What a way to end the month as the Dow powered ahead by 331 points on extremely heavy volume.  The advance/declines were positive but not by the percentage that you usually would see with a market gaining so much.  The summation index is moving higher.  I've seen this kind of move before in this rally.  I always think that it is the final speculative blow off for the market.  But the market just then moves sideways and takes off again.  We're still in the overbought and staying that way category but this is really getting extreme.  But there is no overhead resistance so we'll just have to see how high this rocket can fly.  Soaring through 24000 was no problem.  Hopes of the tax bill being passed was the general reason for the advance but it hasn't happened yet.  If and when it does we have to ask, what's left for the market after that?  GE was lower by 19 cents and as usual couldn't even participate in an over 300 point gain.  Perhaps the January calls here isn't such a great idea.  I'm leaving the order open for now though.  Gold dropped almost ten bucks again.  The US dollar was a bit weaker.  The XAU and GDX had slight fractional losses on average volume.  Mentally I'm feeling tired.  We've had a great rally for the December option cycle so far and I'm languishing on the sidelines.  SPY calls were obviously the way to go.  But I can only control what I do.  When the outside influences of life take over, you have to step aside and be patient.  Only your best effort is what is required to have a chance to be successful.  Anything less usually won't cut it.  The VIX is on the rise and the market along with it.  That is an unusual combination.  I don't know what it means.  The breadth however is nowhere near what it should be for the major moves that we've seen so far this week.  We are heading straight up and in my experience that usually doesn't end well.  But like I said, it's already happened a few times this year and it hasn't meant anything.  Asia was mixed and Europe lower in last nights trade.  We'll begin the month of December and close out the week tomorrow.

A really mixed bag today as the Dow was higher but the NASDAQ much lower.  The Dow gained 103 points on good volume.  The advance/declines were practically even.  The S&P 500 was flat.  The summation index continues higher.  Tech stocks took a hit which explained the NASDAQ loss.  The big caps powered forward and are approaching 24000.  Overbought once again with no overhead resistance.  We'll have to wait and see if the NASDAQ decline is a sign of things to come.  Probably not.  GE was up a few cents and volume remains pretty solid.  Gold dropped about ten bucks today.  The US dollar didn't do much.  The XAU fell 1 1/2, while GDX shed 3/8.  Volume was heavy.  It looks like a leg down is beginning for the gold shares.  We'll see if there is follow through selling tomorrow.  Mentally I'm exhausted from the move of the office.  I really need to get some rest tonight for a change.  I simply cannot put in the time and effort required to be successful in this game under these conditions.  Nobody would be able to.  Hopefully things will return to normal next week but there are no guarantees.  Asia and Europe were both mixed last night.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Rally mode and huge as the Dow gained 255 points on average volume.  The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive.  The summation index is heading up.  Money is still pouring into stocks.  Is it because of renewed hope for a tax plan?  Bitcoin?  Who knows?  We do know that there is no overhead resistance.  The short term technical indicators are extended to the upside but that hasn't matters for a while.  We just had a consolidation and now we're in the breakout.  With the summation index turning around the trend is up for the foreseeable future.  GE was up over 1/4 on good volume.  I still have the open order out for the January calls here.  We'll need to see some pullback in order for this trade to be filled.  I do still like the idea.  Gold and the US dollar finished flat today.  The XAU and GDX both had slight fractional losses on light volume.  Mentally I'm really feeling tired after this move of the trading office.  It is really a hassle that you don't want to contend with.  It's supposed to be an upgrade but we'll see how it plays out.  The trading in itself is quite a chore.  Throw in some outside obstacles and distractions to make the job that much harder.  I'll simply just stick to the GE January call trade attempt for now.  I'm really very tired and will probably feel that way all week.  Hopefully things will get somewhat back to normal next week.  Asia looked rather flat but Europe rallied last night.  We'll see if we get some follow through to todays stellar gains in the US tomorrow.

Hello.  The office moved yesterday and things did not get back up in time for Mondays blog.  The usual half-assed, incompetent effort that's involved when you can't just do things yourself.  Thankfully it was a non event day in the markets with not a lot of change.  The blog will be back as usual later today.  Thank you for your patience and my sincere apology.

