to finish off June. The short term indicators for GDX continue to trend sideways in oversold territory. My GDX July calls are now showing a small loss. If GDX doesn't start heading higher soon this trade will most likely be a loser. The potential positive RSI divergence is still in place but barely. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower as the short term indicators here continue to move down. Not yet short term oversold for the VIX but getting there. A lower VIX will support higher stock prices. Asia was mixed and Europe higher last night. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Buyers eventually took over today as the Dow gained 306 points for a new record on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is trying to trend higher. After a gap higher at the open, we sold off to negative territory and then spent the rest of the day moving higher. The NASDAQ led things heading higher and that is a plus for the bulls. However the breadth was not what you'd expect for such a positive market. We cannot argue with price though. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned up with room to go. Could this be the beginning of a summer rally? We'll see. Gold lost $67 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost 5 1/8 while GDX slipped 1 1/3. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are back to moving lower in oversold territory. My open order for the GDX July calls was filled this morning. So we are in the next trade. It closed at where I purchased them. There are 2 1/2 weeks for this idea to take shape so at this point I'll simply hold it unless the gold shares continue to drop. The short term potential positive RSI divergence is still in place but if GDX takes out the recent lows that pattern will be negated. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down today and the short term indicators here are trending lower. If the VIX continues to fall it should bode well for stocks. A short holiday trading week with the employment report out on Thursday. End of the month tomorrow. Asia was generally higher and Europe lower to start the week. We'll see how things go on Tuesday.

Not much change in price by the end of the day as the Dow was off 44 points on extremely heavy volume. Maybe players were taking care of business to have next week off. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index remains in a sideways channel but looks like it wants to break to the upside. Stocks opened with a gap lower, recovered and then went sideways for the rest of the session into the weekend. We are getting a buy signal on the S&P from one of our indicators. Perhaps we will take a look at the SPY July calls over the weekend. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are heading sideways just below the mid-range level. Still hanging around the 50 day moving average here. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P only had slight fractional losses on the day. Gold was up $39 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 4 points and GDX added around 1 1/2 on average volume. The short term indicators for GDX are starting to turn up but remain oversold. I'm still leaving my open order for the GDX July calls out there but it looks like this will be another missed trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down slightly today. The short term indicators here are still hanging around mid-range. Not sure what's next for the VIX but it does remain below the 20 level. A holiday week coming up with the jobs report out early on Thursday. End of the month and first half of the year on Tuesday. I'll be checking the charts over the weekend to decide on the game plan for next week. Asia and Europe were down to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

An interesting day on the street as the Dow rose 72 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still in a sideways direction. Todays inflation data came in about where expected. The NASDAQ had a crazy session as it gapped higher at the open only to sell off and close negative on the day. The S&P 500 had the same opening gap to the upside and finished the day basically unchanged. It is still hanging on to its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators for the S&P are moving sideways. Not exactly sure what is in store for the S&P but would not be surprised if it heads up near term. Gold was up about $30 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished unchanged. The XAU added 5 1/8, while GDX was up a little over a point. Volume was good to the upside. The short term indicators here are trying to turn up from oversold territory. The potential positive divergence for the daily RSI indicator on GDX remains intact. My open order for the GDX July calls is still out there. I still like this trade idea but not sure if my order will get filled in its present state. Might have to think about adjusting it overnight. Gold is still weak here however. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished up slightly today. The short term indicators here are now stalling at the mid-range level. So it could go either way here. One trading day left this week as coming up is another holiday shortened week combined with the end of the month and quarter. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of Hong Kong. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Another mixed bag as the Dow rose 182 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index continues sideways. We got a signal last night from the McClellan Oscillator for a big move within two days. We'll see if that pans out tomorrow. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed lower again with the NASDAQ still leading the way. But the losses were small. Tomorrows inflation data will most likely tell the story of where we're heading on Thursday. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P ae beginning to stall but they are still heading south. The 50 day moving average has been acting as support so far. No SPY option trades in mind at the moment. Gold got clobbered again as the futures fell $144. The US dollar is still heading higher and interest rates dropped. The XAU lost 13 1/3 and GDX shed around 3. Volume was good again to the downside. My open order for the GDX July calls didn't get filled but the option price got down to what I was willing to pay. Sometimes the market makers just don't cooperate but it gives me a clue that this is the right idea. I'll try again tomorrow to pick up some of the GDX calls if we see some weakness in the gold shares early. The short term indicators for GDX are still trending lower and are getting close to oversold. There is also a potential positive RSI divergence on the GDX daily chart. But we also have to be aware that gold along with the gold shares appear to be in a free fall and we don't when that will stop. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today and closed below the 20 level. The short term indicators here are now mixed. I'm not sure what's coming next for the VIX. Asia was higher with the exception of Japan and Europe rose with the exception of the DAX. It appears that the after the bell MU earnings release has given the stock index futures a boost. We'll see what happens with tomorrows inflation data and take it from there.

More selling for the overall market today but the Dow only fell 45 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were barely positive. The summation index is heading sideways. Stocks had a huge gap south at the open and could not recover. Once again the NASDAQ led the way lower by a wide margin as it lost over 500 points. The NASDAQ leading things lower is a negative. The S&P 500 dropped over a hundred points. The short term indicators there are heading lower with plenty of room to go. Perhaps if we see a high inflation print on Thursday the S&P will take out its recent lows. I'm not sure what is going on at the moment as the advance/declines for today don't match up with such a big daily decline. Gold fell $74 on the futures. The US dollar continued to rise and interest rates were down slightly. The XAU lost almost 16 points and GDX dropped 3 3/4. Volume was above average to the downside. The downside price movement is hopefully setting us up for the purchase of the GDX July calls. The problem however is that the short term indicators for GDX are moving lower with room to go. It is possible that the potential retest of the recent lows for the gold shares won't hold. The recent strength in the US dollar is also a concern as it is usually bearish for the precious metal. That said, I still might put in an open order for the GDX calls overnight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits a down market. The short term indicators there are trending higher. The VIX did get above the 20 level during the session but closed below it. Volatility has returned to the game. We are now just waiting on the market reaction to the inflation report on Thursday. Asia and Europe were down overnight. We'll see if we get any follow through selling tomorrow.

