The Fed and Bernanke came and went. We broke above resistance yesterday and the trend is going to be upwards for the near future. The Dow gained 95 points on average volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. Summation index going higher. All systems are go for higher prices. The Fed said nothing new. It didn't matter, the stock indices are in rally mode. We'll see how high this move takes us. GE gained 1/2 on good volume. The calls here should have been purchased Monday or Tuesday. It doesn't do any good to look in the rear view mirror. Gold rallied as well, up $13 on the futures and that much again in the aftermarket. The XAU gained 4. ABX and GG were up 2/3, while NEM rose 1 1/8. Volume was good. The gold shares were lower early in the day. We actually got a buy signal on the Gold/XAU ratio. I did place an order for some May ABX calls but I was too late. I adjusted the order and left it in overnight. Yesterday I stated that I would not be looking to try the gold share calls at this time. Things have changed. Gold is going parabolic at this stage it seems to me. If I can get the price I want on these calls, I'm willing to take the risk. The US dollar got pounded today and that helped gold and the stock market. The dollar is in an area where previously we would have seen a short term rally. However we broke down instead. This is saying that the dollar market is even weaker than it looks. That should support the price of gold here. It is also fuel for the stock indices which have broken out of resistance. The trends are up and calls are the only game in town at this point in time. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep well. So I'm ready to try another trade here and we'll see what happens. It could be that we are at the end of these up moves as well but I really don't think so. The stock market is short term overbought. However any pullbacks can be purchased in my opinion. The daily chart on ABX actually shows the technicals more oversold due to the takeover bid sell off. So we'll see what happens. GDP tomorrow and the end of the month on Friday. Should be interesting.

We broke the resistance to the upside as the Dow gained 115 points on good volume. Advance/declines were almost 3 to 1 positive. We can expect higher prices going forward although there could be a retest of the breakout point. If this does occur, it will be a chance to purchase some May index calls. We'll see if that happens. Summation index moving higher. The S&P 500 is solidly through the 1335 to 1440 level. Fed announcement tomorrow. GE was up 1/4 on average volume. I'm still considering the May calls here. Not sure if that is the proper trade here. Gold lost $5 as it was actually down for a change. The XAU dropped 2 1/8. ABX led the way down again, off 1 2/3 on heavy volume. GG dropped 2/3 and NEM was flat. Volume was light in those issues. The US dollar continues weaker. I'm not sure trading the gold share calls is the way to go here. Still overbought on these issues with the exception of ABX. Maybe gold rallies tomorrow on an accommodating Fed. I'm not going to take any chances there though. Mentally I'm doing OK. So we got the expected breakout and I do believe higher prices are in the offing. Short term overbought though but that doesn't mean we can't stay that way. I think I will attempt the OEX May calls if we get a pullback. Let's see what the Fed does tomorrow and go from there.

It was kind of a not much going on type of day following a long weekend as the Dow lost 26 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. We are taking a pause here at the 1335-1340 level in the S&P 500. My feeling now is that we will break through to new recovery highs soon. But I could be wrong and often am. We've got the Fed meeting this week. That will probably be a catalyst for market movement. 1st quarter GDP and plenty of other economic data as well. So things could get interesting. End of the month as well. GE was flat as well today on average volume. Perhaps the earnings news has been digested by now. I would like to have the guts to try the May calls here. If the S&P does breakout, GE should follow higher. In theory of course. We'll see. Gold was up $5 on the futures today for yet another record high. The XAU dropped 5 2/3 though. Most of this was due to ABX, which fell 3 3/4 on extremely heavy volume. ABX is planning a takeover of another company and the street did not like it. Hence the risk in individual issues. However if you own the puts, things are looking good. GG fell 5/8 and NEM was off 1 3/8. Both on average volume. I think the gold rally is getting long in the tooth but it continues. Overbought and we are due for some type of pullback. Perhaps the Fed announcement on Wednesday will cause some downside. That's a guess, as usual. The dollar remains deeply oversold on a daily and weekly basis. That won't last forever. Mentally I'm feeling OK. 4 weeks to go for the May option cycle. That should give me enough time to figure out some type of trade. I may try the OEX calls again if we get some backing and filling here. I'm going to lay off the gold calls for now because we are so overbought. GE is back on my radar screen and I would look for the May 20 calls there as the contract to trade. If we get a breakout to the upside on the S&P 500, that could be the next trade for me.

The Dow gained 52 points today to end the shortened week. The advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. Volume was light. We are right at resistance of 1340 for the S&P 500. I believe that we will break through in the very near future. The summation index has turned back to the upside. GE lost 45 cents on heavy volume. The street did not like the earnings report. This could be a possible long trade now that the earnings are out of the way. Gold tacked on another $5 today to new record highs. The XAU gained 3 points. ABX and GG rose 3/4, while NEM added 3/8. NEM came out with earnings today but it seemed to be a non-event. ABX is now over $55 but the volume was nothing special. I don't think this is a valid breakout yet. We'll see about next week. The dollar continued lower today and closed the week negative. If it continues lower, gold should move higher. Mentally I'm feeling OK. We now have a 3 day weekend to ponder things. I'll go over the charts and try to come up with a game plan for the May option cycle. All signs are pointing up for the stock indices and commodities. I will have to try and find something to take advantage. But for now it's time for a break.

The stock indices exploded to the upside, with the Dow gaining 186 points on good volume. Advance/declines were over 4 to 1 positive. We are on our way to new recovery highs. Earnings will be the catalyst. It appears that the market got rid of whatever sellers were left on Monday. The summation index should start to turn around here. Look for calls on pullbacks. GE was up 13 cents ahead of tomorrows earnings. Volume was average. I'd expect GE to take off to the upside on its earnings. We'll see. Gold gained $4 today and a bit more in the aftermarket. The XAU was up 2 1/3. ABX gained 5/8, while GG and NEM tacked on 1/4. Volume was light. Would have liked to have seen a bigger move to the upside in the gold shares today considering the US dollar got crushed. But I suppose money is being spread out into the stock market. The daily candlestick charts actually don't look too good for the gold shares after today. We'll have to see what transpires tomorrow. ABX is on the threshold of breaking the all important $55 level. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The stock indices have taken their cue so far this week from the US dollar. When the dollar rose on Monday, stocks tanked. Now that the dollar has reversed to the downside, the stock indices have taken off to the upside. The markets obviously know something that I don't. It's a holiday shortened week so tomorrow will be the end of the trading for the US markets. There is also an extra week on the May option cycle. Apple reported after the bell and beat estimates handily. It should mean another upside day tomorrow.

We moved higher today as the Dow gained 65 points on average volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. Moving off of oversold levels here. Perhaps we are sold out for the time being. Summation index still heading lower though. The Dow for now has held above the 50 day moving average. There is a chance that this could prove to be the beginning of a move to new recovery highs above 1340 on the S&P 500. I don't know. We will have to see how the rest of the week unfolds. GE was up 30 cents on good volume. Earnings are due on Thursday. Moving off of an oversold condition here as well. Gold gained a couple bucks today and touched $1500 for the first time. The XAU rose 3 3/4. ABX and NEM gained 3/4, while GG added almost a buck. Volume was light. The dollar reversed yesterdays strong gain. Not sure exactly what to make of that. I would like to own some ABX calls as we near the breakout level of $55. Once we clear that area, it is up, up and away for that issue in my opinion. ABX is currently at 54 1/4. It is something that I am looking at. Mentally I'm doing OK. The stock indices are holding up rather well here after Mondays very weak open. I think that fact that we haven't completely unraveled says something. The technicals are oversold and perhaps this is the beginning of something to the upside. That's a guess as usual and lately my guesses have been expensive. We'll see what happens tomorrow and go from there.

A gap to the downside to start the shortened week as the Dow lost 140 points on average volume. The advance/declines were almost 4 to 1 negative. We were down about 250 at the worst moment of the day. A possible downgrade of US debt was todays culprit for the decline. Summation index heading lower. We are very oversold here. The so-called bounces have been anemic. The S&P 500 is trying to hold the 1300 level. We'll see. GE was flat on the day after being down early. Volume was better than average. No trades here for now. Gold was up $7 on the futures and a bit more in the aftermarket. The XAU lost 2 points. The gold shares were mixed with fractional moves one way or the other on better volume. The gold shares too, fell early and then made a comeback during the day. The Gold/XAU ratio is almost back at a buy signal. This despite the dollar having a pretty good day. Why the dollar would rally on bad news concerning the US debt at first glance doesn't make any sense. However it could have been just short covering, as the worst news is now out. That's all a guess as usual. Gold is at all time highs. I might try the May gold share calls if the Gold/XAU signal does happen. But it's risky. Gold is overbought here but that doesn't mean it can't stay that way for a while. Mentally I'm doing OK. Trying to put last week behind me. I have a confidence void at the moment. Losing trades with poor execution will do that. I've got to move on though. I would look for the stock indices to at least stabilize for the rest of the week. If not, then we'll have a better idea of what is going on here.

