Hello volatility. Or we could say that today was simply a mini-crash. The Dow fell 1833 points on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 6 to 1 negative. The summation index is still moving higher but not as strong as yesterday. The summation index has been moving higher and the market has been moving lower. This is not the normal relationship. Tha NASDAQ led the way lower and that has been a problem for a while. It lost 5 1/2% The S&P 500 chimed in with a drop of around 4 1/2%. Over three hundred points down for the day on the S&P. The short term indicators here have jumped back down and are oversold already. The longer term up trend line that began in April 2025 has been broken. Might get some support at the 200 day moving average at 7325 but we are practically there already. Better support lies at the 7000 level. If that doesn't hold it will be look out below. Still over two weeks left in the November option cycle. However with the technical indicators not in sync with the current price movement, I'll be on the sidelines for now with regards to the SPY options. Gold was up twenty bucks as it finally got a little of the flight to safety money. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were lower. The XAU added 2 points and GDX rose 1 1/8. Volume was pretty good as the gold shares did not follow the market lower for a change. No doubt there were margin calls that were filled by gold but the fact that it held up today is a plus for the bulls. The short term indicators for GDX are still trending higher and it is right on the cusp of its short term down trend line at 86. Perhaps a weaker jobs report tomorrow can push it through that line. Or not. The daily candlestick chart for GDX appears to want to go higher though. My GDX November calls have come back from the dead and are now showing a slight profit. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX had a complete reversal from yesterday and closed at 28. The short term indicators here zoomed higher and some are already overbought. Above the 20 level implies more volatility ahead so be prepared for that. Asia was generally higher and Europe mixed overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

A huge rally today on the heels of the US elections as the Dow soared 1569 on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. There was a big gap higher at the open and stocks held most of their gains. The Dow led things higher. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 were up 1 1/2%. The short term indicators for the S&P are now moving up with room to go. It feels like this will be more than just a one day pop but we'll have to see how things move going forward. Next up is the jobs report on Friday. Gold rallied as well with the futures up $130. The US dollar was lower and so were interest rates. The XAU climbed 26 points and GDX jumped 7. Volume was heavy to the upside. The short term indicators on GDX are moving up with room to go as well. The near term down trend line on the GDX daily chart comes in at 86. A solid break above that trend line would bode well for the gold shares going forward. Hasn't happened yet. My GDX November calls remain losers but now there is a chance that this trade will work. However we all know that things came turn on a dime in this game, so I wouldn't be so sure that profits will happen on this idea. But now there is at least a chance to get out alive. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX sank today and its short term indicators are heading south. It is now firmly back below the 20 level. If the VIX keeps trending down the market will continue to rally. We'll see. Today was one of the better days for the stock market as the rally was broad based. Will things keep moving forward? This question will be answered in the coming days. We are starting a seasonally positive period for stocks though. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of Japan. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Still stuck in a mixed market as the Dow fell 191 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving higher. The NASDAQ had a decent gain today as it led things overall higher. The S&P 500 had a small gain. It closed halfway off of the highs for the session. Some of the short term indicators there are pointing up but the S&P remains short term oversold. The US elections are held today and I'm not sure how the market will react to the news there. The jobs report on Friday will probably be the biggest market mover this week unless something happens on the geo-political front. My thinking is that the market should have rallied by now but the technical indicators are not acting as they usually do. A cautious approach is probably the best plan for now. Gold lost $38 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 5 1/2, while GDX dipped 1 1/2. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are back to pointing down in oversold territory. My GDX November calls are still big losers. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today. The short term indicators here are beginning to stall. The VIX is still above the 20 level so volatility is still an issue. Asia was mixed and Europe lower overnight. We'll check the election results tonight and see if it impacts prices tomorrow.