A mixed bag to begin the week as the Dow rose 148 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is in a sideways pattern. Both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ posted losses for the day. The NASDAQ by far led the way lower and that is not a plus for the bulls. Some economic data due out this week with Thursdays inflation report taking center stage. Plus there are still headlines from the US/Iran conflict coming out despite the addtional two months of ceasefire. The short term indicators for the S&P are trending slightly lower as it tries to make up its mind which way to go here. SPY option premiums are high as we just roll into the July option cycle. Gold dipped $42 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU lost 5 1/4 and GDX shed around a point. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are trending lower and are at the mid-range level. We still like the idea of the GDX July calls but will most likely wait to see the reaction to the inflation report later this week. I'd also rather see GDX get fully oversold before getting the calls but that might not occur. The trading is never easy. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits with an overall down market. The short term indicators here are trying to move up but are basically sideways. Not sure where the VIX goes from here. Staying patient for now as there is plenty of time left in the July option period. Europe and Asia were generally higher to begin the week. I'll keep watch on the overnight developments.

Bouncing back today ahead of a long weekend as the Dow gained 72 points on expiration extremely heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. The overall market was much stronger than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way. That is a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 was up over 1%. The short term indicators there are starting to turn back up. No SPY option trades in mind at the moment. Gold dropped another $50 or so on the futures. The US dollar continues to move higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost 7 7/8, while GDX fell about two points. Volume was heavy again to the downside. The short term indicators for GDX are trending lower with room to go. Ideally a retest of last weeks lows would set us up to purchase the GDX July calls. The market rarely cooperates. I still like the idea of the July gold share calls on weakness so we'll see how it goes. I will recheck the charts this weekend and take it from there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was back down today which fits an up market. The short term indicators here have turned back lower. Not exactly sure what's next for the VIX. An extra day over this weekend to check things out after a somewhat volatile trading week. We are beginning to move into summer trading mode with players starting to take time off. The July option trading cycle has a day less in it with another holiday coming in two weeks. Europe and Asia were mixed overnight. It's Thursday afternoon and time for a break.

Sellers returned to the market in force today as the Dow fell 507 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. No change in rates as expected from the Fed but I suppose the market didn't like what it heard from the new Fed chairman. The NASDAQ led things lower again. The S&P 500 lost over ninety points as stocks unraveled in the final hour or so. Some of its short term indicators are now moving down. If the S&P keeps moving down it would negate the positive price action that we've seen recently. Gold lost $93 on the futures. The US dollar had a very strong session and interest rates were up. The XAU fell 9 1/2, while GDX shed 2 7/8. Volume was very heavy to the downside. GDX made it up to the 50 day moving average and longer turn down trend line before selling off. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to stall. We are looking for a pullback on GDX in order to purchase the July calls here. This is probably the start of it. I may place an open order overnight. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that fits with a down market. Some of the short term indicators here have turned back up. Still below the 20 level on the VIX. Not sure what's coming next here. We'll have an option expiration Thursday tomorrow due to a holiday leading into a long weekend. Not sure that we want to hold any positions ahead of that and the supposed signing of the Iran peace deal on Friday. However we'll have to see what happens tomorrow. Asia was generally higher and Europe slightly mixed last night. We'll close out the trading week on Thursday.

Hanging around today and it was a mixed picture. The Dow gained 328 points on heavy volume to close at a new all time high. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still trending upwards. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted losses. The NASDAQ led the way down which isn't a bullish picture. We did get a signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two sessions. Today would qualify for the NASDAQ. The short term indicators for the S&P are beginning to stall. I did not try the SPY June puts today. The S&P only had a small rally early on before trending lower for the rest of the day. However if you purchased the puts early on you would have had a tidy profit by the days end. But the short term trades are usually not my best efforts. The market will greet the new Fed chairman tomorrow and that should get things going one way or the other. But there are only two days left in the June option cycle so we will move on to July. Gold had only a slight gain today. The US dollar was a bit lower as were interest rates. The XAU was up 7 1/2 and GDX added a couple points. Volume was average. The gold shares continue to outperform the metal itself and that is a plus for the gold bulls. The short term indicators for GDX are still moving higher. We are waiting for some kind of pullback in GDX in order to try the July calls there. That looks to be the next trade unless we get a solid signal for the SPY options. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today which fits with and overall down market. Its short term indicators are beginning to stall. Not sure what's coming next here for the VIX. Asia was mixed and Europe higher last night. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

A big rally to start the shortened option expiration week as the Dow gained 468 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trending higher. An extended ceasefire to the Iran conflict is supposed to happen on Friday, which brought buyers to the market. The NASDAQ led the way higher by far and that is a plus for the bulls. We still have the new Fed chairman to deal with on Wednesday. The S&P 500 was up almost 125 points. The short term indicators there are moving higher with room to go. Another day like today for tomorrow would put the index back at new all time highs. Trying the SPY June puts on strength tomorrow is still an idea but I'll probably just stay on the sidelines. We'll see. Gold ralled as the futures gained over a hundred bucks today. The US dollar was slightly lower along with interest rates. The XAU jumped over twenty points, while GDX added 5 1/8. Volume was heavy to the upside. The short term indicators for GDX are also moving higher with room to go. It appears that we've missed the GDX July call trade but if we do see any pullback, I'll be trying this idea. GDX broke through its short term down trend line today. The longer term down trend line comes in at the 90 level which is also where you'll find the 50 day moving average. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX is heading lower and that is a plus for stocks. The short term indicators here are moving down and are not yet oversold. It appears that most signs are pointing towards higher stock prices going forward. The SPY put trade that I mentioned would strictly be a short term attempt. In Tuesday and out on Wednesday but the risk would be extremely high. We should probably wait for a better set up. Asia and Europe were higher as the world would welcome calmer seas. We'll see what transpires overnight.