We got a weak bounce today as the Dow gained 56 points on expiration Friday. Volume was average and the advance/declines were positive. The OEX trade was a disaster. I had a chance to cut the loss at 50% and I canceled the order to give it some more time. Mistake. It ended up being a 95% loss and broke one of the risk parameter rules set in place at the beginning of the year. I did not have the discipline to execute the correct moves under pressure. This is an amateur mistake. There are no excuses, I just wasn't good enough. So that was 2 horrible short term trades within a week. I am no good at short term deals. I should not even attempt them. Getting back to the markets, I'm about to change my mind on new recovery highs. The summation index continues lower and we should have had a decent bounce by now. It hasn't happened. GE was higher early and closed little changed. Volume was average. No trades in the works there. Gold was up 14 bucks to a new all time high. However the XAU fell 1/2. ABX, GG and NEM had slight fractional moves one way or the other on light volume. The dollar gained a bit today. Not sure why the gold shares couldn't follow gold today. It is something to keep an eye on. I would like to try the May gold share calls but after this week I'll probably be on the sidelines for a while. Mentally I'm discouraged. Both of my trades this week were losers from the start. Obviously that isn't good. The fact that I didn't take small losses when I should have just compounds the negatives. The money matters but not as much as the confidence factor. If you can't perform when necessary, you don't have a chance. So now I'll be gun shy for a while since I certainly don't have a handle on what the market is doing at the moment. Lousy trades just don't do anything for you at this point. It's April and although the year started out very positive for me, it seems like I am back to square one. I'll check the charts over the weekend and try to get my head together. It won't be easy. For now it's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The Dow had a one day reversal to the upside as we gapped lower on the open and came all the way back for a gain of 14 points. The advance/declines were positive, while the volume was average. My OEX calls got killed in the morning but made somewhat of a comeback during the day along with the overall market. They are in the red though with a day to go. I probably should have just sold them at the close and taken that loss today. But we are still oversold and the bounce is not happening. That could mean bigger trouble for the indices. Google reported poor earnings after the bell and that doesn't bode well for the open tomorrow. An oversold market that doesn't show some upside is dangerous. The summation index continues lower. GE was flat today on light volume. We are right at the $20 strike price. Gold had a good day on the weaker dollar. The precious metal gained $17. The XAU rose 2 1/2. ABX, GG and NEM all gained around 1 1/4 on OK volume. The move in the gold shares today is what I was looking for in the Monday ABX call trade. Timing is everything as always. I don't think that I'll chase the gold shares here. The weekly charts are just about overbought on the technicals. But we'll see. Mentally I'm doing OK. I almost sold the OEX calls at the close today as well after I heard the bad news on Google. With only one day to go, the odds of this trade turning a profit are not good. But I didn't dump them and I'll probably feel the pain tomorrow. More inflation data out tomorrow and todays report wasn't good. Plus option expiration. We'll see how it goes.

We opened higher but could not sustain anything to the upside as the Dow gained only 7 points on the day. Volume was average and the advance/declines were positive. Summation index is heading lower. I did put in an order for some April OEX calls and it was filled. The options are right at where I purchased them. Tomorrows open will be the key as we are oversold and due for a bounce in my opinion. There are only 2 trading sessions left for the April option cycle, so obviously this will be a very short term trade. We'll see what happens. GE was basically flat today on light volume. Gold gained a couple of bucks while the XAU fell 2 points. ABX and GG were both off about 1/4. NEM dropped 7/8. Volume was light. The dollar gained a touch today. I still like the gold shares going forward here. Perhaps there will be another attempt at the calls in the May option cycle for me. The weekly candlestick charts will not look bullish though if prices stay where they are or decline further in the next 2 days. I'll be keeping an eye on it. Mentally I'm feeling OK. I decided to take the chance on the OEX trade since there is a short term buy signal in place on one of my technical indicators. It may or may not pan out. I do feel good about being able to put the lousy ABX trade behind me and move on to the next perceived opportunity. Inflation data and initial claims are out tomorrow. That should be the early key to market direction. I'll take it from there.

It was a downer Tuesday as the Dow lost 117 points on better volume. Advance/declines were almost 3 to 1 negative. I'm still a believer that we will see new recovery highs in the S&P 500. I think that any decline tomorrow can be bought for a short term trade before Fridays expiration. I would like to have the confidence to try the OEX calls tomorrow. That remains to be seen. The summation index has rolled over and is trending down. So caution is advised here also. GE lost 17 cents on average volume. We are right around the $20 area here. I am not going to try anything there. Gold lost $15 and the XAU fell 4 points. The gold shares were mixed, with ABX off 3/4, GG down 1/2 and NEM up 1/3. Volume was a little less than average. The dollar was a bit lower today and it didn't help gold. I sold the ABX calls for about an 85% loss. That was a horrible trade that should not have even been done. It was a loser from the start. There was no solid technical basis to even put it on. I think I was just anxious to do something before the April option cycle ended. It was stupid and I paid for it. Now there is a legitimate chance for an OEX bounce trade and I don't know if I can pull it off after this loser. I don't want to seem like I am doing the OEX trade to try and make back what I just lost on the ABX trade. Mentally I'm in a tough spot. I do believe that weakness can be bought tomorrow but I don't know if I can pull it off. I could be wrong as well. There are only 3 days left for the April option cycle. There is also a ton of data coming out in the next 3 days. Weakness tomorrow does give a short term buy signal on one of my technical indicators. So I will think about all this tonight and go from there. It would not help to compound the ABX loss with another right away. However a winning trade would be a step in the right direction.

We bounced around today and ended pretty much flat as the Dow gained 1 point on light volume. The overall market was weaker than the Dow, with the advance/declines over 2 to 1 negative. I think we are perhaps setting up for a trade to the long side at the middle to end of the week. I'll be looking at the OEX calls if I decide to give it a shot. Plenty of economic data out this week. So we'll see what happens. GE was flat on the day with very light volume. I would try the April 20 calls here this week if I thought GE could make a decent upside move. Not sure and there isn't much time left on the options. Gold was off $6 today and more in the aftermarket. The XAU lost 6 1/4. ABX down 1 1/4, GG and NEM fell a buck. Volume was light. I did try the ABX April calls today. Of course now I wish that I didn't. The position is down almost 50% already. Can ABX make a comeback this week? Stranger things have happened but I really need to cut the loss here. It is the kind of trade that was risky, didn't work from the start and now needs to be let go. I would need to see some type of stunning reversal tomorrow. Won't happen. Not a lot of money at risk here but it will probably be a loser none the less. Mentally I'm feeling OK. I'm thinking about getting some OEX calls for later this week but the risk there would be high as well. However the market is getting oversold here. Plus it's expiration week which usually has a positive bias. I'll deal with the ABX trade and go from there. I probably need to be reminded that the short term trades are not my strong suit. I'll ponder things tonight to come up with the game plan for the rest of the week.

The Dow fell 29 points today on the brink of a US government shutdown over the budget. We were lower but came back in the final hour. Volume was light and the advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The budget fiasco is really much ado about nothing in my opinion. A budget will eventually be passed and this too will be forgotten. But it gives an excuse to sell stocks and the US dollar as well. Todays action could turn the summation index lower. That is something to keep an eye on. GE lost 16 cents on average volume. I'm going to have to pass on the April 20 calls there. There's only one week to go for the options. Perhaps I'll change my mind over the weekend. Gold had another good day, up $15. The XAU gained 3 points. ABX up 2/3, GG rose 1 1/4 but NEM fell 1/3. Volume was good. GG remains the leader here to the upside. We are very overbought here but I still might try the ABX calls next week. I did cancel the open order that I had for them today. ABX is on the verge of a breakout if it can get above $55. However the risk is very high since there is so little time left in the April options. The dollar got pounded again today and that was the reason for the rise in gold in my opinion. The US dollar is pretty oversold here as well. So there is plenty to think about over the weekend. Mentally I'm doing OK. The major stock indices are moving sideways at resistance. The transports have rolled over here and that could be the harbinger of lower prices near term. However I do think that we will be breaking through the near term resistance to new recovery highs. I could be wrong and often am. One week to go on the April options so if a trade is attempted it will have to work in a hurry. I'm leaning towards the ABX calls for now. I'll be going over the charts this weekend in hopes of finding something meaningful for next week. For now it's time for a break.

Another large earthquake in Japan sent the Dow lower early but the market came back to just post a loss of 17 points. Volume was average and the advance/declines were negative. We've been moving sideways for a week. I expect that we'll break out to the upside sometime before expiration but that's a guess as usual. However the trend remains up until further notice. GE lost 20 cents on average volume. The April calls that I was looking at here got cheaper but I think that I will step aside from this trade. Of course that could change tomorrow. Gold didn't do much today and the XAU gained a point. ABX lost 3/8, GG up 1/3 and NEM gained 1 7/8. Volume was average. I lowered my entry price for the ABX April calls to take off a little more risk with only 6 days to go. I still expect ABX to try and break through the $55 level. However the timing is in question. None the less, I'm going to try and give this trade a go. The dollar closed little changed today. Mentally I'm doing OK. Time is running out for the April option cycle. Things get a bit more risky and dynamic. It is the nature of the options game. I'm still going to try and put on a trade here but nothing is set in stone.

Grinding higher as the Dow gained 32 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. Summation index continues higher. I still expect upside into the expiration next week. Nothing has changed to derail that. The market is overbought, staying there and that is the tune for now. GE was up 1/4 on OK volume. I canceled the open order for the April GE calls. 7 days to go and the price I wanted for the options isn't going to happen. I also don't think that GE has the volatility at the moment for this trade now. I do still believe that GE will see a higher price near term. Gold gained another $6 today and a few more in the aftermarket. The XAU fell 1/3. ABX, GG and NEM were mixed with fractional moves. Volume was good here. I'm leaving in the open order for the April ABX calls. There is volatility in the gold shares and plenty of interest at the moment. I'm not sure that I will hold this over the weekend though. We'll see what transpires between now and then. The dollar was weaker today and could be starting another leg down. Time will tell on that. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep well. We are right at resistance for the S&P 500. I do think that we will break through and set new recovery highs soon. Before expiration is my guess. There may be an OEX trade to take advantage of that, if we see some weakness first. That would be the ideal scenario.

