Most stock markets moved higher but the Dow lost 21 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still moving sideways. Inflation data came in at the consensus, which wasn't what I expected. Thankfully we did not own the SPY August puts as there was a big gap up at the open followed by a sideways drift for the rest of the session. We did receive a signal from the McClellan oscillator last night for a big move within the next two trading sessions. We'll see if we get that move tomorrow. The NASDAQ led the way higher again today and that remains a plus for the bulls. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are still overbought and staying that way. Now joined by the medium term gauges as well. Not sure how much longer this can last but can be longer than expected during rally phases. Gold up another thirty bucks today. The US dollar was higher today, while interest rates finished relatively flat. The XAU was up 3 1/8 and GDX added 7/8. Volume was light. GDX remains short term overbought like the overall market. I did place an order overnight for the GDX August calls but it will take some selling to get filled. I'm leaving the order out there but may have to switch to the September option cycle going forward. We have yet to see GDX make a pullback to the down trend line that it broke. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits with an overall up market. Still oversold and staying that way. The bulls are in charge. More inflation data on the docket for tomorrow. Asia was mixed and Europe a bit lower overnight. I'll keep watch on this evenings developments.

Just another slow day in the summer as the Dow fell 184 points on lighter volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index continues sideways. Modest losses for most of the major averages with the NASDAQ leading the way. Inflation data tomorrow should get things going one way or the other. The S&P 500 is tracking sideways for now but that should end tomorrow. The short term indicators here are still running in place on the the overbought side of the ledger. I canceled my open order for the SPY August puts as it wasn't going to get filled. I did not want to pay up for the puts even though that is the trade that I feel makes the most sense here. We'll see. Gold was up $11 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were just a touch lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. The short term indicators for GDX are still overbought. If the markets do drop tomorrow on higher inflation the gold shares will probably go with them. I still like the idea of the GDX August calls on a near term pullback. I may even place an order for them overnight. We are waiting for some kind of move lower back towards the down trend line that was recently broken in GDX. Hasn't happened yet. Perhaps will have to wait and try the September GDX calls here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which doesn't fit with a down market. The short term indicators here simply remain oversold. We'll see how the markets react to tomorrows data and go from there. The US/Iran conflict has been quiet lately but that won't last. Europe was mixed and Asia lower with the exception of Japan. All eyes on tomorrows inflation report.

Another slow summer Monday as the Dow dipped 61 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is starting to track sideways again. The NASDAQ led the way lower but the losses were small for all the major indices. It appears to be a waiting game on the inflation data due Wednesday and Thursday. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are traveling sideways in overbought territory. I did place an open order for the SPY August puts but it wasn't filled. I'm leaving it out there. It will take some gain in the S&P to be filled and that may not happen before Wednesday. It would be a short term trade and out before the end of the week if it gets filled. Gold continues to shine with the futures up another $48. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU was up 2 1/3 and GDX added over 1/2. Volume was average. GDX remains short term overbought on the daily indicators. Any pullback here would perhaps give us a shot at the GDX August calls as buyers have returned to this space in force. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX was higher today which fits a down market. The short term indicators remain oversold. The VIX is well below the 20 level as the bulls are in charge. I will have to decide tomorrow if I want to pay up for the SPY August puts. Probably not is my feeling at the moment but we'll have to wait and see. Asia was higher and Europe mixed to begin the trading week. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Buyers returned today as the Dow rose 151 points on good volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is back to trending higher. The jobs report was weaker than expected and we had a gap higher at the open. There was some back and forth during the day but stocks remained positive throughout. The NASDAQ was the leader and that's a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 had a decent gain and closed at a new all time high. The short term indicators here are now moving sideways in overbought territory. The sell signal we received turned out to be short lived but that was not unexpected. There is no overhead resistance for the S&P. Gold continued its run higher as the futures were up $103. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 23 1/2, while GDX climbed almost 6. Volume was heavy again to the upside. GDX is short term overbought and will probably stay that way. Gold and the gold shares had a tremendous week to the plus side with huge gains. GDX was up 20% in just a week, breaking through down trend lines that were in charge. I still like the idea of the GDX calls on a pullback but the lions share of the gains have most likely already been made. Mentally I'm feeling a bit frustrated as taking the big loss in the gold share calls last month probably helped deter me from trying them again last week. There was an opportunity and I let it slip through my hands. It has happened before and it will probably happen again. The market doesn't care. The VIX was lower to a new six month low. It remains very oversold on the short term indicators but can stay that way during rallies. I will be going over all the charts this weekend but I do have a trade in mind already for next week if the market cooperates. Inflation data will be out on Wednesday and Thursday of next week. If the market continues higher early in the week and the NASDAQ does not break out to a new all time high I'll be looking at the SPY August puts. It would be a short term trade to be entered prior to the inflation numbers. Market rarely cooperate though. Plus we remain at the mercy of the next headline out of the US/Iran conflict. Asia was once again mixed and Europe higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Hanging around on a summer Thursday but the Dow got clocked to the tune of 464 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. Waiting on tomorrows jobs report. The Dow led the way lower and that isn't the most bearish scenario. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted minor losses. The short term indicators for the S&P are starting to trend a bit lower in overbought territory. My guess is that the past two days were spent digesting the big previous gains. We'll know more after tomorrows price action. Gold finished flat on the session. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional moves one way or the other on average volume. The short term indicators on GDX are now overbought. I'll consider the August calls here for GDX if we get some near term decline towards the recently broken down trend line on the daily and weekly charts. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which doesn't fit with a negative market. The short term indicators for the VIX remain oversold. I'm still not sure what comes next for the VIX. At this point it appears that we'll let tomorrow come and go. Then we will focus on next week and a possible trade there. Still at the mercy of the next US/Iran conflict headline. Asia and Europe were mixed overnight. We'll see how the market reacts to the employment report tomorrow.