Still moving higher going into the weekend as the Dow gained 353 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is starting to move back up. The Dow led things higher today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. The S&P 500 was up 1/2%. The short term indicators there are trending higher with some back to mid-range. I'm thinking that if we see strength into Tuesday of next week perhaps we'll try the SPY June puts ahead of the Fed. It is a holiday shortened option expiration week though, with US markets closed on Friday. So any June option trade would be filled with a lot of risk at this point. I'll consider things over the weekend. Gold was up $114 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates a bit higher. The XAU rose 9 1/2 and GDX was up 2 1/3. Volume was above average. The short term indicators for GDX are moving up with plenty of room to go. The weekly candlestick chart here has a potential bullish star or hammer on it. I canceled my open order for the GDX July calls as I've missed the chance at the moment. However I still like the idea of this trade and will be looking to buy some GDX calls on any forthcoming weakness. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits the upside market for today. The short term indicators here are moving down. The VIX is back below 20 and the daily chart looks like it wants to go lower which would bode well for stocks. But I can't say that I have a good feel for where the VIX is heading next after the volatility of this week. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend. Asia and Europe were both higher to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Moving back to the upside as the Dow climbed 930 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is now trying to turn back up. The inflation data was higher than expected but the market rallied anyway. That tells us something because when the market ignores bad news it is probably ready to move higher. There might be some backing and filling but our guess would be that this decline has run its course. Unless we see some kind of big 1000 point decline in the Dow tomorrow but I doubt it. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned up. It also closed above the short term down trend line that was in effect. No SPY option trades in mind right now with only five days left in the June option cycle but that could change. Gold was up $96 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and so were interest rates. The XAU was up around 16 3/4 and GDX added about 4. Volume was heavy to the upside. I did place an open order for the GDX July calls overnight but it wasn't filled. I am leaving it out there but it may be too late already. The short term indicators for GDX are turning back up but remain oversold. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with the rally. Back below the 20 level and the short term indicators here are heading lower. If the VIX can stay below 20 we'll know that the decline is over. If it can't our thinking here will be wrong. So it is something to keep an eye on. Another factor to consider is todays big rally out of nowhere. Sometimes in longer declines this is what you see before quickly turning back down. So market action tomorrow is something to be closely watched as well. Europe was higher and Asia generally lower overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Continuing lower today as the Dow fell 953 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still trending lower. The NASDAQ led the way down again. The inflation data came in where expected. Support for the S&P 500 comes in at 7150, with better support at 7000. Depending on the reaction to tomorrows inflation news we could get to the first area of support soon. The short term indicators for the S&P are now heading lower but not yet completely oversold. I'm still interested in the SPY June puts again if perhaps we snap back to the short term down trend line. That comes in around 7350. There is a possible double bottom on the S&P hourly chart though. Plenty to ponder at the moment. Gold got clobbered again as the futures fell 186 points. The US dollar was slightly higher and so were interest rates. The XAU lost 14 3/4, while GDX fell 3 3/4. Volume was above average. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold. I will be checking the charts again tonight but I may place an open order for the GDX July calls overnight. The gold shares are in a bear market but they are blown out to the downside and due for at least a bounce. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up today and that fits a down market. Back above the 20 level. The short term indicators on the VIX have turned up and are just about completely overbought. Another day like today would do it. With the VIX over 20, volatility will be the rule. Most of Europe and Asia were down overnight. I'll keep an eye out for any new developments this evening.

Volatilty was the name of the game today along with one day downside reversals as most indices opened higher and closed lower. The Dow however did manage a gain of 86 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trending lower. The NASDAQ led the way down and that is still the underlying theme. We had a big gap at the open and markets powered higher but it was short lived. Stocks then turned around and went into free fall for a couple of hours only to turn back around and recoup almost all of the losses. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are all over the place. Some are moving lower, some higher and the rest sideways. During the brief morning rally I was stopped out of my SPY June put position only to see things turn back down during the session. The trade had around a 30% gain but should have been much more. I've been stopped out before only to see things turn around on a trade and that is one of the reasons why I sometimes don't use them. There are also many times where the stop has saved me from bigger losses. The entry on this trade was OK even though not the best but the exit was terrible. That said we simply move on from here because that position is over. I am still considering the SPY June puts if we see some rally the rest of this week. Gold fell $81 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower along with interest rates. The XAU dropped 4 1/3, while GDX slid about a point. Volume was above average. The short term indicators for GDX are still oversold. We are now thinking about the GDX July calls but not exactly sure if that will be the next trade. Mentally I'm feeling frustrated as to getting stopped out of what could have been a huge gain. But the market doesn't care and you've got to keep moving forward in this game. The VIX was higher today but off of its best levels. Some of the short term indicators here are heading sideways and some are still heading higher. The VIX closed just below the 20 level. I'm still not sure where the VIX is headed but anything above 20 spells more selling for stocks. It is another reason to still consider the SPY June puts going forward. Seven days left for the June option cycle. Inflation data due out tomorrow should get things moving once again. Asia was generally higher and Europe generally lower overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Bouncing back today for the overall market but not the Dow as it fell 80 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is starting to drift lower. We had a big gap up at the open and rallied for the first hour and a half. The rest of the day was spent in a slow decline. The NASDAQ led the way higher and that is a plus for the bulls. Also the fact that we didn't see any downside follow through to Fridays debacle is a positive sign. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned sideways. It looks like Friday could have just been a one day wonder. We've got inflation data due out on Wednesday and Thursday. I don't know how much longer I can afford to hold on the my SPY June puts. I do have a stop loss order in place and they are still showing a profit. However the gains are less than what they were on Friday. I'll once again consider what to do with them tonight. Gold was off $14 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on lighter volume. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower today and that fits with an overall positive day for stocks. It is back below the 20 level. Some of the short term indicators here have turned back down. I'm not sure what comes next for the VIX. Asia and Europe were lower to begin the week. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