Another lackluster session for the stock indices as the Dow lost 6 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. We are moving sideways for now but I believe that we will be heading back to the upside by the end of the week. Not a lot of economic data out this week. I am looking to purchase some calls before expiration. GE lost 20 cents on light volume. I have an open order in for some April 20 calls. It might get filled if GE sees some more weakness near term. We broke the daily downtrend line here a few days ago. The next technical expectation is a return towards that line before we head higher once again. We'll see if it pans out. Gold broke out to new highs today, up $20 and $5 more in the aftermarket. The XAU soared 9 1/3. ABX up 2 7/8, GG up 3 and NEM up 2 1/3. Volume increased on the breakout. This I think is a valid break to the upside and you can hop aboard for the ride. I also have an open order in for some April ABX calls. I moved to a higher strike price than I was looking at. This order may not be filled as it is entirely possible that we simply move straight up from here. However I do feel that this move is worth chasing. The gold shares moved up around 5% in just one day. That must be respected. We'll see what happens. The dollar fell just a touch today. Mentally I'm feeling OK. So gold is on the move and I am not taking advantage of it once again. However the technicals showed nothing to anticipate this breakout so I can't feel too bad about missing it. There is always a chance that I'll still be able to salvage something if the ABX order gets filled. Meanwhile the stock indices are taking a breather here from going straight up. I do feel that higher prices are in the near future, before the April expiration next week. I'll try to take advantage of that with GE. We'll see what happens.

A quiet start to the week as the Dow gained 23 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. The indices opened higher and meandered throughout the day. Nothing has changed, the trend is up. GE gained 19 cents on the day but was higher early. Volume was light. I would still like to try the April 20 calls here if they drop in price in the next few days. We'll see. Gold gained $4 today and the XAU was up a point. ABX, GG and NEM were flat or had fractional gains. Volume light as usual here. The dollar didn't do much and was marginally higher on the day. The gold shares are overbought and if we get some pullback I'll try the May calls. That is the game plan for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. Nothing has changed with regards to my trading ideas. GE would be the first trade followed by something with ABX or GG. GE would be very short term, with only 9 days left in the April option cycle. So I am remaining patient for now. I am not going to try and press anything here. We'll see if we get any decent movement in the markets tomorrow.

The employment report came and went. The Dow continues higher, up another 57 points. We were up almost 100 during the trading session. The advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive and volume was average. Overbought, staying that way and it's back to the same old broken record. The indices are going higher. Any type of pullback can be bought. You cannot argue with the market. GE was up about 1/3 and broke through the daily downtrend line. I'll be looking for some April calls here if we get some decline. Might not happen. I have some interest in the April 20 calls if I get a chance. We'll see. Gold lost around $10 today and the XAU fell 1 3/4. The gold shares had fractional losses on the day on the usual light volume. Gold itself had a gap down at the open and steadily came back all day. It seemed to follow the US dollar, which was higher early and closed the day unchanged. With the decent jobs report it would have made more sense for some type of dollar rally today. Didn't happen. I'd still like to try some gold share calls for May however we are still overbought there. Again, if we get some type of pullback here as well, I will attempt to put on a trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. Another good week for the stock indices as the Japan debacle seems to fade into the distance. Money is finding a home in stocks. The trend is up and there is no need to fight it. 2 weeks to go in the April option cycle. I'll hopefully be able to take advantage of something on the long side. For now though it's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

Profit taking at the end of the month as the Dow lost 30 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. The overall market was stronger than the Dow. We're still overbought here but that hasn't led to any meaningful declines lately. The summation index continues higher. Pullbacks can be bought in my opinion. The employment report tomorrow should be the key for the next move one way or the other. GE was flat on light volume. We've approached the 50 day moving average and a daily downtrend line. If we can get through those on decent volume GE should move higher. I'm still considering the April 20 calls there. Gold had a good day, up $15 on the futures. The XAU gained 1 1/2. ABX, GG and NEM all had gains of 1/3 or so on light volume. The dollar was a bit weaker today. The gold shares are short term overbought. I'd like to get the May calls if we get a pullback. However there is a chance that gold itself will break out to the upside and new highs here. If that's the case I may just try to jump on board. I'll have to see some volume on the breakout though. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The indices are back in overbought mode again and it feels like the market environment before the Japan quake. We'll have to see the reaction to the numbers tomorrow and go from there.

Still moving higher as the Dow gained 71 points on light volume. Light volume seems to be the new normal here for the indices. Advance/declines were almost 3 to 1 positive. Summation index moving higher. Very overbought and staying there. End of the month tomorrow, with the employment report on Friday. The market is headed upwards until further notice. GE gained 1/4 on better than lately volume. I might try the GE calls for April if we get some type of weakness near term. Most likely that is just wishful thinking. However if the GE April 20 calls get cheap I'll probably take a shot there. Not set in stone. Gold was up $7 today and the XAU rose 3 2/3. ABX up 7/8, GG up 7/8 and NEM gained 2/3. Volume is still light here. I think the direction of the US dollar near term will determine the direction of gold. We are right at the daily downtrend line for the dollar and have stalled. So we'll see what happens. The employment report could provide direction here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. A little over 2 weeks left in the April option cycle. Not sure I'll be able to put a trade on but we'll see.

The Dow gained 81 points today. So much for the expected decline. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. Volume was nothing special. The market is overbought and staying there. We are back in the mode we were in before the Japan earthquake. The market just plows higher. The only caveat that I can see is the volume. It has been anemic. I do not trust light volume rallies. But you cannot argue with price. GE was up 1/8 on light volume. It has been a laggard here. I have no trades in mind for GE. Gold lost a couple of bucks and the XAU was flat. ABX, GG and NEM had fractional moves one way or the other on very light volume again. So the volume question comes up here as well. I'm still considering the ABX calls but I'd like to go to the May option cycle. We'll see. The technicals are giving no clear signal. The dollar didn't move much today. So I'll try and be patient here for now. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep well. I expected weakness early this week and the market just continues to get more overbought. There's no fighting it. At least I haven't been trying the OEX puts here. The market will go where it wants regardless of my opinion. I'll have to remain on the sidelines until I get a better handle on things.

Opened higher and closed lower for a one day reversal as the Dow lost 22 points on very light volume. Advance/declines were negative. Not a lot to report with regards to todays market movement. It was a tight range throughout the day. I do expect weakness here early in the week to relieve the overbought condition. After that, who knows? End of the month on Thursday and the employment report the following day. GE was flat on little volume as well. Nothing new to report here. Gold lost $6 today and the XAU dropped 3 1/8. ABX, GG and NEM all had fractional losses on very light volume. I'm still looking to do a trade here. I'd prefer to go out to the May option cycle but that is not set in stone. I think that the gold shares will follow the indices lower early this week and that could be the opportunity to purchase some calls. That's a guess as usual. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The dollar is at a key point on the daily candlestick charts, right up against a downtrend line that has been in effect since the beginning of the year. If the line holds it would be bullish for gold. If not, just the opposite. It is something to keep an eye on near term. So I'll be looking for weakness the next couple of days in the indices and go from there.

Still moving higher as the Dow gained 50 points to close out the week. Advance/declines were positive and the volume was light. A very positive week for the stock indices and the summation index has turned back to the upside. We are short term overbought and remain there. I think that we will see some weakness in the beginning of next week and that may be the opportunity to get long. We'll see. GE was flat on light volume. GE hasn't moved as much as the indexes in percentage terms this week and is a relative under performer. No trades there for now. Gold fell $8 today but the XAU only dropped 1 1/8. The gold shares were mixed with fractional moves on light volume. The dollar had a good day for a change. I canceled the open order for the ABX April calls. I'll perhaps try again next week. The dollar looks like it could be moving up from an extended oversold condition. That could prove problematic for gold. So I will have to try and figure things out over the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. 3 weeks to go in the April option cycle. Next week could be the ideal time to put on a trade for April. I'll be checking the charts in the next 2 days to try and find something worthwhile. Friday afternoon now and time for a break.

Continuing higher as the Dow gained 84 points on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. The summation index should be turning around here. We're overbought and staying there as it looks like the event driven decline has ended. It has been a rapid turnaround and I would expect some weakness but there hasn't been any. You can't argue with price. Any pullbacks can be bought, in my opinion. GE gained 1/4 on light volume. GE hasn't regained as much ground as the overall market here. I might try the calls here again but not at this time. Gold was off a few bucks after setting all time highs early in the day. The XAU declined 1 2/3. ABX off 3/8, GG off 7/8 and NEM down 1/3. Volume picked up a bit. The daily charts look like one day reversals to the downside for the gold shares. I'm keeping in the open order for the ABX April calls. I still believe that this trade will work in the next 3 weeks. I could be wrong. The dollar was a bit weaker today. Mentally I'm feeling OK. On day left in the week for trading. The stock indices are overbought but show no signs of slowing down. I have no OEX trades in mind here unless we get to an oversold position. So we'll see. I'm still a fan of the gold shares and will place the ABX trade if possible.

