Lower to start the week on the last day of August as the Dow fell 374 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving lower. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small losses. The Dow leading the way down isn't the worst possible scenario. The short term indicators for the S&P appear to be rolling over in oversold territory though. Near term support on the S&P is still at around the 7600 level. Gold was off $26 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were higher. The XAU fell 5 1/2, while GDX slipped 1 1/8. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are still trending lower with room to go. I am still looking at the GDX September calls but will wait for now. Getting back to short term oversold on the gold shares before option expiration would be the ideal time for this idea but markets rarely cooperate. I am also in favor of the SPY September puts at some point unless things simply unravel from here. The volume was better today so perhaps players are back at their desks ahead of Labor day. Or it could just be the result of the end of the month squaring. The VIX was higher today which fits a down market. Its short term indicators are trying to turn back up. That would not bode well for stocks if it happens. Plenty of economic data out this week highlighted by the jobs report on Friday. Europe and Asia were generally lower to begin the week. We'll see how the market starts the month of September tomorrow.