We often say that the market goes where it wants and todays price action certainly underscores that truth. Stocks got clobbered but the Dow only fell 695 points which wasn't as bad as some of the other stock indices. Volume was heavy. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is starting to drop out of the sideways channel that it's in. The jobs report came in better than expected. The NASDAQ led the way down and fell over a thousand points. That was better than a 4% drop. The S&P 500 lost 200 points for a better than 2 1/2% dip. It was a rush to the exits but the TRAN posted a gain on the day probably due to the drop in the price of oil. The S&P 500 broke through the short term up trend line that had been in effect since the beginning of April. The short term indicators here are now steeply heading south and at this rate will be oversold on Monday. It looks like the sell signal we got last week was valid although it took some time to come to fruition. The negative RSI divergence on the S&P daily chart worked this time around as well. Not sure how low things will go here but we'll check the charts over the weekend. The advance/declines today were not as bad as the price declines that we saw. Gold got clocked as well with the futures down $166. The XAU lost 31 1/2 and GDX dropped around 7 1/2. Volume was heavy to the downside. GDX has now dropped well below its 200 day moving average as it did not hold. The short term indicators here are pointing down in oversold territory. 80 was the next level of support here and it closed below that. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX had a huge jump today and closed above the 20 level. That was certainly a surprise to me. Could spell more trouble for stocks. The short term indicators here zoomed up and some still have room to go before being overbought. Things here for the VIX have changed in a hurry. Not sure what comes next. The SPY June puts that I hold went from solid losers to solid winners in a day. Not sure how much longer that I'll hold them but will try and figure that out over the weekend. Plenty of work to do in the next two days. Asia and Europe were lower to finish the trading week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The Dow powered higher today as it gained 874 points to a new all time high on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is now in a sideways channel. We had a huge gap lower at the open for most of the major indices but they moved back up for the rest of the session. The NASDAQ only posted a small loss after being down much more early on. The S&P 500 had a one day upside reversal as it opened lower and closed higher. The short term indicators there remain overbought and some are moving back up. My SPY June put position was at break even on the open but then deteriorated for the rest of the day. It is now back to being solidly in the red and will most likely finish as a loser. We needed to see some follow through selling to yesterdays decline but we quickly only got it this morning before turning around. My management of this trade hasn't been that good but we do have two weeks left in the June option cycle. Gold was up $41 on the futures. The US dolllar was a bit lower as were interest rates. The XAU was up 5 1/4, while GDX added 1 3/8. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up as it also tries to hold on to its 200 day moving average. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an upside day for most stocks. It remains short term oversold and remains that way during rallies like the one that we're in now. The employment data is due out tomorrow which can be a market mover if there are any surprises. We are still at the mercy of the next headline out of the Middle East. Asia was lower and Europe higher overnight. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

A bit of selling today as the Dow fell 620 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to turn lower. The Dow led things lower which isn't the most bearish scenario. Let's face it, stocks were overdue for some kind of downside reaction. The market doesn't go up every day in a row. The question is whether or not this is the beginning of some sustained move to the downside or just a breather. The short term indicators on the S&P 500 have turned lower but remain overbought. The negative RSI divergence on the daily chart is there. It's possible that today is all we get out of that signal. We'll see if there's more but the market goes where it wants. My SPY June puts are showing less of a loss. Not sure how much longer I want to hold this trade. We'll check things out again tonight. Gold was down $52 today. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU lost over 12 1/2 and GDX dropped around 3 points. Volume was lighter than average. The short term indicators for GDX are still moving sideways in oversold territory. GDX did close below its 200 day moving average. No GDX trades in mind at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was higher today but not by much considerng the drop in stocks. The short term indicators here remain oversold. Not sure what to expect next with regards to the VIX. The jobs report on Friday should be the next market mover unless we get some headlines out of the Middle East. Europe was lower and Asia mixed again last night. I'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

The Dow led the way today as it gained 228 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. New all time highs were registered again for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500. The sell signal that we received from one of our indicators last week did not work again. It is the second time in a row that it failed. Can't say that I've seen that happen recently. The short term indicators for the S&P simply remain overbought as the market drifts higher. The potential negative RSI divergence on the S&P daily chart still barely exists. My SPY June put trade is a loser and we may already be in a cut the loss mode for it. All declines are still being bought. Gold was up ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were a touch lower. The XAU rose around 5 3/4, while GDX added about 1 3/8. Volume was a little below average. The short term indicators are still trying to turn higher from oversold for GDX. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. It's short term indicators remain in oversold territory. The daily candlestick chart here looks like it wants to go lower which would bode well for stocks. There seems to be ample money flowing around that wants to find a home in equities. If the market doesn't head lower tomorrow I will have to seriously think about getting out of the SPY put trade. We'll see. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of Japan. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Continuing higher to start the week as the Dow rose 46 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. The NASDAQ was the leader to the upside and that's a plus for the bulls. New all time highs for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 again. It looks like the sell signal that we got last week isn't going to work again but we'll give it a couple of more days this week. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 remain overbought and staying that way. The potential negative RSI divergence on the S&P daily chart remains barely intact. My SPY June puts are now showing a loss as it looks like today was the perhaps the proper time to buy them. Still plenty of time for this trade to work out but not if the rally continues. Gold lost $82 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU shed 7 1/2, while GDX lost around 2 3/4. Volume was a bit above average. The gold shares did finish up from their lows on the day. The short term indicators for GDX are choppy on the oversold side. The 200 day moving average remains as near term support. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which doesn't fit with a positive day for stocks. The short term indicators are turning higher but remain in oversold territory. Not sure what comes next for the VIX. Light on the economic data due out this week. Fridays jobs report is the one that will be closely watched. Asia was mixed and Europe lower to start the week. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