We gained back what we lost yesterday as the Dow rose 67 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. We're overbought now and right at resistance on the S&P 500. Some type of pause or pull back is in order. Unless we just take off to the upside here but I do not anticipate that happening. I've been wrong before though. So we will have to wait and see how the rest of this week plays out. GE was flat on the day after being weak early. Volume was light. How GE acts here could be a key as well. No trades in mind for GE at the moment. Gold was up another $10 today and is right back to all time highs. The XAU soared 7 3/4 points. ABX up 1 3/4, GG up 1 1/2 and NEM up 1 2/3. Volume picked up on the ascent. It looks like I have missed yet another move in the gold shares. I did place an open order for some ABX April calls in case we get a pull back near term. The dollar was stronger today yet gold rallied anyway. Seasonally March is a weak month for gold but that hasn't panned out this year. And so it goes. Mentally I'm a bit tired. We had a signal on the gold/XAU ratio a few days ago and I did not place a trade. That was a mistake. We were also oversold on the gold shares at the same time. It was a great set up and I didn't do anything. Not sure why but perhaps I was still occupied with the losing GE trade. There are no excuses. I will simply have to do better in the future. There is a reason that this is the toughest game in the world. However the battle always lies within oneself. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

The 3 day rally paused today as the Dow lost 18 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. Where we go from here is important. I'd like to see some type of decline in the next couple of days to establish a long position. However if we simply continue higher from here, it might mean that the market is stronger than anticipated. We'll see. GE dropped 1/4 on light volume. I'm looking for sideways price action here. Gold was flat today. The XAU gained 1 1/8. ABX and GG were flat on light volume. NEM gained 1 1/2 on better volume. The dollar was flat as well. If we see some weakness in the gold shares, I'm going to be a buyer of some calls. This week or next. The technicals here are mixed so if we see some decline the gold shares will return to oversold. Wishful thinking possibly but that is the game plan for now. Subject to change of course. Mentally I'm feeling OK. Biding my time here for now. Sometimes being patient is the most difficult thing to do but it is important. My feeling is that the events that drove the market south have dissipated for now. That could allow for a rally in the April option cycle. That's my best guess at the moment.

The bounce continues as the Dow gained 178 points on good volume. Advance/declines were about 4 to 1 positive. Is it more than just a bounce? That is the question. Todays action could turn the summation index back up. However we are approaching short term overbought here. I would like to see some pull back near term in order to establish some calls if that is the course of action that I choose. Haven't decided yet. GE was up 1/2 on average volume. No trades there for now. Gold gained $10 as the political unrest in Libya heated up over the weekend. The XAU rose 4 1/3. ABX and GG up 7/8, while NEM gained 3/4. Volume was light. The gold shares a moving off of an oversold condition. If we get some weakness here near term I will consider purchasing some April gold share calls. That is the game plan as of today. The dollar was weaker once again today and the trend there is decidedly down even though we are oversold. That should, in theory, help support the price of gold here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The market has had quite a snap back rally from its oversold condition during the middle of last week. I would not expect to just go straight up from here but you never know. Volatility has slacked off for now. On to Tuesday.

A positive option expiration Friday as the Dow closed higher by 84 points. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive and volume was heavy. We were higher during the day as the market opened very strong but then we drifted lower throughout the day. I think we will move sideways from here to back and fill. Or perhaps the downtrend will start to gain momentum again. It's all a guess at this point. We're still oversold and the summation index continues moving lower. But the earthquake/tsunami event is over. Once the nuclear power plant problem is contained perhaps the market won't be driven by events for a while. We'll see. GE opened higher and sold off for the rest of the day to end up basically unchanged. Volume was average there. I don't plan on any trades in GE for now. Of course, that could change. Gold had a good day today, up $15. The XAU gained 2 1/4. ABX and GG each rose around a buck, while NEM was flat. Volume picked up a bit today. The dollar took another hit today and that supported the price of gold. I would have liked to have seen a better move in the gold shares but it didn't happen. I'm still interested in the April or May gold share calls. Maybe next week if we get some weakness on light volume. I'll have to check the charts over the weekend. Mentally I'm doing OK. A losing GE trade this week but the damage was minimal. I'm looking for the next trade. We had a huge spike in volatility this week. I don't think that will continue but I could be wrong. A lot of indicators are pointing more towards a bottom in prices for the indices here. So as usual it's a mixed picture as we move into the April option cycle. I'll check things over the weekend and go from there. For now it's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

We got the expected oversold bounce today as the Dow gained 161 points on average volume. Advance/declines were about 3 to 1 positive. I would not expect a sustained uptrend to just appear starting today. We need to have at least some sideways movement for a while. Plus there is no guarantee that the recent decline is over. The summation index is still heading down. So we will have to wait until things sort themselves out before having a chance at guessing the markets direction from here. GE gained 1/4 on good volume. GE had a gain of double that early. I dumped the GE April calls for a 40% loss. I do not think GE will move above the strike price of 21 in the next 4 weeks. I could have gotten a slightly better price during the session but just getting out of a losing trade was the correct action in my opinion. The GE trade was a poor decision on my part and I payed for it. Gold was up $8 today and the XAU gained 2 1/2. ABX, GG and NEM all had fractional gains on light volume. I would like to try the gold share calls for April or May. That should be my next trade. I would like to see a base building period here before purchase. We'll see. The dollar had a very weak day. Golds reaction was somewhat muted. I will be keeping an eye on things here. Mentally I'm a bit tired. Trying not to think too much about getting a better price for the April GE calls. It shouldn't matter much because the money involved was minimal. However you want to do your best regardless of the money. I suppose my best today wasn't as good as it could have been. But as usual it's always easy looking back. I'll put that poor trade behind me and go from here. We'll see if the recent volatility continues going forward. The VIX index is at its highest reading since last May. If we get a reversal there I'll be looking to go long somewhere. Expiration Friday tomorrow.

We are are moving in what could be called a waterfall effect as the Dow dropped 242 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 negative. Summation index heading lower with no end in sight as of yet. We are oversold as I said yesterday. There will be a bounce. The timing of which is the question. Perhaps we will just continue lower into the expiration. It's all just a guess in an event driven market that we find ourselves in. GE lost 2/3 on very heavy volume. This trade was a loser from the start. It happens. I'm not sure that even waiting for a bounce will help much here. It's a cut the loss mode for this trade now. Not a lot of money involved thankfully and it will be the first loser of the year. I probably should have just dumped it today. The time taken to monitor this trade is keeping me away from something else potentially profitable. Because there are opportunities out there now, make no mistake about that. Gold was up a few bucks today and the XAU lost 4 1/2. ABX down 7/8, GG off 2/3 and NEM fell 1 3/4. Volume here was good again. We are at a buy signal in the gold/XAU ratio. But we are still in the month of March. I do want to try some gold share calls but in this kind of market it's tough to call a bottom. Oversold on the gold shares here as well. I'd like to see some base building first. The dollar was up a bit today. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep well. The market is falling apart here and I own some GE calls. Obviously this isn't the right strategy. Mistakes will be made and this is one of them. I really need to get out of this trade and not compound the loss. GE is probably not going to come back in the next 4 weeks to make this trade profitable. I should be out tomorrow. We'll see.

Another downer today as the Dow lost 138 points on good volume. Advance/declines were about 3 to 1 negative. We were down twice as much early but the Dow managed to come back again. Oversold here and I would expect a bounce. However we are in such an event driven marketplace at the moment that anything goes. We had a Fed meeting and announcement today and it took a back seat to the Japan saga. I do like how the US market has held up here though. GE lost 1/3 on very heavy volume. It too made a significant comeback and was down a full point more than where it closed. My GE April calls are in the red. I'm thinking of just dumping them if we get the anticipated bounce in the next couple of days. This is a precarious trade at this point. I do not think that holding on into April is the proper course of action. We'll see. Gold got hammered, off $32. The XAU only fell 2 1/4 as the gold shares came back as well. ABX fell 1 3/4, GG off 1 1/8 and NEM down only 1/4. Volume was a bit higher than average. The dollar was higher early but sold off to close about unchanged. Perhaps the Fed had an influence there. That's a guess. I still want to try the April gold share calls but would like to see a base build in here first. You don't always get what you want. However, the gold shares held up much better than the metal itself and that could be a positive going forward. Mentally I'm doing OK, slept well enough. Volatility has picked up here and that makes for shorter holding periods in general for the option trades. There are opportunities. The summation index remains to the downside and that must be taken into account. It's only Tuesday but the week seems like it has lasted a long time already. We'll see if the Nikkei keeps dropping overnight and go from there.

An interesting Monday here as the Dow lost 51 points on average volume. We were down almost 150 during the day. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. Overseas markets tanked but the Dow held up rather well. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Summation index still heading lower. GE fell almost 1/2 on heavy volume. I did put in an order for the April calls overnight and it was filled. I'm not sure this is a trade I want to be in at this point. However GE made a good comeback during the day as well. The calls recovered to break even. I'll have to ponder the trade this evening. Gold gained $3 today and the XAU lost 3/8. ABX, GG and NEM all had fractional gains on light volume. I also left in an open order for some April ABX calls overnight. It wasn't filled and I canceled it. I am still interested in this trade for later this month. The dollar was weaker today. Mentally I'm doing OK. Expiration week is upon us. There is usually a positive bias. However with global events as they are lately, anything goes. More oversold than overbought here on the stock indices. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

A bounce back today as the Dow gained 60 points on light volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. Hard to say where we go from here. Technicals remain oversold. I will have to ponder things over the weekend. GE gained 1/4 on average volume. I'm still considering the April calls there. Gold was up around $10 today and the XAU gained almost 4 points. The gold/XAU signal looks valid but I'm wary. It is the month of March. ABX, GG and NEM all had gains of 1/3 to 5/8 on light volume. The weekly charts there don't look good after the recent decline in prices. I'm still considering the April calls though. The dollar fell pretty good today. I'll need to check things here this weekend as well. Mentally I'm doing OK, slept good for a change. Expiration week is upon us and the risk is high. I'll really need to see something solid to attempt a trade. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

It was a downer as we broke and closed below 12000 on the Dow. At the end of the day it was a 228 point loss on average volume. Advance/declines were 5 to 1 negative. Topics of discussion were a weakening economy in China and civil unrest in Saudi Arabia. The summation index has been moving sideways but today could be the catalyst that actually turns things down. We'll see. The uptrend line from the end of last August on the S&p 500 has been broken. That doesn't mean that we'll go straight down here but it does bear significance. Tomorrow should be interesting. GE lost 1/2 on good volume. I did put in an order for some April calls there today but it wasn't filled. I canceled the order before the close to reassess the situation. Oversold there and approaching the 50 day moving average. I will check things tonight. Gold lost $17 today as the dollar was stronger. Could the flight to safety trade be making a comeback? Time will tell. The XAU fell almost 6 points. ABX, GG and NEM all dropped more than a point on increased volume. The gold/XAU ratio is right at the buy signal. Perhaps just a short term trade here would be worthwhile, I'm not sure. March is historically the worst month for gold and the weekly charts for the gold shares are looking bearish. We are oversold on the gold shares short term though. I've been looking at the April options here but I will have to rethink things this evening. Mentally I'm doing the best I can with the outside influences and the increased volatility. I can say that things are getting better for me with each passing day. I do feel a sense of opportunity here but it won't be easy to figure out how to capitalize on it. 6 days to go for the March option cycle. We'll see what happens overseas tonight and go from there.

