Hanging around on a holiday Friday. The Dow fell 20 points on pretty light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still trending to the upside. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 had minor losses. Overbought short term technical conditions have not changed. Gold continues to shine as the futures gained $59. The US dollar finished flat and so did interest rates for the most part. The XAU was up about 5 1/4, while GDX added around 1 1/2. Volume was a bit above average. GDX continues to be overbought and continues to hit new all time highs. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was slightly to the upside today. Oversold and staying that way. We still have a short term sell signal on one of our indicators. I'll be checking the charts over the weekend to see if it is worth trying that signal or waiting until the new year. Asia was generally higher and Europe mixed to close the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

A half day of trading led by the Dow as it gained 288 points on extremely light volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is still trying to move higher. The S&P 500 set another new all time high. It has made it through the overhead resistance albeit on light volume. It remains short term overbought but there is nothing in the way of higher prices. We do have a short term sell signal now on one of our indicators. I am looking at the SPY January puts. Gold finished flat on the day as did the US dollar. Interest rates dipped. The XAU lost 2 1/2 and GDX shed 3/4. Volume was light and GDX is still overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continues lower and is short term oversold. The rally seems to be for real when we assumed that a bottom was put in a week ago. We'll see how it plays out going forward. Europe and Asia were mixed as holiday mode is in order. Merry Christmas everyone.

Drifting higher as the Dow gained 79 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is slowly moving up. The NASDAQ barely led things higher. It's a holiday week and players are away from their desks. The S&P 500 closed at a new all time high. The short term indicators there are moving up or already overbought. Just a half day of trading tomorrow. We are on the sidelines with regards to the SPY options for now. Gold was up over fifty bucks on the futures to close above the $4500 level. The US dollar was lower and rates finished mixed. The XAU was up over 1 3/4 and GDX finished flat. Volume was light. GDX remains short term overbought. The gold shares did not follow gold higher today. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower and closed below 14. It continues to be short term oversold. We should have continued light trading for what's left of this week as many will be taking Friday off. Europe and Asia were generally higher overnight. We'll continue to keep an eye on things going forward.

Holiday mode in the market for now as the Dow rose 227 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move higher. The S&P led things higher today. We did get a signal from the McClellan oscillator on Friday for a big move within the next two sessions. Not sure if today qualifies so we'll see how things go tomorrow. It really looks like the S&P is just going to push on to new all time highs again this week but you never know for sure in this game. The short term indicators are moving higher and some have room to go. The weekly S&P 500 chart is overbought. The lagging NASDAQ is a concern. But we are in a seasonal positive period for stocks. Gold jumped $90 to a new all time high on the futures as it closes in on $4500. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were up a bit. The XAU climbed 10 3/4, while GDX was up 3 points. Volume was a bit above average. GDX is short term overbought and staying that way. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and is almost at 14. The low reading for the VIX suggests that the market rally will continue. The short term indicators here are oversold or almost there. We are patiently waiting for the next decent techncial signal for the next option trade. Asia was higher and Europe lower to begin the week. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Closing out the week on a positive note as the Dow rose 183 points on expiration heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way here and that is a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 posted another good gain. The short term indicators on the S&P have turned up. I'm inclined to believe that we've put in some type of at least a short term bottom here. Stocks are moving into a positive seasonal period with the Christmas holiday week coming up. At this point we are looking at the beginning of next year to trade the options again. But we'll see how things shape up. Gold was up six bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU soared 9 3/8, while GDX was up by 2 1/8. Volume was slightly above average. The short term indicators for GDX are getting back to overbought but not completely there yet. The gold shares followed the overall stock market today. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower today and its short term indicators are turning down. Some have already reached oversold territory. I'm still not sure what's next for this indicator. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend but am prepared to stay on the sidelines next week as we roll into the January option cycle. Asia and Europe finished higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

We got a much needed bounce today as the Dow gained 65 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. Inflation data came in lighter than expected. The NASDAQ led things higher and that is a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 had a decent gain as well and closed back above its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators here are trying to move back up. I am staying on the sidelines with regards to the SPY options for now. Gold was off $7 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates dropped. The XAU and GDX both ended the day little changed. The short term indicators for GDX are moving sideways. Not sure what to expect for the gold shares next. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits an up market. The short term indicators here are mid-range. Looks like it could go either way from here. Option expiration Friday on tap so things could get volatile. It is also the last day before a holiday week. Asia was mixed and Europe higher overnight. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

To the downside today as the selling continues and the Dow fell 228 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving sideways. Once again the NASDAQ led the way down and that hasn't been a good sign. My idea of trying the SPY December calls has been wrong. Thankfully we never purchased any since we did not get a solid technical signal. One could occur here soon but it is too late for the December option cycle. The S&P 500 was lower and now has closed below its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators here are heading down with some in oversold territory. Not exactly sure what is going on but the market always knows more than we do. Inflation data due out tomorrow. Gold was up $41 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished basically unchanged. The XAU was up 2 7/8, while GDX added a buck. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to move sideways. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which fits a down market. The short term indicators on the VIX are still moving up. The VIX seems to be implying that there is more selling to come. We'll see. Asia was generally higher and Europe generally lower overnight. We'll see how the market reacts to the economic numbers tomorrow.