The Dow led things higher today as it climbed 363 points on end of the month extremely heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still trying to move higher. New all time closing highs once again for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 remain overbought with the potential negative RSI divergence there barely still in place. More upside on Monday would put an end to that. My open order for the SPY June puts was not going to get filled so I adjusted it higher a couple of times during the session. It finally did get filled in the final hour. It is about where I purchased it when the market closed. We are still getting a sell signal from one of our indicators, however the last time that happened with this particular signal the market simply kept going up. So we'll see how this trade ends up as the management of it will be the key. I do expect weakness at the beginning of next week but markets go where they want. Gold was up $42 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU was up 7 1/2 and GDX added 2 1/4. Volume was average. Some of the short term indicators for GDX have started to move higher. There is a short term down trend line still in effect there though. It comes in around the 93 level. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with an up market. The short term indicators here are now very oversold. That is another reason to give the SPY June puts here a try for a short term trade. The caveat being that during rallies the VIX stays oversold for an extended period of time. But this is a trade that we wanted to take so we'll see how it goes. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend. Asia and Europe were mixed to finish the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Moving higher for the overall market but the Dow only managed a gain of 24 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move higher. New all time highs again for the Big 3 of the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500. Inflation data came in a touch lighter than expected. Stocks are still being held hostage for the latest sound bite from the Iran conflict. The NASDAQ led the way up and that's a plus for the bulls. There is no overhead resistance. We did get a signal from the McClellan oscillator last night for a big move within the next two trading sessions. The NASDAQ would probably qualify for that today but not the other indices. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 remain overbought. Some of the potential negative divergences that we saw there have been invalidated. That hasn't happened yet for the RSI but it could if we keep moving higher. My open order for the SPY June puts remains out there and another positive day like today would likely get it filled. I would like to own the puts going into this weekend but only at the price that we are willing to pay. Option premiums remain high. Gold was up $46 on the futres. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU climbed 8 1/2, while GDX added 1 3/4. Volume was average. Once again the 200 day moving average held for GDX. The short term indicators there are trying to move up from oversold territory. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with an up market. The short term indicators are oversold and staying there. The VIX seems to imply that higher stock prices are in the near future. But I am in the camp that a decline is coming and sooner rather than later. I could be wrong. If the negative RSI divergence for the S&P 500 gets wiped out then the SPY June put idea that we are looking at right now would be incorrect. Asia and Europe were lower overnight. We'll close out the trading month of May tomorrow.

Hanging around today as the Dow gained 182 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still trying to turn back up. It was a sideways session ahead of the inflation data out tomorrow. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 all closed at new all time highs but the gains were slight. We are getting a sell signal from one of our indicators after todays price action. The short term indicators for the S&P remain overbought and there is now a potential negative divergence on some. I would not be surprised if we head lower after the inflation data is reported. My open order for the SPY June puts was not filled and I'm leaving it out there. Might be too late now though, we'll see. I still like the idea of having some index puts heading into the weekend however the premiums remain elevated. Gold dropped over fifty bucks today. The US dollar finished flat as did interest rates. Waiting on tomorrows data. The XAU fell around 10 3/4, while GDX lost almost 3. Volume was a bit below average. The short term indicators for GDX are still oversold but it is holding above its 200 day moving average. Not sure where the gold shares are heading next so we are back to watching and waiting here. Yesterday we though that a rally might be starting for GDX but there was no follow through upside today. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today. The short term indicators here remain oversold. The VIX remains comfortably below the 20 level which gives the all clear for stocks going forward. But we still remain in the bearish camp for the near term as we look for an entry point to try the SPY June puts. Asia was lower and Europe mixed overnight. We'll keep watch on the evenings developments.

Back from a long weekend and the Dow was the laggard today as it fell 118 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. The overall market did much better with the NASDAQ and S&P 500 reaching new all time closing highs. The short term indicators for the S&P are overbought. They are at lower readings than the recent previous high. If they continue higher the potential negative divergance that we were looking for will be wiped clean. I did place an open order for the SPY June puts overnight. It wasn't filled today but I am leaving it out there. The only important economic data due this week is Thursdays inflation report. Iran conflict headlines remain in the near term picture. Gold was off $16 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly lower and interest rates dropped. The XAU was up 13 3/8, while GDX added 3 1/2. Volume was average. Gold down and the gold shares up is a positive for this area. The short term indicators for GDX are turning up and it appears that the 200 day moving average has held the near term decline. I still don't have any GDX option trades in mind here but we may have to rethink that. It also might already be too late for the June calls here but we'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which doesn't fit with a positive market. The short term indicators here are trying to move up from the oversold side. Not sure what comes next for the VIX. The S&P set a new all time high and there is no overhead resistance. We are sticking with the view that the June puts are the way to go here and will try and purchase them at some point this week. Asia and Europe were lower overnight with the exception of the FTSE. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

It was a rally that faded today but the Dow still managed a gain of 294 points on good volume to close at a new all time high. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is beginning to stall. The Dow led things higher again today which isn't the most bullish picture. However considering there was a gain going into a long weekend the bulls will take it. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small gains. The short term indicators for the S&P are still moving higher but are not yet completely overbought. A couple more days of gains here and we might have our scenario of a new all time high for the S&P with lower indicators readings. I still favor the SPY June puts for now. Gold dropped $33 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat, while interest rates were mixed. The XAU fell 4 1/8 and GDX lost about a point. Volume was light. GDX is still holding on at its 200 day moving average while the short term indicators remain oversold. Perhaps the gold shares are putting in some kind of short term bottom here. We'll take a closer look over the long weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was unchanged today. Some of the short term indicators here are starting to move sideways. Not sure what's next for the VIX. A holiday weekend on tap gives us an extra day to check over the charts. We are still at the mercy of the next Iran conflict headline. However if things line up for us we will try the SPY June puts in the middle of next week. Europe and Asia were higher to close out the week overseas. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