I've made it back to the home base but there is plenty of work to do. The markets volatility has picked up. We've been moving sideways for 3 weeks after hitting recovery highs. The longer term uptrend line is still in place for now. Gold went to new highs but has been stalled there. The gold/XAU ration is almost at a buy signal. 7 days left in the March option cycle. I may try something but the prudent course of action would be to ease my way back into things. We'll see about that. GE has followed the overall markets pattern. I should be back with the regular posts tomorrow.

It is the middle of the market day on Thursday and the stock indices are moving higher. We are up over 150 points. I am still not back at my desk but will return at some point next week. Volatility has picked up here but the major uptrend lines in the indices haven't been broken. Gold is trying to break out here but the gold share indices are not following suit. Gold is down today. The 77 level in the US dollar has been slightly violated. Tomorrows employment report could be the key there. Or not. The markets go where they want. GE is trying to hold up here as it did go down and touch the $20 level. My thoughts are scattered even more than usual as I deal with things outside of the markets realm.

Just a quick update from last week. The stock indices sold off but it doesn't look like there was any major damage. GE held its uptrend line that has been in place for weeks. Gold is at a breakout point to the upside at resistance, however the resistance could hold. NEM sold off sharply last week but GG continued higher. The US dollar is back to around the important number of 77. If it breaks down, gold should move through the resistance. We'll see.

The stock indices finally took a hit today as the Dow lost 178 points on average volume. Advance/declines were over 6 to 1 negative. It was the biggest one day loss in quite a while. Now I ask you, what was different today than from last Friday? The Middle East uprisings have been going on for weeks. We've been overbought for weeks. Then why wait for today to have a sell off? Oh, Friday was the expiration of the February options. Gotta make those calls good for everybody that held them. So now we are into the March option cycle. Interesting? Do yourself a favor and don't ever forget the kind of game that you're playing here. GE fell around 60 cents on good volume. Almost back to the uptrend line from the end of November. I have to sit it out here though. Gold on the futures was off $6 after being up $20 yesterday. The XAU fell 3 1/4. ABX, GG and NEM had fractional moves one way or the other on average volume. I'd look to the April option cycle there for the calls. But that's a guess as usual. Mentally I'm spent as I'm dealing with issues far away from the markets. Can't say when the next post will be.

Rally is all this market knows as the Dow gained 73 points on expiration Friday. Advance/declines were positive and the volume was average. The overall market was not as strong as the Dow. It's been a great run since the lows of last September with the S&P 500 up about 30%. I could continue on about how overbought we are but I've just about beaten that to death. You just have to find ways to get long and stay with it. Until something changes, that is the game plan. GE lost a touch on light volume again. Nothing doing there. Gold was up a few bucks and the XAU dropped an 1/8. ABX was up 3/4, GG up 1/3 while NEM fell 1/2. Volume picked up a bit here today. The dollar was weaker by about 1/3. 77 is the key level to watch in the US dollar. If we fall through there with volume than the dollar will have broken a key yearly uptrend line. That would propel gold to new highs in my opinion. There's no doubt that the gold shares are overbought here. But as we've seen with the stock indices, things can remain overbought for quite some time. Another factor for gold here is that the month of March is a seasonal weak period for the precious metal. I may look to get some April gold share calls if we see some weakness in the next few weeks. But that may not happen. Mentally I'm doing OK. Actually my mind hasn't been as focused as it needs to be to be successful trading. That is why I have shied away from making any trades recently. I have a family emergency that I must attend to next week and thereafter. I will not be watching the market every day like I normally do. I will also be without Internet access at times as I travel away from my trading base. The daily blog posts will not be as detailed and there will be days where there are no posts at all. The game is hard enough when you can give it the proper attention. It can become virtually impossible if you can't. Thankfully this is something that I've already learned. If you cannot devote the time and effort needed to be successful in the game it is better to stay on the sidelines. That goes double when you are dealing with extreme emotional issues involving loved ones. These situations do not happen often but they do occur. And it works both ways. You can be in such euphoria that it will affect your trading outlook and just as well be depressed with the same trading consequences. Your mental outlook needs to be on an even keel. Your emotions need to be in check. Your trading results depend on your ability to think in a clear rational manner. That probably won't be possible for me in the near term. I'll write the blog when I get a chance but I can't really say how often that will be. One thing for sure is that the markets certainly don't care about me or my situation. It helps to actually know that. The game will always be available when you're ready to give it the needed attention. But for now it's a Friday afternoon before an extended holiday weekend. Time for a break.

Onward and upward as the Dow gained another 30 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were around 2 to 1 positive. The song remains the same. Overbought, staying there and no changes in sight. It is a market on a tear and has been for quite some time. The technicals don't work in an environment like this. Enjoy the ride if you're long. GE was up a dime on light volume. Nothing doing there. Gold gained another $10 today and the XAU rose 1 1/8. The dollar was lower again today. ABX and NEM each gained about a buck, while GG tacked on 3/8. Volume was nothing special here. The earnings for ABX were excellent and there was a trade that I'm sorry that I missed. But what can you do? I've read that missed money is better than lost money but it doesn't make me feel any better. I'll look to try the gold shares again when they get oversold. If that even happens. We could just power higher like the stock indices have been doing. GG and NEM report their earnings in a week. However we will be moving into the March option cycle and premiums will be pricey. Mentally I'm doing OK. The rally continues but the volume has been pretty mediocre lately. That is about the only fly in the ointment that I can see. There certainly hasn't been any sustained selling anywhere. You cannot argue with price. Expiration Friday is upon us and then a long holiday weekend. I don't expect any surprises tomorrow.

Higher we climb as the Dow gained 61 points on average volume. The advance/declines were almost 3 to 1 positive. Most of the major indices are setting new highs. There are no negative divergences. The news, economic or otherwise, doesn't seem to matter. Money is and has been moving into stocks. Until something occurs to derail this freight train, the trend is up. There is no fighting it. GE was flat today on light volume. The uptrend line comes in at around 20 1/2. We're about at 21 1/2 now. So if we somehow drop a point, the March calls might become the next trade. Gold was up a buck today and the XAU rose 1 1/2. ABX up 1/2, GG up 1/3 and NEM lost a touch. Volume was light. I did consider buying some ABX calls today ahead of the earnings announcement tomorrow but didn't. There was plenty of volume in the options though. Tomorrow will be interesting there. The dollar was lower today but the metal itself didn't rally. There were also more reports of instability in the Middle East. Gold and the gold shares are overbought but as we have seen lately with the stock indices it doesn't seem to matter. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The market continues its relentless climb. ABX earnings tomorrow.

Volume remained light as the Dow lost 41 points. Advance/declines were negative. The Dow actually down 2 days in a row? Who would of believed it? That's the kind of market we are in. I'm not saying that we are at the top but the bullishness is pretty high. We're still overbought but trying the OEX puts here is not advised. I'm staying on the sidelines. GE was flat today on light volume. March calls? Not exactly sure at this point. If we make it back to the uptrend line I may consider it. Gold was up about $10 today and the XAU gained 1 2/3. ABX and GG rose 2/3 and NEM advanced 7/8. Volume light here as well. The dollar didn't do much today. It looks like the ABX February calls would have worked if I could have found an entry point when I was trying to purchase them. I simply failed to make the necessary adjustments. As always it's easy to look back. With the earnings out before the bell on Thursday, do I dare buy some calls tomorrow? No. That is not my typical style of trading but there easily could be some more room to run on the upside. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The risk of putting on a trade here with 3 days to go until expiration and no clear signals is untenable. I will simply have to wait things out and move on to the March option cycle. Not the preferred method of attack but probably the most prudent at this time.