A mixed bag to start the week as the Dow gained 213 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still moving higher. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 opened with a gap higher only to end the day lower resulting in one day downside reversals. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way down, off 1% today. The S&P had a modest loss and the short term indicators here are getting to oversold. I'm not exactly sure what's going on here but we can see that the market is in trouble. US elections tomorrow and the jobs report on Friday will most likely be market movers. The S&P 500 is breaking down from a channel formed on the daily candlestick chart that began in August. The longer term up trend line comes in at 7400. Gold bounced today with the futures up $57. The US dollar was slightly lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 7 1/8, while GDX gained 2 points. Volume was a bit above average. Some of the short term indicators for GDX have turned up but they remain oversold and GDX finished off of its highs for the session. My GDX November calls continue as solid losers. I'm still looking at a cut the loss trade here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and closed above the 20 level. This is another reason why the market is facing problems on the long side here. The short term indicators for the VIX are moving up with room to go before hitting overbought. So volatility will be a theme for now. Plenty of time left in the November option cycle but I don't have any SPY option trades in mind at the moment. Europe and Asia were higher overnight with the exception of Japan. We'll keep watch on this evenings developments.

Stocks got slaughtered today and only a last hour bounce kept it from being worse. The Dow fell 572 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving higher. It broke out to the upside from the upwards sloping channel yesterday which normally would be bullish. But it seems that these are not normal times for the technical indicators as I've mentioned before. I should have heeded my own advice and moved to the sidelines. The NASDAQ led the way down and lost almost 3%. The S&P 500 fell over 1 3/4%. The short term indicators there are heading down and still have room to go. The S&P is now at the lower range of the sideways channel that it has been in since the beginning of August. The weekly indicators are moving lower and have reached the mid-range level. There is a longer term up trend line that comes in around the 7400 level on the weekly chart for the S&P. Are we heading there? Gold got crushed as the futures lost $140 to close well below the 4000 level. The US dollar was slightly lower along with interest rates. The XAU lost over 18 and GDX slid 4 1/4. Volume was heavy to the downside. The short term indicators on GDX are heading lower and not quite yet oversold. GDX has clearly broken down out of the channel it was in since the beginning of September. The potential inverse head and shoulders pattern that I alluded to earlier on the weekly chart has now been negated. The weekly indicators for GDX are still moving lower and are not yet completely oversold. GLD hit a new 52 week low. Gold never saw any haven bid and is perhaps being sold now to cover margin calls. My GDX November calls are dead no matter how much time is left because they are now too far out of the money. Maybe if we see a bounce before option expiration I can cut the loss to 75% which would be considered a win at this point. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and at one point traded well above the 20 level. It dropped back to close below there. The short term indicators here are now moving up and it closed above its 200 day moving average. It looks like the message here is to expect more volatility in the near term. Quite a day to end the month of October. Still three weeks to go in the November option cycle. I'll be checking the charts over the weekend as usual since volatility can create some decent trading opportunities if you can find them. Asia was mixed and Europe down with the exception of the FTSE to close out the week and month. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Sellers took control today as the Dow fell 132 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index remains in a channel. The inflation data came in where expected. Big tech earnings so far have been mixed. The NASDAQ led the way down by far and that isn't a good sign. The S&P 500 posted a small loss. The short term indicators there are now beginning to slip at the mid-range level. Not sure what to expect next here with the end of the month tomorrow. However todays positive breadth gives hope to the bulls. Gold was off twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was slightly lower and interest rates dropped. The gold shares lost ground as expected on the inflation data. The XAU fell 10 1/2, while GDX dropped over 2 1/2. Volume was about average. Some of the short term indicators for GDX have now turned lower. My GDX November calls are now showing a bigger loss. Not sure how much more time to give this idea but time is on our side for a change. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today and the short term indicators here are beginning to stall. It looks like the daily candlestick chart here wants to go higher which would imply more selling in the near term. We'll see. Closing out October tomorrow. Europe was higher and Asia mixed last night. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

The Fed came and went. There wasn't much reaction as interest rates were left unchanged. The Dow gained 97 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index remains in a channel. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted modest gains. The short term indicators for the S&P are still trending higher with room to go. The S&P did close above its near term down trend line. However we'll have inflation data to deal with tomorrow and it should show higher prices. There will also be big tech earnings to deal with. Gold finished up a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar was slightly lower and interest rates were higher. The XAU was up 3 1/4 and GDX gained 3/4. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX appear to be beginning to stall. It would not be a surprise to see the gold shares lower on higher inflation data tomorrow. My GDX November calls continue to show a loss but less than before. This trade still has a chance to work given the amount of time left in it. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and its short term indicators are still moving down. It did finish up from the lows of the session though. The market made it through the Fed relatively unscathed. We'll see if it can get past the inflation numbers tomorrow. Europe and Asia were generally higher overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.