We had a one day upside reversal today as stocks opened lower and closed higher. The Dow gained 276 points on heavy volume to close at a new all time high. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still trending lower. The Dow led the way up today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small gains. The short term indicators for the S&P are beginning to move sideways. Still considering the SPY June puts and perhaps will purchase them next week. Gold rose $6 on the futures. The US dollar had a small gain and interest rates finished generally flat. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves either way on light volume. GDX continues to hold on its 200 day moving average. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold and trending sideways. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that is in line with a positive stock market. The short term indicators here are moving down and are not yet oversold. I'm remaining patient here as we have a Friday before a holiday weekend on tap tomorrow. The market is still at the mercy of the next Iran conflict headline as we saw in a mid-day rally today. Not sure that traders will want to hang on to stocks ahead of the weekend but we'll see. Waiting on a good technical set up for the next trade. Might see something of that nature next week. Asia and Europe were generally lower overnight. We'll see how the week closes out tomorrow.

Buyers returned today as the Dow gained 645 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is still trending lower. The NASDAQ led the way back up and that's a plus for the bulls. The market is back to waiting for the next Iran conflict headline. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned back up. Perhaps we'll get our preferred scenario of a higher high with lower indicator readings. Too early to tell on that. Also waiting on the after the bell NVDA earnings. Gold was up $38 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up over 11 3/4, while GDX added 2 1/2. Volume was about average. The short term indicators for GDX are turning back up but remain in oversold territory. GDX held at its 200 day moving average today. We are still not taking on any gold share trades here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. The short term indicators here have turned down with room to go. Two trading days left this week before a long holiday weekend. It appears that we will let this week go by and take it from there. That is the plan for now. Europe was higher overnight and Asia lower with the exception of India. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

The market cannot seem to gain any upside traction here as the Dow fell 322 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is heading lower. We will take our cues from that. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way down and as long as that's the case things will be trending lower. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are now moving down and are no longer overbought. There is plenty of room for them to move lower. We still like the idea for the SPY June puts here but are waiting for some kind of bounce back in order to purchase. If this is some sort of sustained decline we should see some kind of rally attempt before heading lower again. But markets go where they want and perhaps stocks will just continue to be sold. Gold dropped $69. The US dollar was higher and so were interest rates. The XAU fell almost 13 points and GDX slid 3 1/3. Volume was average. Some of the short term indicators on GDX are now oversold. The longer term up trend line from January 2025 has been broken. The next area of support for GDX comes in at the recent lows around the 80 level. No GDX option trades in mind at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was only slightly higher today. The short term indicators here are around mid-range and pointing up. It seems to me that the VIX could go either way from here. However the feel of things right now is that the market has rolled over and we are in the beginning of a sustained decline. As long as the summation index is moving down we will stick with that thesis. Asia and Europe were mixed overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Overall selling continued today but not for the Dow which rose 160 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still moving down. The NASDAQ led the way lower and the S&P posted a slight loss. The short term indicators for the S&P remain overbought but not completely. We do feel that the stock market is overdue for a rest. Our best case scenario would be for the S&P to make a new high with lower short term indicator values to form a negative divergence. That would be the time to try the SPY June puts. Markets rarely cooperate though. Gold rose $3 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU dropped 3 1/4, while GDX shed around 1/4. Volume was light. Some of the short term indicators for GDX have begun to stall. GDX is hugging the long term up trend line that began around a year and a half ago. If you think that line will hold this is the spot to try the GDX calls. However I am not in that camp but of course I could be wrong. I am looking at the SPY June puts as the next trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which doesn't really fit with an overall down market. Its short term indicators are trying to move lower. Can't say that I know where the VIX is going at the moment. Option premiums are high as we roll into the June option cycle. I'll try and stay patient for now. Not a lot of economic data out this week and we are getting near the end of earnings season. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher to begin the week. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Some selling for a change on expiration Friday as the Dow lost 537 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving lower. There was a huge gap lower at the open. From there we moved sideways before closing near the lows of the session. A broad sell off as most of the major averages were down over 1%. The NASDAQ led the way lower. Not sure if this is the beginning of a downturn or something option expiration related. One day doesn't make a trend. The steep up trend line for the S&P 500 has been violated but that angle of ascent could not last forever. The short term indicators for the S&P have turned down but they remain overbought. Still considering the SPY June puts. Gold got clobbered as the futures were off $135. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell over 27 and GDX lost 6 3/4. Volume was heavy to the downside. The short term indicators for GDX have rolled over with room to go. The weekly candlestick chart here had a bullish engulfing pattern after last week but now shows a dark cloud cover after this week. GDX is now on the verge of breaking the longer term up trend line that began in January 2025. Unless there is a dramatic turnaround for the gold shares next week it looks like that line will fail. The market will let us know sooner rather than later. I am no longer looking at the GDX June calls as the next trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today but off of the highest point of the session. The short term indicators here have turned back up with room to go. If the VIX gets back above 20 we will expect more volatility and lower prices considering that the summation index is already moving lower. Not sure if that is going to happen but we'll know in the coming days. Plenty of work to do over the weekend as we try and figure out where things are going next. The June options have an extra week in them which makes the premiums pricey. Asia and Europe sold off to end the week as well. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Continuing higher as the beat goes on. The Dow gained 370 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trending lower. Retail sales came in where expected. No big news positive or negative from the US/China summit. The NASDAQ is still leading things higher and as long as that's the case the bulls will have the upper hand. New all time closing highs for the NASDAQ and S&P 500 again. The technical picture remains the same for the S&P 500. Overbought and staying that way for much longer than normal. I'm still considering the SPY June puts for now. Gold was off $44 on the futures. The US dollar was up and interest rates finished flat again. The XAU dropped almost 10 points and GDX lost 2 1/3. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to roll over. We will try and wait for GDX to get short term oversold in order to attempt the June calls there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. Its short term technical indicators are trying to turn back down from about the mid-range level. It looks like the VIX wants to go lower which would bode well for stocks going forward. But the market can't stay overbought forever can it? Option expiration Friday on tap so we will see if volatility picks up. Asia was mostly lower and Europe higher last night. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