Just a quick note on this holiday shortened session.  The Dow rose 31 points today on extremely light volume.  The advance/declines were positive.  The summation index is moving higher.  This week has been a rise as was anticipated for the holiday.  More new all time highs for some of the major stock indices.  No overhead resistance and unless something comes from out of the blue, you can expect higher prices going forward.  That's my take on things at the moment.  GE was little changed.  Gold was off a couple bucks despite a drop in the US dollar.  The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on very light volume.  Mentally I'm feeling tired.  Europe and Asia were mostly higher last night.  Enjoy the rest of your long weekend.  We'll be back at it on Monday.

A bit lower today as the Dow fell 64 points on light volume.  The advance/declines were positive.  The summation index has turned around and is moving up.  The overall market was stronger than the Dow with the NASDAQ showing a gain.  Not much to make of todays price action.  More of the same on Friday.  GE was up 1/3 on good volume.  Perhaps the decline has ended for GE.  Gold was up $10 as the US dollar got clobbered.  The XAU was up a point, while GDX rose 20 cents.  Volume was better than yesterday.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  Holiday mode for the market and this blog.  Light volume will be the norm until we get things going again next week.  As I have already said, with the small stocks leading the way, higher prices should be in the future.  Asia was higher and Europe mixed last night.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone. 

Powering higher now as the Dow gained 160 points on OK volume.  The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive.  The summation index has turned back up here.  New all time highs for the S&P 500 and intra-day for the Dow.  It appears that the consolidation period is now over and higher we will go.  The small stocks are leading the way and the RUT has taken off as well.  The TRAN showed some life today as well.  I didn't think we would see much action with this being a holiday week but I was wrong on that.  Yes, I thought that we would have a positive week but not to this extent.  GE isn't going along for the ride as it lost 15 cents on still heavy volume.  My order for the January calls here remains in effect.  Obviously I still think that this trade has a chance to succeed but it has to get filled first.  Or I could simply be wrong again.  Gold and the US dollar were barely lower.  The XAU and GDX had slight fractional gains on light volume.  Nothing new to report from this sector.  Mentally I'm feeling tired, not enough sleep.  It appears that the next leg up for the stock market has begun.  There remains no overhead resistance so there is no telling how far we will go.  With the small stocks in the lead, you can believe that the rally will last.  In retrospect it looks like the SPY December calls were the way to go.  However it is where we go from here that counts.  I would expect things to thin out tomorrow ahead of the holiday.  Friday will be a shortened trading day.  So I would guess that we won't see much price movement one way or the other from here.  It's probably best to simply sit back and relax until next week when everybody returns from the holiday.  That's what I'm going to do for sure.  Europe and Asia were higher last night as stocks are getting bid around the world.  We'll keep an eye on the overnight trading.  

Moving higher on Monday as the Dow gained 72 points on light volume.  The advance/declines were positive.  The summation index is still trying to turn around here.  The overall market was not as strong as the Dow.  It's a holiday shortened week, so I do think we'll see a positive bias.  I also think that any trades for the SPY should be put off until next week.  The trading will be thin this week.  GE was off about 1/4 on good volume.  Oversold and staying that way.  I do still have my open order in for the January calls here.  Gold fell $20 on the futures and I do not see an obvious reason for that.  The US dollar was a bit higher.  The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on average volume.  There remains no love for gold or the gold shares.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  The TRAN continues to languish, however the RUT has had a very nice 3 day gain.  I'm still looking for new all time highs in the major stock indices in the coming days or weeks.  There hasn't been any fundamental change in the economy and the recent stall in prices here looks like a consolidation to me.  We'll know for sure in due time.  With the summation index attempting to turn around here, if that were to occur then it would be all systems on go for higher prices.  The summation index may turn around this week.  Asia was mixed and Europe higher last night.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

