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

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

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

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

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

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

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