All aboard as the market train keeps chugging along. The Dow continues to lag though as it fell 67 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trying to move lower. The NASDAQ led the overall market higher once again and that is a plus. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at records again. There is no overhead resistance. The thesis of stocks moving higher into the Friday option expiration appears to have been correct. The inflation data came in much worse than expected. After a brief decline in the first half hour buyers took over and stock markets moved up. Markets that ignore bad news are going to go higher. We don't know why but markets always know more than we do. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought as it has been for over a month. This isn't business as usual as the angle of ascent remains very steep. Breadth hasn't been good lately and the rise will end at some point but we are not going to try to guess when that occurs. All ideas for the SPY May puts are off. We will look out to June and the option premiums there have an extra week on them. Gold was up $8 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost 1 2/3, while GDX shed 7/8. Volume was light. Some of the short term indicators for GDX are now overbought. I am still considering the GDX June calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a touch lower today. The short term indicators here are continuing to rise despite the rally in stocks today. Not sure what's going on here with the VIX. I haven't had a good handle on this indicator lately. We'll get retail sales tomorrow and probably some news out of the US/China meetings. It looks like I won't be making any trades during the May option cycle. Asia and Europe were higher overnight. I'll keep an eye tonights headlines.

Quite an interesting session today where stocks sold off hard early and then tried but failed to come all the way back. The Dow managed a gain of 56 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving sideways. The inflation data came in about where expected but sellers took control early on. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted losses for the day with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 remain overbought. At one point the S&P clearly broke the steep up trend line that has been in effect since the beginning of April. However by the close you can make the case for that line still being in control just not as steep. I am still considering the SPY May puts with only three days to go in the May option cycle but the market will have to cooperate for me to try this idea again. We'll see. Gold was off $7 on the futures but came up from the lows for the day. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU had a slight fractional gain and GDX a fractional loss on average volume. The gold shares came back from decent losses early in the day. GDX is getting to short term overbought but not there completely yet. I am looking at the GDX June calls now. There is a positive bullish engulfing pattern on the weekly chart for GDX here. Money seems to be coming back into this space. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which doesn't fit with an overall down market. Its short term indicators are trying to turn back down. The indicators are closer to mid-range than overbought or oversold. I'm still not sure where the VIX is heading next. More inflation data tomorrow followed by retail sales due Thursday. The US/China summit will be getting underway as well. Plenty of excuses for market movement. If we see some upside tomorrow we might try the SPY puts or perhaps on Thursday morning. Running out of time and plenty of risk in that scenario. Europe and Asia were lower with the exception of Japan. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Hanging around on a Monday as the Dow rose 95 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving sideways. Basically waiting around for the inflation data tomorrow. New all time highs for the NASDAQ and S&P 500 but not by much. The short term indicators remain stuck in overbought territory for the S&P. I did place an open order for the SPY May puts overnight but it wasn't filled and I canceled it during the session. Might try again tomorrow if the market moves higher early on. It also might be too late. Plenty of noise in the background this week with economic data, the ongoing Iran conflict and a US/China summit beginning on Wednesday. The technical picture for the S&P is still overbought and that cannot last forever. Gold was up $13 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates rose. The XAU gained 15 3/4 and GDX added 3. Volume was a bit above average. The gold shares did much better than the metal itself and that's bullish. GDX also broke above its short term down trend line. The short term technical indicators here are still moving up and are not yet completely overbought. Money is moving into this space. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which does not fit with an up market. The short term indicators here are now moving higher. I still do not have a good handle on what the VIX is doing here. With only four days left in the May option cycle any trade taken on now has more risk than usual. Not sure if I will attempt anything this week. Asia and Europe began the week on a mixed note. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Once again the overall market powered higher and the Dow lagged behind. The most watched index rose 12 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still in a sideways channel. The jobs report came in better than expected. The NASDAQ was the clear leader once again. It closed at a new all time high along with the S&P 500. The S&P simply remains short term overbought with no overhead resistance. The bulls are clearly in charge. This could persist into option expiration next Friday which would make our idea of getting some SPY May puts wrong. We'll go over all the details this weekend and decide what action if any to take. Gold was up $22 on the futures. The US dollar was lower as were interest rates. The XAU was up 11 1/2, while GDX added 2 3/4. Volume was a bit below average. The short term indicators for GDX are back to moving higher with room to go. The short term down trend line remains in place here but another positive session will break through it. It looks like I've missed the GDX call trade here so it is probably a better idea to look elsewhere with only a week left in the May option cycle. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was slightly higher today which does not fit with an upside market. The short term indicators here are moving sideways in oversold territory. I am still not sure where this indicator is heading next. A lot of work to do over the weekend to try and come up with a game plan for next week. Plenty of economic numbers due out including a couple of inflation reports. Europe and Asia were lower to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