There was no follow through to yesterdays bounce as the Dow fell 100 points on light volume.  The advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive though.  The summation index is trying to turn around here.  The overall market was stronger than the Dow.  We did not see the usual heavy expiration volume today and I have no explanation for that.  We will be moving into holiday mode for Thanksgiving week coming up.  I do not expect a lot of price movement in the coming trading days.  Basically I'm anticipating being on hold for a week.  We're still medium term overbought but could remain that way as we have for the past couple of months.  Earnings season is now over and I suppose that the market will now focus on the tax deal.  That's my guess for now.  GE was off a few cents and the volume remains pretty heavy.  I'm leaving in the open order for the January calls here.  Gold caught a bid as the futures rose $16.  The US dollar was a bit weaker.  The XAU and GDX had minor gains on better volume.  But there's still no real interest her in my mind.  Mentally I'm feeling tired, did not sleep well.  The market hasn't just gone straight up for the past couple of weeks but I do not think that it is a change to the upside prognosis.  I'm still a believer that this is a pause before we go to new all time highs before the end of the year.  The recent weakness in the TRAN along with the RUT have not manifested itself with a drop in the overall market.  Those two indices are often leaders but that hasn't happened in this case.  The fact that the other small stock indexes are practically at all time highs strengthens the case for a positive outcome to the recent market sideways to lower action.  I'm thinking perhaps SPY calls in the future but will let next week pass at the least.  Asia was higher and Europe lower last night.  It's Friday afternoon and time for a break. 

We got a bounce today as the Dow zoomed 187 points on lighter volume.  The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive.  The summation index is still moving lower but may attempt to turn around here.  No real news to drive prices higher today so perhaps the move was a result of the short term oversold condition.  It's been kind of a strange week for price movement in my mind so we'll have to see what happens tomorrow.  The short term technical indicators have now turned up for the major indices, so we'll look for follow through tomorrow.  GE just hung around today but the volume was huge.  Apparently there are still plenty of sellers.  Gold and the US dollar both finished little changed.  The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves lower on extremely light volume.  Again, no interest in the gold shares.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  Some small stock indices recorded new intra-day highs today.  That tells me that most likely the sideways to lower price movement we've seen lately is coming to an end.  Unless we see a dramatic turnaround back down tomorrow, I'd look for higher equity prices going forward.  New all time highs for the Dow and the S&P should be forthcoming.  That's my best guess at the moment.  We'll get through the November option expiration tomorrow and then things should quiet down with a shortened holiday week on tap.  Europe and Asia were both higher overnight.  We'll finish up the week tomorrow.  

Continuing lower today as the Dow fell 138 points on average volume.  The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 negative.  The summation index is still heading lower.  No positive expiration bias this time around.  The VIX did spike higher but came off of its highs for the session, a repeat of yesterday.  We're still not completely oversold for the short term on the major big cap indices but we're getting there.  It also hasn't been much of a percentage decline there either.  I do expect some type of bounce before the end of the week.  The quantity and quality of that should tell us something.  GE was up 1/3 on very heavy volume.  Has the bottom been put in?  Or is this just short covering?  I'm leaving in my open order for the January calls here.  Gold was off five bucks.  The US dollar finished little changed.  The XAU and GDX were little changed as well.  Volume here remains very light and uninteresting.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  We sold off early again today and made our way back for much of the session.  The difference today was that we sold off again into the close.  We'll see if that makes a difference going forward.  There were no big surprises from the economic data released today.  The small stocks still have good relative strength here, so I'm not expecting some type of imminent collapse.  To me it's still a sideways consolidation before the next leg up.  If we drop from here then I may have to change that thesis.  Foreign stock markets have had a sharper drop but they usually aren't the leaders.  We'll keep an eye on this going forward.  Europe and Asia were both lower last night with Asia taking the worst of it.  I 'll expect some kind of bounce tomorrow in the US.  We'll keep an eye on the overnight trading.    