The Dow started the week with a slight loss of 5 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. The overall market was much stronger than the Dow. That usually implies higher prices near term. Combine that with expiration weeks usual positive bias and I think we'll see more gains in the short run. The only trade that I have in mind here would be some OEX puts if we get some more run up tomorrow and Wednesday. We are both short and medium term very overbought. If we hold up for a couple more days, perhaps that is the trade. GE gained 17 cents on light volume. Nothing doing there for now. Gold rose $5 and the XAU gained 4 3/8. GG and NEM tacked on 1/3, while ABX rose a buck. It looks like it's too late for the ABX calls this week. Earnings on Thursday and we've already begun to rise. We'll see. The risk isn't worth it in my opinion but that could change tomorrow. The dollar rose a bit today but closed off its highs. I think maybe the prudent thing to do here is remain on the sidelines. Mentally I'm doing OK. 4 days left in expiration week and unless I try the OEX puts later this week I'm going to have to sit this cycle out. There are always other trades out there. The indices are so blown out to the upside that the technicals just aren't effective. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

There seems to be no stopping this rally as the Dow continued higher today by 44 points. Advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive and the volume was average. The situation in Egypt seems to have stabilized and that was todays excuse to move up. We are still very overbought. But even intra-day declines are bought up as money continues to flow into the indices. Enjoy the ride. GE was up a nickel on light volume. I'm still waiting to trade the March calls there. A pullback to the $20 area would set it up for me. Gold lost a couple bucks today and a bit more in the aftermarket. The XAU fell 3/4. ABX, GG and NEM had fractional moves one way or the other on light volume. I canceled the open order for the ABX February calls. No need to have anything open over the weekend. I will have to reconsider this trade over the weekend. The dollar was up again today and it looks like the 77 level has held there. That would not necessarily be bullish for gold. We do have the earnings for ABX on Thursday next week. A position ahead of that announcement would be the only attempt at this point. The technicals are mixed. Mentally I'm feeling OK. 5 days to go in the February option cycle. Any trade would be quick and risky. That is not my strength but that doesn't mean that I won't try something. The indices are so blown out to the upside that the usual technical sell signals just haven't worked. I'll check the charts over the weekend and try to come up with some sort of game plan for next week. But for now it's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

The Dow closed lower for a change but it was only off by 10 points. The broader market was higher. Advance/declines were even and the volume picked up a bit. The indices are very overbought and have been. All declines are bought and that hasn't changed. Every time I expect a decline it either is short lived or doesn't happen. So on it goes. GE didn't do much today on light volume. I'll try the March calls if we fall back to the uptrend line that began in December. Gold lost $3 and the XAU fell 1 3/4. ABX and GG each lost 1/3 and NEM fell 7/8. Volume was light. The gold shares were lower earlier. I still have the open order for the February ABX calls in but it doesn't look like it will get filled. Perhaps I'll put in a different order before the earnings next week. I'm not exactly sold on this trade anymore but would like to try something. So we'll see. The dollar was higher today and gold itself did not self off and stay there. Perhaps because of the problems in Egypt. That's all just a guess on my part. Mentally I'm feeling OK. 6 days in the February option cycle. A very overbought market and staying that way. The gold shares have bounced and I'm waiting for the next move there. It may be that there won't be a viable trade for this monthly option cycle. So it goes. We can always simply wait and move out to March. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

We traded lower for most of the day but the Dow rallied in the final hour to finish with a gain of 6 points. Advance/declines were negative and the volume was light. The overall market was weaker than the Dow. We're still overbought so I do believe some type of decline is imminent. If only because we've been short term overbought for a few days. This market continues to just simply move higher and that can't last forever. GE was flat on average volume. No trades there for now. Gold was flat today but the XAU lost 3 1/2. ABX and NEM had fractional losses on light volume, while GG gained 1/8 on good volume. GG had some positive news yesterday, which helped explain its good gain and heavy volume in the previous day. The dollar was weaker today. I again placed an order for the February ABX calls. I am not sure that I will do this trade because the technicals are not exactly where I want them. However, I do believe that it could work via the earnings announcement next Thursday. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired today, did not sleep enough. Nothing seems to derail this rally. All declines are being bought. The indices continue to grind higher, with todays downward price movement being an exception. But even today we closed well off the lows. So you can't fight it. I'll try the OEX February calls for next week if I get the chance.

Higher and higher we climb as the Dow tacked on another 71 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. Overbought and staying there but that has been the case since this rally began. We've had some slight pauses along the way but that's about it. The trend remains up until further notice. GE gained 3/8 on average volume. It too has climbed and remained overbought for weeks on end. If we pull back to the daily up trend line then I may try the March calls. Otherwise it will have to be the sidelines there for now. Gold had a good day, up $15. The XAU gained 3 3/4. ABX rose 7/8, GG up 1 3/4 and NEM was higher by 1 1/8. Volume was light here but you cannot deny the price action. We're short term overbought now. I still might try the February ABX calls if we see some down to sideways action. However I'm not exactly sure it's the right way to go. Obviously yesterday was the time to try GG but it is always easy to look back and be correct. The dollar was weaker during the day but made a comeback. I'll need to keep an eye on it since we are near a critical point there. That could be the key as to what happens to the gold market here. The weekly gold share charts look bullish at the moment. That must be kept in mind as well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. Only 8 days to go for the February options. So the risk increases with each passing day. But like I've said before, if a decent signal comes up, I'll give something a try.

It was a positive Monday as the Dow gained 69 points on average volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. Still moving higher but we do have a negative divergence on the RSI indicator. That could change if we have a strong up day tomorrow. However we are short term overbought and due for some pull back. We'll see. GE was up 1/3 on light volume. I'd still like the March calls if the opportunity presents itself. Gold was flat today and the XAU lost 1 1/4. ABX, GG and NEM had fractional moves one way or the other on light volume. The dollar was flat. It's getting late to try the February gold share calls but I still might give them a shot. The risk increases with each passing day though. I may have to go out to the March series. Mentally I'm a bit tired. I'd like to see the indices head lower here for a few days to give me a chance at the February OEX calls for next week. This would be a short term trade with a life of a few days. Not exactly what I normally do but if there's a decent signal I'm willing to give it a try. I would like to attempt some type of trade before the February options are gone. So we'll see what happens.

The employment numbers came out and the market trudges on. The Dow gained 30 points today on lighter volume. Advance/declines were negative. The indices tried to sell off but the uptrend remains intact. Don't fight the trend. We are short term overbought again though. GE lost 20 cents on light volume. Nothing to do but wait there. I'm still interested in the March calls there. Gold lost $4 today and the XAU was down 1 1/2. ABX, GG and NEM all had fractional losses on lighter volume. Not exactly sure which way to go here now. Getting overbought short term so the ABX calls will have to wait. The dollar showed a bit more strength today. We are at a key trend line for the US dollar longer term. We have a 3 year line of support that comes in at around the 77 level. If it holds the dollar will move higher. If not then a weaker dollar could and should be supportive of gold prices. The jury is still out on this one. But it is something to keep an eye on. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep enough. Plenty to ponder over the weekend with 2 weeks to go in the February option cycle. I'll be checking the charts and trying to come up with some type of game plan. For now it's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

We were lower to flat for most of the day but rallied in the last hour to finished higher by 20 points on the Dow. Advance/declines were positive and the volume was average. Bernanke flapped his gums and the market ignored it. Awaiting tomorrows employment data. GE was flat today on light volume. It too was lower for most of the day. Perhaps I'll get a chance at the March calls eventually. Gold was the story of the day, up $20. The dollar had a strong rally as well. We are still seeing a disconnect here. I'm not sure what to make of it. The XAU was up 4 3/4. ABX rose 1 1/8, GG up a buck and NEM led the way higher by 1 2/3. Volume was average. It looks like the window of opportunity has passed for the February ABX calls. We aren't completely overbought yet, however we have moved pretty good from the recent lows. The options are pricey. There is a chance we could pull back next week but the risk to enter the trade would be pretty high. Gold took off during the day today and I can't say it was because of Bernanke or Egypt. So we will have to see where we go from here. I may switch to the GG calls, the option premiums there are more reasonable at this time. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. Not happy about not owning some gold share calls here if this really is a sustained move to the upside in the precious metal. But that remains to be seen and you've got to move on. We'll see what kind of reaction we get to the employment report.

Not much happened in the stock market today as the Dow ended the day with a gain of a point on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. The overall market was a bit weaker than the Dow. Waiting on the employment numbers for the markets next short term direction. Today was a pause to digest yesterdays gain in my opinion. GE lost 9 cents on light volume. It doesn't look like I'll be able to get the March calls at this rate unless we see some type of pullback. Hasn't happened yet. Gold lost $8 today but showed gains in the aftermarket. The XAU fell 2 1/4. ABX down 3/4, GG off 1/3 and NEM dropped 7/8. Volume was light on the decline. The dollar gained a touch today. I still would like to try the February ABX calls if the opportunity presents itself. I'll need to see some more decline though. Lighter volume on the decline could be a positive sign unless we are about to enter a sideways range. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK, slept well. Two weeks and two days for the February option cycle. I'd like to try something but I am not about to push things. Bernanke speaks tomorrow and we'll see where we go from there.

Continuing higher with a vengeance as the Dow gained 148 points on average volume. Advance/declines were over 4 to 1 positive. Can we agree that the trend is up until further notice? Yes. It doesn't look like anything is in the way. Whatever the news, the market goes up. So stick with it. GE gained 2/3 on average volume. It doesn't look like I'll get a chance for the March calls there. This issue has had a great move since the end of November. Gold was up $5 and the XAU gained 6 1/3. ABX up 3/4, GG rose a buck and NEM led the way up 1 3/8. Volume was average. The gold shares have finally outperformed the metal itself. Perhaps the trend is going to change back to the upside here. The US dollar took another hit and was much lower. The economic data has been stronger, we have unrest in Egypt and rates in the US have moved higher. Yet the dollar continues to lose ground. The flight to safety trade is being unwound but it seems the fall in the dollar reflects more than that. Perhaps the economic recovery isn't as strong as being projected. Or maybe countries are diversifying out of the US dollar as the reserve currency. I can only guess. I canceled the open order for the February ABX calls. I'm hoping to try this trade again before expiration. Mentally I'm feeling OK. We're not overbought on the indices anymore, so there's room to move higher. Fridays action relieved the near term overbought condition. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

We ended the month on a positive note with the Dow gaining 68 points on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. The unrest in Egypt continues but it doesn't matter to the market today. It seems like there is nothing to derail the indices. The trend remains higher until further notice. That tune hasn't changed for quite some time. GE lost 6 cents on average volume. Nothing new to report there. Gold lost $7 and the XAU gained 1/4. ABX and NEM had fractional gains, while GG lost 1/2. Volume was good. The dollar lost some ground today and gold was down. It appears that the flight to safety trade continues to be unwound. If rioting in the streets of Egypt can't help find a bid for the dollar and gold, than what can? That said, I put in an order for some February ABX calls. I would still like to try this trade if I get the chance. However it must be done on my own terms. We'll see. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep well. February begins tomorrow and we should see the beginning of the month money flows. Bernanke speaks later in the week and we have Fridays employment report to look forward to. We'll take it one day at a time and see what happens.

