Back to the downside for the Dow as it lost 119 points on average volume.  The advance/declines were negative.  The summation index is now going sideways.  The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 have now rolled over.  That isn't the case for the NASDAQ, so there's a chance for a positive resolution to the stall that we've seen here.  I'm still inclined to try the SPY January puts if the opportunity presents itself.  But I am running out of time.  Still in headline risk mode.  GE was off almost a dime and the volume remains good here.  Gold was up a few bucks on the futures today and the US dollar was higher as well.  Gold remains overbought to the extreme but hasn't seen any selling due to the current geo-political background.  The XAU was up 1 1/8, while GDX rose 1/4.  Volume was average.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  The short term technical indicators on the VIX are mid-range at the moment.  So things could go either way there.  My hope is that it moves lower as the S&P trends higher to give me a shot at the SPY January puts.  However the market rarely cooperates with what you hope for.  If we can get a nominal new high in the S&P 500 I think that will be the time to try the puts.  If that doesn't happen we'll just have to wait for the February option cycle.  My GDX January calls are still showing a profit and I plan on holding them until sometime next week.  Or if gold somehow keeps going up and hits $1600, I may sell them then.  But we all know things can turn on a dime in this game.  Asia was higher and Europe mixed in last nights trade.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.