Just another day of selling off early and then coming back.  The Dow fell 30 points on good volume.  The advance/declines were negative.  The summation index is still moving lower.  Once again the overall market was weaker than the Dow.  We've had plenty of chances to sell off here and it just hasn't happened.  I do think that we are having a sideways correction before we once again move to new all time highs.  I'm not sure how long we'll go on like this but that is what I think is happening here.  The VIX has spiked up here but looks like it is going to roll back over.  The short term technical indicators for the major averages have rolled over but are not completely oversold yet.  GE got slammed again and was off over a buck.  Volume was like yesterday, out of control huge and negative.  I adjusted my January call option order here again to a lower strike price.  I'll feel more confident about this trade the lower we go.  The trouble is that I certainly don't know how far this stock is going to drop.  Gold was up a little over a buck as the US dollar had a weak session.  The XAU and GDX didn't move much on light volume.  Still no love for the gold shares.  We have yet to see the usual positive bias that occurs during option expiration week.  So far it doesn't look like the TRAN and RUT are going to lead us lower here.  The other small stock indices remain near their highs and that's a positive.  I still do not have any SPY trades in the works for the near term.  Although the summation index continues to go down, stock prices really haven't followed.  Again, when the indicators stop working it's probably best to simply step aside.  I also haven't had a good handle on things lately and I'm not feeling 100% yet.  I will keep trying the GE trade though.  Sometimes it is a good idea to try and step in when nobody else wants to.  Europe and Asia were both lower but not by a lot.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Once again the market sold off at the open and came all the way back.  The Dow gained 17 points on average volume.  The advance/declines were slightly negative.  The summation index continues lower.  The overall market was just a bit better than the Dow.  We'll get inflation data and retail sales this week.  It's also options expiration week so we'll look for the usual upside bias.  Perhaps that explains todays price action.  I don't have any SPY trades in mind here.  GE got clobbered today as it cut the dividend in half.  It lost 1 1/2 on outrageously heavy volume.  I did place an open order for the January calls here but then canceled it to go to a lower strike price.  I'm leaving the order good until canceled so if we see some more downside it may get filled.  This could be another trying to catch the falling knife trade and we all know what usually happens there.  I'm willing to give it a shot here though.  GE won't drop forever.  Gold gained a few bucks on the futures as the US dollar was barely lower.  The XAU and GDX barely moved on very light volume.  No interest in gold for now.  Mentally I'm feeling a bit better but not completely back to good health.  I should be back to normal soon.  More rest will hopefully do the trick.  The VIX looks like it is ready to roll back down and that should lead to higher prices.  The RUT appears to be trying to put in a bottom here as well and that would be bullish.  It really appears as though the major stock indices have put in some sideways consolidation and now are ready to go higher.  A turn back up in the summation index would solidify that thesis.  Hasn't happened yet but may very well in the coming sessions.  We'll be watching.  As for the potential GE trade, I'll just have to see what goes on from here.  GE did finish off of it's low for the day, so there is a chance that the worst is now over.  There's also the possibility that the shorts are simply starting to cover here.  Time will tell.  Asia was mixed with the NIKK taking a big drop.  Europe was lower.  We'll keep an eye on the overnight action. 

Another attempt at a sell off but the Dow fought back again.  The most watched index finished with a loss of 39 points on average volume.  The advance/declines were negative.  The summation index is still heading lower.  This is looking more and more like a sideways consolidation before we move to new all time highs again.  The short term technical indicators have rolled over for the S&P but it looks like they want to turn back up again.  It has been an incredibly resilient market.  The weakness in the RUT and TRAN haven't meant anything here yet.  The trend remains higher for the major stock indices.  GE came to life a day ahead of what should be a dividend cut at their shareholders meeting on Monday.  It gained fifty cents on very heavy volume.  Perhaps all the bad news has been filtered into the stock but we'll know more on Monday.  I will be looking to purchase some January calls there if it starts to head south.  Gold lost a little over ten bucks today despite a slight drop in the US dollar.  The XAU was down 1/4, while GDX shed about 1/3.  Volume was light.  Oversold here but still no love for the gold shares.  Mentally I'm still tired and ill so that's not the best combination for trying to play the game.  If the RUT and TRAN are going to lead things here, I would have expected to see more of a decline this week.  Some of the major stock averages were negative but not by much.  It still has the look and feel to me as a pause before we move higher.  The VIX did move up slightly this week but evidently not enough to have a legitimate decline.  We'll see how things play out going forward.  The market is somewhat focused on the Trump tax plan but that has yet to finalize the details.  Unless we get some kind of external shock out of nowhere, I'm still looking for higher prices.  Just waiting for whatever news comes out of the GE shareholders meeting on Monday to decide what to do about initiating a trade there.  This may not be the best idea either as there will probably be some tax loss selling in December.  I'll consider the possibilities over the weekend if I'm feeling up to it.  Europe and Asia were lower last night.  It's Friday afternoon and I need some rest.

