Up we go as the Dow gained 485 points to a new all time high on heavy volume. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving higher. The S&P 500 set a new all time high as well. The short term indicators there are moving up and are not yet completely overbought. It looks like that we've missed the beginning of the year SPY call trade. The laggard here is the NASDAQ which will only be a problem if it doesn't make a new high going forward. There is no overhead resistance for the Dow and S&P. At the rate we are going we will look for the Dow to hit 50000 and the S&P to make it to 7000 before option expiration. Gold continues to shine as it was up over fifty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU gained 16 3/4 and GDX was up 3 2/3. Volume was average. GDX closed at another new high and is not close to being short term overbought. We are not going to chase it here although that might be the correct strategy. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down a bit today. The short term indicators are tracking sideways. They are neither overbought or oversold. Not sure where the VIX is heading next. Eight days left in the January option cycle. Haven't figured out at this point if we'll put on a trade ahead of Fridays jobs report. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of India again. We'll see how things go on Wednesday.

We have all the players back now and the Dow posted a gain of 594 points to a new all time high on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is turning back up. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted gains but not as much as the Dow. The Dow leading isn't the most bullish scenario. The short term indicators for the S&P are starting to turn back up. I did place an order overnight for the SPY January calls but it wasn't filled and I canceled it. Might try this idea again depending on the market price action going forward. However the Santa Claus rally did not take place this year and that could be a warning sign. Gold was up $123 on geo-political tensions. The US dollar finished lower along with interest rates. The XAU climbed 11 1/4, while GDX jumped 2 3/4. Volume was a touch above average. The short term indicators for GDX have turned back up but it did finish well off of the highs on the session. However there is no shortage of buyers it seems on any sell off. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which doesn't fit with higher stock prices. The short term indicators here are inching higher. Not sure what's next for the VIX. Employment data this week is the main economic event. The market price action ahead of that will determine which way we go, if we go at all. I am expecting the market to move higher this week though. I could be wrong. Europe and Asia were higher to begin the week with the exception of India. We'll see if we get any upside follow through tomorrow.

Another day of hanging around but the Dow had a nice gain of 319 points on average volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is starting to stall again. The S&P 500 had a slight gain and the NASDAQ posted a small loss. I expected more buying today and we didn't see it. We are now getting a short term buy signal from one of our indicators. I am looking at the SPY January calls now but the market action isn't that bullish. The short term indicaors for the S&P have rolled over but are beginning to stall. They are at or close to the mid-range area. The short term up trend line here remains intact at the 6825 level. We bounced off of that level today. A break below there would put us back in a bearish stance. Gold was off a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and so were interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional moves one way or the other on average volume. The short term indicators for GDX are still moving lower but look like they want to turn around. The up trend line for GDX remains at 80. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a little lower today. The short term indicators here are beginning to move sideways. Not sure where the VIX is heading next. This is a tough market at the moment as we have a short term buy signal but the NASDAQ is a laggard. That isn't the most bullish set up. I will go over the charts as usual over the weekend to try and come up with a game plan. Two weeks to go in the January option cycle. The Santa Claus rally isn't happening for the S&P. That is usually a warning sign for the bulls. Most of the markets that were open overseas finished higher. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

2025 ends with a thud as the Dow fell 303 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is now moving lower. It appears that we are too late for the SPY January puts but we'll see. However we are almost back to short term oversold on some indicators, which would set up a call trade for the beginning of next year. I'll go over things tomorrow and take it from there. The Santa Claus rally is fading away though. I do expect beginning of the year buying on Friday. Gold was off sixty bucks on the futures. The US dollar finished unchanged and interest rates rose. The XAU fell 4 3/4, while GDX dipped a point. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are back to moving lower. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which fits the down market. The short term indicators here are now moving up from oversold. This supports the idea for the SPY puts. But again, we'll look at things on the day off tomorrow and go from there. Asia was lower with the exception of India. Europe was slightly down with the exception of the DAX. Happy New Year to all.

This is a market that seems to just be waiting around for next year. The Dow fell 95 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is now tracking sideways. The S&P 500 is still short term overbought. We'll get through tomorrow and take it from there. Gold was up $15 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished little changed. The XAU was up 2 3/4 and GDX added a point. Volume was on the light side. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to move sideways. The up trend line for GDX comes in at the 80 level. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up a touch today and remains short term oversold. Not sure what's next for the VIX but it is at a very low level which would imply more stock gains if it can stay down here. 2025 is coming to a close and it was a losing trading year for me, which was the first since 2021. I'll try and do better in the coming year. It was also a year with very few trades. There were ideas that just missed and some that were simply wrong. It reinforces the fact that the trading is never easy. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher overnight. We'll close out this years trading tomorrow.

Some modest selling to begin another holiday week as the Dow fell 249 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving higher but not with conviction. Our short term sell signal was valid but we don't know how long it will last and to what extent. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are still overbought but they have rolled over. We are hoping things turn back up short term as our next idea is to fade whatever rally we see on the first trading day of next year. But markets rarely, if ever cooperate. Gold got absolutely clobbered as the futures fell $196. The US dollar finished unchanged and interest rates dipped. The XAU lost 18 7/8, while GDX slid 5 3/8. Volume was heavy to the downside. The short term indicators for GDX have turned down. The precious metals are overdue for some kind of longer rest but selling has always been met with buying lately. GDX did drop around 20% in October but went right back to new all time highs as of last Friday. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX was up today which fits a down market. It remains short term oversold. Asia was lower and Europe little changed to begin the week. Many players remain away form their desks as markets will be closed Thursday for New Years day. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

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.