It looked like some profit taking ahead of tomorrows jobs report as the Dow fell 313 points on pretty heavy volume once again. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving sideways. The Dow led things lower and that isn't the most bearish scenario. Stocks did finish well off of the morning highs though. The NASDAQ posted a slight loss and the S&P 500 had a small one. Some of the short term indicators on the S&P have turned back lower but it remains in overbought territory. The short term up trend line for the S&P, which is pretty steep, remains intact. We are now looking at the SPY May puts. Gold was up $30 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher as were interest rates. The XAU was off around 2 1/4, while GDX shed about 1/3. Volume was above average. The gold shares finished well off of the highs for the session and closed near the lows. They also underperformed the precious metal itself. GDX was stopped at its short term down trend line and pulled back. Some of the short term indicators here are beginning to move sideways. It is possible that my idea here for the GDX calls is not going to work and that the bounce off of the longer term trend line is over. I'll reconsider things tonight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which does not fit with a down market. The short term technical indicators here have turned lower and remain in oversold territory. I do not have a good idea of where the VIX is heading next. The employment report should be the main focus tomorrow morning and we'll see how the market reacts to that. News on the Iran conflict continues to go back and forth. Looking for an entry point to try the SPY May puts. Europe closed down and Asia was higher with the exception of India. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Up, up and away as the bulls are on a stampede. The Dow gained 612 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to move higher. Once again the NASDAQ led the way, finishing up over 2%. There is no overhead resistance. The NASDAQ along with the S&P 500 closed at new records again and the Dow is trying to join them. The short term technical overbought condition for the S&P hasn't changed in a month. It has lasted much longer than I thought it would. It is on the brink of becoming parabolic and we all know how that ends. We'll enjoy the ride while it lasts. Gold climbed $134 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU soared 26 2/3, while GDX jumped 6 2/3. Volume was good to the upside. Another missed trade on the calls here but we will be looking to get some on any near term pullback. Mondays lack of decline in the gold shares when gold sank was a clue. GDX has held the longer term up trend line for now as that support proved to be valid. The short term indicators for GDX have now turned up with room to go. The open interest on the GDX 90 calls has shrank and now is not the deterrent that I thought it would be just a couple of days ago. We don't enjoy missing out on opportunities. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished flat after being lower early on. That certainly doesn't fit with a big positive day for stocks. The short term indicators here also simply tracked sideways. Not sure what's next for the VIX. Were todays huge gains a speculative blow off top with heavy volume? Not sure but we can't rule it out. But we also know that things can still run up into the option expiration next week. It appears that the Iran conflict has now taken a back seat. News from there does not have the same effect that it did earlier. I'll be watching the gold shares as that looks like it still could be my next trade. Asia and Europe were higher as money is pouring back into stocks around the globe. We will keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

Buyers returned as the Dow gained 356 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index continues sideways. Gains would have been even better but there was a late last ten minute slide. The NASDAQ is still leading the way up so that's a plus. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs again. The short term indicators for the S&P have turned back up as they remain in overbought territory. There still seems to be plenty of money to throw at stocks for now. Gold bounced back $32 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates slightly lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. GDX remains short term oversold and still hanging on to the longer term up trend line. I'm still looking at the GDX June calls as a potential next trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and some of the short term indicators here have turned back lower. Still on the oversold side of the ledger here. I'm not sure where the VIX is heading next. Waiting on the jobs report due Friday. Until then we'll probably just sit on our hands. No need to force anything until we get some type of valid technical signal. Europe was generally higher and what was open in Asia generally lower last night. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Some weakness to begin the week as the Dow led the way lower with a loss of 557 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is heading sideways. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small losses. The short term indicators for the S&P remain overbought but are trying to roll over. Earnings are still in the picture for this week but the main event will be the employment report due out on Friday. I'm not considering any SPY options trades at the moment. Gold got slammed and dropped $114 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 5 3/8, while GDX slid 1 1/2. Volume was light. Considering the drop in gold itself, the gold shares held up rather well. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold and staying there. I'm now looking out to the GDX June calls. Considering the above average open interest in the GDX May calls it doesn't look like GDX will get much above the 90 level by option expiration next week if it even gets that far at all. GDX is also in the process of testing the longer term up trend line in the 85 area. If it doesn't hold that will be another negative for the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits a down market. Some of the short term indicators here are now heading higher. Not sure what's coming next on the VIX. The market was fighting higher oil prices today and is still at the mercy of the next Iran conflict headline. It is also still short term overbought and that condition has gone on for too long already. Asia was higher and Europe lower to start the week. We'll see how things shape up tomorrow.

We started the day with a gap higher only to move sideways for the rest of the session. The Dow though ended in the red as it lost 152 points on good volume. The advance/declines were about even. The overall market fared much better with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closing at records. The NASDAQ led the way and that's a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 closed down from its best levels on the session and remains short term overbought. The daily candlestick chart here has a shooting star for today which would imply lower prices on Monday. We'll see. Gold was off five bucks on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost over 4 3/4 and GDX shed around 1 1/4. Volume was light. The short term indicators on GDX remain in the oversold zone. I am considering the GDX May calls but there is a short term down trend line still in place here. Not to mention the gold shares had a poor day when gold itself didn't do much and the overall market was higher. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished little changed and is still short term oversold. I'm not sure what's next for this indicator. We made it through the week with some of the major averages closing at new all time highs. There is no overhead resistance and the bulls are in charge. That said we are entering an unfavorable seasonal period in general for stocks. But we certainly don't know if that will hold true this time around or when any sustained selling would begin. I'll continue to focus on the short term trading ideas. We'll go over the charts in the next couple of days to try and figure something out for the May options cycle. Asia was mixed and much of Europe closed on holiday to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Back to the upside as buyers took over after some early volatility. The Dow roared ahead by 790 points on pretty heavy volume. It was the leader of the pack today. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. The inflation data came in where expected. Tech earnings were positive for the most part with the exception of META. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 continue to remain overbought. No overhead resistance for the S&P as we begin to wonder just how high things will go. Gold was up $68 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU gained 8 1/8, while GDX rose 2 points. Volume was a touch above average. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold. I did place an order for the GDX May calls last night but it wasn't filled. GDX opened with a big gap higher and then traded sideways for the rest of the day. I canceled my order as it did not have a chance of getting filled. We will now have to decide if this idea is still worth pursuing. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with the positive move in stocks. The short term indicators have turned back down and some are already short term oversold again. The daily candlestick chart here now looks like it is going to go lower. Perhaps stocks will simply stay elevated into the May option expiration but that's a guess. Not exactly sure what our next trade attempt will be. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher last night. We'll begin the month of May and close out the trading week tomorrow.