The market tried to sell off today on a delay with the new tax law but did manage to make a comeback.  The Dow fell 101 points on pretty good volume.  The advance/declines were negative.  The summation index is still moving lower.  The Dow was off well over 200 points midway through the session.  It cut that decline in half and then some.  The market shrugs off bad news repeatedly.  The short term technical indicators for the major indices have rolled over.  We'll see if this actually leads to a sustained decline.  GE was off 1/8 on good volume.  Still waiting on a dividend announcement here.  Gold was up a couple backs.  The US dollar was weaker.  The XAU and GDX had slight fractional losses on light volume.  Mentally I'm feeling tired and I am ill with some kind of flu.  So this post will be short.  We'll see if we get any follow trough selling tomorrow.  Europe and Asia were lower overnight with the exception of the Hang Seng.  We'll finish out the week tomorrow.

The Dow continues the grind higher today by 6 points on very good volume.  The advance/declines were barely positive.  The summation index is still moving lower.  The overall market was stronger than the Dow.  Overbought now for weeks and weeks.  It is sounding like a broken record.  All you can do is stay long because we've gotten plenty of sell signals and none of them have worked.  The VIX remains below 10.  Only the RUT and the TRAN have been in mild consolidations lately.  But there hasn't been any meaningful declines this entire year.  GE was off about a dime on lighter than lately volume.  Gold rose $6 on the futures as the US dollar was just a touch higher.  The XAU and GDX had slight fractional gains on light volume.  Gold is trying to hold its recent lows.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  So where do we go from here has been the question for quite a while.  The answer so far this year has always been higher.  Stick with the trend is all you can do.  I've been waiting for a correction or some type of decline but it just doesn't happen.  Very short term overbought and extended here but it just doesn't seem to matter.  We are still in a very favorable seasonally time frame.  So I suppose we'll just have to ride it out to the inevitable end.  I do think that it will end badly when it comes.  I still think that we are in the 5th and final wave up of a move that began with the lows of March 2009.  So we will have to wait and see.  Europe and Asia were mixed in last nights trade.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.  

The Dow keeps chugging along as we had selling throughout the session but finished with a gain of 8 points on pretty good volume.  The advance/declines were negative.  The summation index is still heading lower.  The overall market was a bit weaker than the Dow.  Overall conditions remain the same.  Overbought, staying that way and the rally continues on.  We're due for some kind of pullback here in my mind but it probably won't last too long at this rate.  The RUT was much weaker today and it is often times the leader of things to come so stay tuned.  GE was up a few cents and volume is getting back to normal.  Has the selling finally dried up here?  We'll find out once they cut the dividend.  Gold fell $5 on the futures as the US dollar was a bit higher.  The XAU and GDX had slight fractional losses on light volume.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  So on the rally goes.  The summation index continues to head down yet the Dow continues to make new all time highs.  Something has to give here sooner or later.  Either the summation index will turn around or we'll finally get some weakness in the market.  We are pretty extended above the 50 day moving averages in some indices.  So I would expect prices to head back to there at the least.  We can only watch and wait at this point because I have no SPY trades in mind at the moment.  Asia was higher and Europe lower in last nights trade.  We'll keep an eye on tonights market action. 

The Dow managed a 9 point gain to begin the week on average volume.  The advance/declines were positive.  The summation index is still trending lower.  Not much to say about todays price action.  We traded in a pretty narrow range all day.  Not much on the economic data front this week so we will probably just trade off of the technicals.  We're still overbought on the big cap stock indices.  GE was flat on the session on heavy volume and came off of its highs.  We should get the dividend announcement a week from today.  That is when I'll decide on whether to try the longer term calls here or not.  I'm leaning towards attempting this trade though.  Gold rose over a dozen on the futures today as the US dollar was a bit lower.  The XAU added 1 1/2, while GDX gained 1/2.  Volume was better than it has been.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  The rally continues, the trend is up and I'd simply expect the higher prices to keep coming.  There has been nothing to stop this market and that should simply continue.  Unless we get some negative headline out of the blue, I'd expect the new all time highs to just keep coming.  There's really nothing else to say.  I haven't traded the SPY in a while and with the changing of my trading brokerage account still in a funk, I don't expect that to change anytime soon.  We've also been very overbought there for weeks on end.  When the technical signals don't work, it's probably a good idea to sit things out until they do.  You certainly don't want to turn this into a guessing game.  You at least want to have something in your favor.  Asia was mixed and Europe lower overnight.  We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