Today we finally got some decent downside as the Dow lost 166 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were around 4 to 1 negative. The decline had nothing to do with economics. The market finally took into account the unrest in the country of Egypt. It's been going on for a while but today it made headline news. There's rioting in the streets and it's possible the government won't hold up. The market never likes uncertainty, hence the sell off. GDP came in about around as expected and was not a factor. Players didn't like the numbers from MSFT and that helped the downward trend. We'll see if we get any downside follow through to the indices on Monday. I don't think this is the beginning of a protracted decline. But what do I know? GE lost a dime on good volume and continues to hold up quite well. Its relative strength is superb at the moment. I'd like the March calls at some point. Gold was up over $20 today as the flight to safety trade returned for a day at least. The dollar was higher as well. The XAU barely participated and rose almost a point. ABX up 7/8, GG was flat and NEM lost 3/8. So it was a mixed performance there. Volume was heavy. I'm hoping that the gold shares are trying to put in a bottom here but the jury is still out. I canceled the open order for the February ABX calls but I do still want to try that trade. Perhaps next week before the employment numbers. I'll have to check things on the charts over the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. Today was the first serious decline in the indices in months. We still haven't broken the major uptrend line in the S&P 500. The trend remains higher for now. We will be moving back down on the summation index with todays action though. We'll have to wait and see what Monday brings. The weekend is upon us and it's time for a break.

We closed flat on todays session as the Dow ended the day with a gain of 4 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. We are short term overbought however in a market like this, it doesn't mean anything. We continue to grind higher. The overall market was stronger than the Dow today again. GDP tomorrow. GE was up 1/3 on average volume. Overbought here both short and medium term. I am still looking at the March calls for a possible trade here. I will need to see the overbought condition relieved first though. Gold lost $15 and more in the aftermarket. The XAU dropped 5 1/4. We reversed yesterdays bounce. ABX down 1 3/8, GG lost 3/4 and NEM fell 1 1/2. Volume was good. The US dollar lost some more ground today but once again it did not support the price of gold. Money is leaving both the dollar and gold. Money is leaving the bond market as well. Players are moving towards more risk and that money is finding a home in stocks. That is my best guess at the moment. I still want to try the ABX February calls. I have entered another open order. We'll see. Mentally I'm a bit tired, could have slept longer. I have no clue as to tomorrows GDP but I do think it won't be a weak number. How the market reacts will be the key, as always. There has been nothing in the way of the markets upwards progress. That will probably hold true tomorrow as well.

There weren't any changes from the Fed and the Dow managed a gain of 8 points. The overall market was much stronger that the Dow. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. There is still nothing on the horizon to derail this market. We are getting short term overbought again but it hasn't mattered lately. The trend remains higher. GE lost 6 cents on average volume. I'm still hoping to eventually get some March calls there. The gold shares were the story today. Gold was up $10 and the XAU rose 7 1/4. ABX gained 1 2/3, GG up 1 1/2 and NEM rose 1 1/8. Volume was good. We were very oversold and due for a bounce. The dollar was lower again today. I did not get filled on my open order for the ABX calls. I canceled the order. I'll try again if we get some weakness in the next few trading sessions. I do still want to get some February ABX calls, however the opportunity may just have passed. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling good, slept well enough. The continued strength in the stock indices has been nothing short of amazing in my opinion. The rally that started in the beginning of September continues unabated. It won't last forever. We are overbought both short and medium term. It would be much better for the overall health of this bull market if we got some sort of 10% correction. Hasn't happened though. I am keeping an eye on the gold shares and am hoping today was just a bounce. I still want to be able to try the February gold share call trade. But the market doesn't always accommodate your wishes. I'd expect tomorrow to be flat all around, waiting for Fridays GDP report.

The Dow tried to sell off today but came back once again. We were off 80 points but came back to only have a loss of 3. Advance/declines were slightly positive and the volume was good. The activity today is something that we have seen for weeks on end. The market just doesn't want to go down. You cannot fight that. We've got the Fed tomorrow so we'll see what kind of reaction that brings. GE lost 6 cents on very heavy volume. As I said yesterday, I'd like to try the calls there again if we get some downside. I'm looking at the March options. Gold lost $12 on the futures today, while the XAU dropped 1 3/4. ABX, GG and NEM were mixed with fractional gains and losses. Volume was pretty good. These issues were weaker during the day as well but came back with the overall market. The dollar continued weaker today but again, it didn't help the price of gold. I did put in an order for some February ABX calls but I'm not sure this is exactly the right time. However we are oversold there and a bounce is possible at any time in my opinion. As we all know, my opinion means nothing. The markets and individual issues will go where they please. Mentally I'm feeling OK, slept well. It appears the indices will continue to grind higher. That has been the case and there is no change for now. We'll see if there are any surprises for the Fed tomorrow. I don't expect any changes.

The Dow continued higher with a gain of 108 points on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. There is still nothing to derail the uptrend at this time. We do have a Fed meeting this week and the first look at 4th quarter GDP. However until the longer term uptrend line in the S&P 500 is broken to the downside with volume, we will continue higher. It won't last forever though. GE rose another 30 cents on heavy volume. I would like to try the calls here again for March on a pullback. That remains to be seen. Gold was up $3 today but sold off in the aftermarket. The XAU fell 1 1/2. ABX, GG and NEM all lost about 1/2 to 2/3. Volume was nothing special. The US dollar fell again today but it did nothing to support the price of gold. I'll try the February gold share calls at some point in the next 4 weeks unless we completely unravel to the downside. But for now it's a wait and see approach. Mentally I'm feeling tired, not enough sleep. A good start to the week for the bulls and we'll have to see if they can build on it. I don't expect any surprises from the Fed but you never know. The uptrend in the stock indices has been in place for quite a while. It won't last forever.

It was an upside expiration Friday as the Dow gained 49 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. GE led the market higher with blockbuster earnings. We were also getting to a mildly oversold condition but that was alleviated with todays action. The overall market continues to lag though. Plus the summation index is moving down. So there are crosscurrents going on here. GE soared 1 1/3 on extremely heavy volume. It was the biggest one day percentage move for GE in 2 years. The January call options were the proper play. Perhaps I should have taken a chance this week but hindsight is always correct. I certainly could not have predicted todays explosive move. But it is something to think about in the future. However I really do not have a good track record when it comes to the short term option trades. Gold lost $5 today and the XAU fell 2 1/8. ABX, GG and NEM had fractional moves one way or the other on average volume. The US dollar was down pretty good today and gold did not respond again. My guess is that the risk trade that worked so well last year is being unwound. With the economy supposedly on the mend, fear has moved into the back seat. There is currently no flight to safety into gold and the US dollar. Just as gold and the dollar moved higher together for a time last year, they are now moving lower together as money is reallocated into stocks. That's my guess. I still may try the gold share calls for February due to the oversold conditions in these issues. We'll see. Mentally I'm doing OK. Hard to say where the indices are headed near term. I guess I could make a case for either way. However with GE powering higher, I'm inclined to think that we will continue to move higher in a grinding fashion. But when the Dow is leading things higher, it usually means we are at the end of the ascent. So we'll see what happens. For now it's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

We opened lower today and the Dow was off 75 points during the day. But we made it all the way back to end the day with a slight loss of just 2 points. Advance/declines were negative and the volume was good. Once again the overall market was weaker than the Dow. The summation index has turned down however we still haven't broken the uptrend line on the S&P 500. But we have violated some uptrend lines of the smaller cap stocks. So we are at an important juncture with regards to the near term direction of the stock indices. GE was up a nickel before the earnings tomorrow. Volume was average. I'm guessing the market will take its cue for direction from GE tomorrow. We'll see. I have no trades there for now. Gold took a hit today, down over $20. The XAU lost 3 1/3. ABX down 3/4, with GG off 1/4. NEM was actually up 1/4. Volume was heavy in the gold shares. They were all lower as well but came back with the overall market. The US dollar was a bit higher today. I am looking at the February gold share call options. I will perhaps attempt this trade next week. We are oversold but have been in a kind of free fall since the beginning of the year. Today could have marked the end of the decline but that is a guess and the market will dictate when we turn around. There is no hurry to put this trade on. Mentally I'm feeling OK, slept well enough. The stock indices tried to sell off today but came back. It's hard to say how much of todays action was expiration related. We aren't fully oversold on the indices yet. As for the gold shares, we are oversold but don't have the Gold/XAU ratio buy signal just yet. We'll get through the expiration tomorrow and look forward to the weekend.

The Dow moved lower today by 12 points. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow though. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative and the volume was average. I'm not sure this is the beginning of something major to the downside. We do need to work off the overbought condition of the indices. The uptrend line from the beginning of September remains in place. Todays action should start to move the summation index lower and that's something that we will have to keep an eye on. GE lost 24 cents on good volume. Earnings on Friday and it's anybodies guess what happens after the release. I'm trying to stay on the sidelines there. It isn't worth the risk at this point. Gold was up a couple bucks today but the XAU fell 2 3/4. ABX and GG were down fractionally, while NEM dropped over a buck. We are oversold here and I am looking at the February calls here. The dollar was down again today and it really didn't help gold at all. There is a disconnect going on there and I don't know why. However I do believe that my next trade will be in the gold shares for February. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling fine. Slept well enough and I'm back in the normal market routine. Today was the first really negative day that we've seen this year. We'll have to see if we bounce back tomorrow or get some downside follow through. What actually happens could be the near term key to the market.