Back to a mixed picture as the Dow rose 263 points to close at another record high on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still trending higher. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted losses on the session with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. The Dow along with the S&P 500 and other major indices have recently posted record highs. The NASDAQ however has not. This is a fly in the ointment for the recent rise. I expect that it will work itself out and the NASDAQ will post new all time highs soon. But if it doesn't we'll need to watch out. The S&P had a one day downside reversal today as it opened higher and closed lower. The short term indicators here are beginning to stall in overbought territory. One of the indicators that we use is now flashing a sell signal for the S&P. There is a chance that the S&P will return to the breakout point of 7600 but that would be viewed as an opportunity to try the SPY August calls. Gold soared as the futures climbed $154. The US dollar was lower and interest rates slightly lower. The XAU gained 22 1/4 and GDX jumped 5 3/4. Volume was heavy to the upside as GDX got above the down trend line on its daily chart that has been in effect since the beginning of the year. The short term indicators here are pointing up but are short term overbought now. Any decline in the gold shares can now be bought. If we see a snap back to the line that was broken, the GDX August calls will be in order. We believe that todays high volume break out above the down trend line for GDX is for real and will now chase this move if given the chance. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX had a wide range but finished the day lower. The short term indicators for the VIX are moving sideways in oversold territory. During rallies the VIX can remain oversold for some time. We'll see how it goes this time around. Waiting on a so called peace agreement for the US/Iran conflict and Fridays employment report. Asia was higher and Europe mixed overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Powering higher to record levels as the Dow gained 907 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving higher. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way and that's a plus. New all time closing highs for the Dow and S&P 500. The S&P has broken out to the upside from the sideways congestion zone. The short term indicators here continue higher and are almost overbought. There is no overhead resistance now for the S&P so we will have to see how far it can go from here. Gold was up $43 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat again and interest rates were lower. The XAU was up 8 3/8, while GDX added 1 7/8. Volume was just shy of average. The short term indicators for GDX are still trending higher. GDX has now broken above the down trend line on its weekly candlestick chart. However the week isn't over yet. The daily chart still has the down trend line in effect. A close above 79 would be a positive sign there. Obviously we've missed out on the calls for GDX but we'll see where things go from here. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up today and that does not fit with a huge move higher in stocks. The short term indicators here are starting to move sideways in oversold territory. I'm not sure what comes next for the VIX. The conflict in Iran along with earnings continue to be on the forefront of trading for now. There is still plenty of time in the August option cycle. Europe was up and Asia mixed overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.