The Dow rose 23 points today on average volume.  The advance/declines were slightly negative.  The summation index continues to move lower.  The overall market was much stronger than the Dow probably due to the gains in AAPL.  The employment report came and went with no real effect on things.  We sold off early and then just resumed the climb.  The technical conditions haven't changed.  Overbought both short and medium term and staying that way for weeks.  I have no clue how much longer this will go on but it will end eventually.  A lower summation index without lower prices is probably bullish.  However I'm still on the sidelines with regards to the SPY.  GE was up 20 cents on heavy volume.  It almost made it to ten days in a row lower.  I'm still waiting for the dividend cut to purchase the longer term calls.  It shouldn't be long now.  I do think there could be some more tax loss selling in December though.  I may have to rethink this idea.  Gold lost $7 on the futures as the US dollar was a bit higher.  The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume.  Still short term oversold here.  Mentally I'm feeling tired.  When I'm feeling mentally tired, I usually make mistakes.  Sitting things out for now.  Earnings are winding down, we've got the jobs report out of the way, the new Fed chief has been announced and we've seen Trumps tax plan.  My thinking is, what's left to drive things higher?  At some point we've got to see some selling just to get the indicators out of the overbought zone for most of the major stock indices.  The RUT and the TRAN are some of the ones not in the overbought zone on a short term basis at the moment.  Along with the NYA, which also has the contracted Bollinger bands.  A lot of the time the RUT is the leader and if so this time around we should see some weakness overall pretty soon.  But it hasn't happened yet.  I suppose I should just be thankful I'm not laddering the SPY puts again.  I'll be checking the charts over the weekend.  However at this juncture I'm in a more of a wait and see mode.  Europe and Asia were higher overnight.  We'll get to fall back over the weekend but for now it's time for a rest.

The market just keeps on going as the Dow gained 81 points on heavy volume.  The advance/declines were barely negative.  The summation index is still heading lower but for some reason that hasn't mattered.  Overbought again and staying that way.  It appears that there is nothing that will stop the rally.  The new Fed chief was announced and we got the first details of the new tax plan.  We rally no matter what the news.  We'll get the jobs numbers tomorrow.  The overall market was weaker than the Dow but that doesn't mean much lately as well.  It is a curious market indeed.  GE was off a few cents but did come off of the lows of the session.  It closed below $20 today  Gold and the US dollar were little changed.  Perhaps waiting for the employment report.  The XAU and GDX were little changed as well.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  After tomorrows payroll announcement I just don't know what's left to inspire the market.  Overbought readings on the indicators, the summation index traveling lower and still we don't even see any sustained decline.  It's as if it's a teflon market and has been for quite some time.  I'm remaining on the sidelines for now.  When the indicators don't work anymore, it's the best I can do.  I'm still considering the longer term GE calls once they cut the dividend.  That could occur on the 13th at the shareholders meeting.  I'll be keeping an eye on it.  Asia was mixed and Europe mostly lower last night.  We'll get the market reaction to the jobs report and finished up the week tomorrow. 

More drift higher as the Dow gained 57 points on good volume.  The advance/declines were slightly positive.  The summation index is still trending lower.  The small stocks were under performers today.  The economic data released was mixed.  There were no surprises from the Fed.  We'll get Trumps pick for the new Fed head tomorrow.  The big cap indices remain short term overbought.  The small stocks are as well with the exception of the RUT.  I'm still on the sidelines for trading the SPY for now.  GE was off another 1/8 or so and the volume remains extremely heavy.  Very oversold here and staying that way.  Waiting on the dividend cut.  Gold rose $5 on the futures and the US dollar had a gain as well.  The XAU and GDX finished little changed on light volume.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  The Bollinger bands have tightened dramatically on the NYA which implies a big move coming one way or the other.  The short term technical indicators here appear to be turning up.  The implication is that we will see another leg higher for the rally that has lasted all year already.  The Bollinger bands are tightening on the RUT as well.  So I think we're about to see something in the market but I cannot predict which way things will go.  Perhaps the employment report will be the catalyst.  There was a terrorist attack in NYC yesterday and the market appears to have shrugged it off.  Like all bad news this year, the market just isn't affected.  We'll see how long this will last.  The story tomorrow should be the announcement of the new Fed chair.  Europe and Asia were generally higher overnight.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.