We started the week with a gain of 50 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. We continue to grind higher. Nothing has changed with that respect. The summation index moves higher as well. 3 days left for the January option cycle. I will hopefully not attempt any trades for January. GE lost 22 cents on good volume. Earnings are due on Friday. GE has been moving higher for quite a while. Perhaps it's time for a rest. It sold off on the last earnings announcement 3 months ago. Gold was up $7 today and the XAU rose 2 3/3. ABX up a buck or so, GG up 1/3 and NEM up 7/8. Volume was average. The dollar lost a bit of ground. I am looking at the February option cycle for the gold shares. We are short term oversold. However I believe that we need to have some sideways movement for a period of time before we move higher once again. I could be wrong. No trades there for now. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. My constant meetings environment is over. I can now get back to focusing on the markets in the way that is required. I don't have any solid ideas at the moment but that will change as I get back to normal. The trend remains higher.

The relentless climb continues as the Dow tacked on another 55 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. The overall market was stronger than the Dow. It set a nice tone going into a long holiday weekend. Nothing has changed. The trend is up. GE rose 22 cents on lighter volume. Earnings in a week. I probably should not try a trade there with 4 days to go in the January option cycle. But I can't promise anything. I still think we are going to move higher there. Gold took another hit, down $25. The XAU lost 3 1/8. ABX fell 1/3, GG dropped 1 1/2 and NEM lost 1 1/8. Volume was heavy. The dollar didn't do much today, just off a touch. Money is moving out of gold. That is what I read into the current situation. The longer term uptrend is still intact though. I will have to look at things over the weekend to see how low we can go before support kicks in. Mentally I'm feeling tired. It has been a long week of meetings and thankfully I don't foresee that happening again anytime in the near future. There is one more such meeting on Tuesday and that's it. I'm glad it's Friday and I intend to take a nice long rest over the holiday weekend. The charts will be checked but there is plenty of time for that.

We were lower from the start today, bounced around and ended the day with a loss of 23 points on the Dow. Advance/declines were negative and the volume was average. Digesting yesterdays gains is how I would describe it. Nothing in the overall market scenario has changed. GE lost 7 cents on lighter volume. 5 days left on the January options there which means the risk is pretty high to attempt a trade. I still may though. Gold was flat on the day but sold off over $10 in the aftermarket. The XAU shed 7 1/2 points. ABX down 2 1/2, GG off 1 1/2 and NEM fell a buck. Volume was average. The gold shares underperformed by a lot. I don't know the reason. The dollar got clobbered again and gold itself did not react in the typical fashion. There is something going on here but again, I don't know exactly what it is. If we get to a gold/XAU ration buy signal, then I'll look at the gold shares for a trade. Otherwise those charts look bearish. Mentally I'm tired again and it has been a long week. I'll be glad when it is over tomorrow and I can get back into a more normal market routine.

The Dow gained 83 points today on average volume. We were higher from the start and stayed there all day. Advance/declines were almost 3 to 1 positive. The trend is up, remains up and there isn't anything else to say. GE gained 4 cents on average volume. That wasn't much considering the positive day that we had. I still may try the calls there before the earnings on expiration Friday. We'll see. Gold gained a buck but the US dollar really took a hit. Gold itself should have had a better upside move. The XAU lost 1/4. ABX and GG were basically flat, while NEM lost 3/8. Volume was light to average. No trades here for now but I'm keeping an eye on the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling tired. As I said before this isn't the usual market week for me with too many meetings and not enough time for the stock indices. This should be the only week as such this year. On to Thursday and I would expect more of the same, higher prices.

It was a positive day on Wall street as the Dow gained 34 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. We opened higher, eventually came back to unchanged and then rose back up again in the last 2 hours. All signs continue to point higher. We have worked off the short term overbought condition. GE rose 12 cents and it doesn't look like I'll get a chance for the January calls there again. Gold was up 10 bucks on the day and the XAU rose 3 7/8. ABX and GG gained about 7/8, while NEM was up 1/2. Volume was light. Is the decline now over for the gold shares? I don't think so but that's a guess. We are moving up from oversold on a technical basis. But the volume isn't anything to speak of yet. The dollar dropped a touch today. I may start to take a look at the February gold share calls. Mentally I'm feeling tired. Not sleeping enough and my usual schedule has been throw out of whack with a number of meetings that I must attend. I do not see any trades this week but I'll be keeping an eye on things.

The Dow lost 37 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. The overall market was stronger than the Dow. Once again we sold off early, almost down 100 points and came back during the day. The trend remains up even though we have been moving lower the past 3 days on the Dow. No trend lines have been violated. GE gained 8 cents but was higher early in the day. Volume was average. I'll still try the calls again here but it doesn't look like I'll get the chance with only 8 days left in this option cycle. But who knows? Gold was up $5 and the XAU rose 1 1/4. ABX and GG were flat on the day. NEM gained 7/8. Volume was light. The dollar lost a bit of ground today. I still feel the trend is down for the gold shares. No trades one way or the other for now in gold. Mentally I'm feeling tired. I'm in meetings all week and my focus will be compromised. However if the opportunity to trade GE comes along again, I'll give it a try. My posts might be a bit brief this week.

The employment numbers came and went as the Dow lost 22 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were negative. We were down almost 100 at one point in the day but came back yet again. No uptrend lines have been broken and the trend remains intact. However the summation index is starting to stall here and we will have to keep an eye on it. The employment numbers were a bit weaker than expected but did not really excite the market one way or the other. The market did go down but it was well after the numbers had been digested. We're still overbought. GE lost 13 cents and was lower on the day as well. Volume was average. I'm still interested in trying the calls here again. Earnings are out in 2 weeks. Gold lost a couple of bucks as the dollar was stronger yet again. The XAU was up 1/3. ABX, GG and NEM all had fractional losses on average volume after being higher early on. These issues are looking bearish now. They've been in an uptrend for quite a while. I have no trades in mind there for now. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. I was called away for a meeting in the middle of the market day today so my feel for what what went on was skewed. I'll also be in meetings next week. However I am still going to try the GE calls if the opportunity presents itself. We got through the first week of the year on the positive side and that usually bodes well for the year to come. 2 weeks left in the January option cycle. I go over the charts this weekend and take it from there. For now it's the weekend and time for a rest.

A day of waiting as the Dow lost 25 points on good volume. Advance/declines were negative. All eyes will be on tomorrows employment report and the markets reaction to it. The trend is still up. Whenever we have tried to sell off in recent weeks, the stock indices just keep coming back. You cannot fight that, even though we have been very overbought for quite some time. We'll see what happens tomorrow. GE lost 8 cents on lighter volume. I'll still try the calls again there if I get a chance. Gold lost a couple bucks and the XAU continued lower, losing 4 7/8. ABX fell 2/3, while GG and NEM both dropped over a buck. Volume was good here again and the trend has changed from up to down. The dollar was stronger again today, so gold is not the place to be at the moment. I don't have any ideas for trading the gold shares except perhaps try the puts on a snap back rally. The technicals have broken down for the gold shares. Mentally I'm a bit tired, didn't sleep enough. The markets continue to grind higher even with todays slight loss. Unless there is some big surprise with tomorrows numbers, I expect that trend to continue. We'll see.

Another day, another gain for the Dow as we were up 32 points. Advance/declines were positive and the volume was average. Summation index continues higher. We continue to grind higher in a very overbought condition and it has been that way for weeks. Nothing has changed. Employment numbers on Friday and we'll go from there. Tomorrow should be a waiting game. GE was flat on the day with average volume. I'm looking to buy the calls here again if we get some downside. Earnings are out on expiration Friday. Still very overbought here as well. Gold continued lower, off $5 on the futures and we were lower than that. The dollar had a strong session. The XAU fell over 3 points. ABX down 1 3/4, GG lost 1/2 and NEM fell about a buck. Volume here was good again to the downside. The trend has changed here in my opinion. We will get some type of bounce before expiration if I had to hazard a guess. But the timing is the question and I don't have an answer at the moment. Perhaps I'll eventually try the March gold share puts. March is historically a poor month for the price of gold. That is a long way off though. Mentally I'm feeling tired. Did not sleep well. I'm still looking for another trade in the January option cycle. However I think that I will let the employment report pass before I attempt something. All signs still point to higher prices on the stock indices for now.

The Dow gained 20 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. The market tried to sell off today, being negative for most of the day but it came back. The trend is up and that hasn't changed for weeks. We should continue to grind higher in the equity markets. GE gained 33 cents on good volume. Yes, I sold the January calls too early. I did not wait for my target price and we are almost there. Still very overbought here but it doesn't seem to matter. I may want to try these again if we get some type of decline before the earnings on January 21st. Gold got clobbered today, down $44 on the futures. The XAU fell 4 3/4 but was down about twice as much during the day. The gold shares came back with the overall market itself. ABX lost a buck, GG down 1/2 and NEM led the way down by 2 bucks. Volume was good. At least dumping the GG calls yesterday was the right move. The gold shares had lagged the metal itself and the volume on the rise was light. Where we go from here is the next question. The dollar was higher today. If the US dollar has a sustained rally, gold will not be looking good from the long side. I'm on the sidelines there for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. I'm looking for the next trade but nothing seems like a good set up at the moment. It is hard not to lament what could have been with the GE calls after todays positive action in GE. But you've gotta put it behind you and move on. Win or lose the markets keep moving and they don't take into account anybodies trades. There are still quite a few trading sessions before the January expiration. I'll check things over tonight and go from there.