The picture was mixed today but the downside did not go away. The Dow fell 475 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is heading lower. The Dow took the brunt of the selling, with the NASDAQ ending up ositive on the day. Most of the major stock indices are either challenging or trying to stay at their 50 day moving averages. The S&P 500 is at its 50 day and is not yet completely oversold. The up trend line from November has been violated. The longer term weekly up trend line from a year ago is in jeopardy as well. So next weeks price action will be pretty important. With the summation index heading lower, I'm looking for lower prices. GE was off 1/4 on average volume. Gold got clobbered to end the month. The futures shed forty bucks as the US dollar was higher. The XAU lost 6 1/2, while GDX dropped 1 1/4. Volume was above average. Oversold both short and medium term for the gold shares. I may try the GDX March calls if GDX gets to 30. That's about a point away. Many of the technical indicators for GDX are pointing to at least a bounce in the next couple of sessions. However if the stock market continues to fall apart it will take the gold shares with it. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished slightly lower today after bouncing around. The short term techncial indicators here are starting to curl down. But that doesn't mean they can't simply turn back up. Not completely overbought for the VIX yet. We'll find out next week if this is just another blip in the road on the way up or something that lasts a while longer. Plenty of charts to peruse over the weekend before the beginning of a new month. Asia had some big losses and Europe was negative as well. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Down we go as the stock market got hammered today as interest rates continue to rise. The Dow lost 559 points on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 7 to 1 negative. The summation index is now moving down with conviction. The bears are taking control. The overall market was weaker than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. It has been for the past couple of weeks and closed below its 50 day moving average. My idea for the S&P 500 to join the Dow with a new all time high soon was wrong. The S&P 500 is heading down and is not yet short term oversold. The positive effect from the earlier short term upside reversal this week has been negated. Volatility has ramped up and now we can look for lower prices going forward. GE was off 1/3 and the volume was good. Gold dropped thirty bucks on the futures and the US dollar was slightly higher. The XAU fell 6 points, while GDX shed 1 1/3. Volume was good. Oversold for the gold shares but the fundamentals are not in its favor right now. I am looking at the GDX calls as usual but not in a hurry to put any trades on here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX, which I thought was exhausted, came back to life. It had a big spike higher to close above its 200 day moving average. It is not short term overbought yet. This implies that there will be more downside in the market to go. Not sure what the last day of the month trading will bring but it probably won't be boring. Perhaps I'll wait for the SPY to get to oversold and maybe try the March calls then. Today was a pretty negative session that was not expected in my view. After things turned back up earlier this week, it seemsed like it was all things on go to the upside. But that is not the case. I'm back in the cautious camp for now and glad that I didn't try any calls this week. Asia was higher and Europe lower overnight. We'll see how we finish out the week and month tomorrow.

The Dow blasted off to the upside after yesterdays one day positive reversal. The most watched index climbed 424 points on very heavy volume again. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. The Dow is outperforming now which isn't the ideal scenario for the bulls. But we won't argue with price. I'm back to looking for new all time highs in the S&P 500 in the coming days unless things turn back down before the end of the week. GE was up 1/2 and the volume remains heavy. Gold fell $5 on the futures and the US dollar was a bit lower. The XAU rose 2 1/2, while GDX added 1/4. Volume was light. Higher prices for the gold shares with a lower gold price is bullish. As much as I'd like to try the GDX calls again, I'm on the sidelines for the rest of the month. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that certainly fits with a strong market. It appears yesterdays action in the VIX was exhaustive and that going forward we'll see higher prices for equities. That's my best guess at the moment. We'll get some economic data out tomorrow and then finish off the week and the month on Friday. Option premiums remain elevated while the best time to purchase the SPY March calls was yesterday. Perhaps we'll get another chance before option expiration. Asia was lower and Europe higher overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

We had an incredible one day reversal to the upside after opening with a huge gap lower. The Dow was off almost 400 points early on and came back to finish with a 14 point gain on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trending down but not at a rapid rate. The S&P 500 made a dramatic comeback as well to finish positive. The NASDAQ led the way lower and was off over 500 points early. It didn't make it back to positive territory but it did regain most of the losses. Perhaps today is the turnaround that gets things going back to the upside. I'd guess that in the short term the decline is over. Looking further out, I don't exactly know what to expect. The short term technical indicators for some of the major indices are now mid-range so it could go either way. GE was up a dime on average volume. Gold was off five bucks on the futures while the US dollar was slightly higher. The XAU fell 2 3/4, while GDX lost 3/4. Volume was average for lately. I might try the calls here again if we get back to short term oversold. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX had a spike to get above its 200 day moving average and then fell all the way back to close below its 50 day moving average. I don't know if it's the beginning of more volatility or the exhaustion of it. We'll see how it goes in the coming days. I'm inclined to believe that things will go higher from here after todays stock price action but I am certainly not exactly sure. The NASDAQ 50 day moving average held today. Some of the other stock indexes now show positive hammer candlesticks on their daily charts. However I'm still going to remain cautious here. Perhaps that's what the previous losing trades have done to my perspective. The Fed has once again stated that the easy money will continue and you can't really try and fight that. However rates have started to climb and the market is the ultimate judge and jury. The short term indicators on the SPY are getting to mid-range and are still pointing down. I'm on the sidelines until a decent signal appears or I get a better handle on what's going on. Asia was generally higher with Europe mixed in last nights trade. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

It's a mixed up market here as the Dow gained 27 points on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is trending sideways with a lower bias. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow. The NASDAQ lost over 300 points. I'm not exactly sure what to make of things here as were are getting a buy signal for the S&P 500 on one of my indicators. However the balance of the short term technical measures are far from being oversold. When the Dow is the leader it is usually a late in the bull cycle factor. I've been looking for higher prices and it hasn't happened. Therefore I'm taking a cautious stance for now. We'll get some talk from Fed chairman Powell tomorrow. GE was up 1/2 on heavy volume. Overbought here on the short term. Gold came to life today and the futures rose $25. The US dollar was lower. The XAU jumped almost 7 points, while GDX gained 1 1/2. Volume was good. Is it any surprise that gold and the gold shares decide to rise after the February options have expired? This is just simply part of the game. I'm not inclined to chase things higher here but that could change as we go forward. Gold itself for now has held a long term trend line that has been in effect since 2019. Gold and the gold shares were both short and medium term oversold beginning last week. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and closed right at the 50 day moving average. The short term indicators have now turned up. Today could have marked a new beginning for volatility. We'll see how it plays out going forward. The market is sending mixed signals right now as the over the counter market got crushed yet the TRAN closed at a new all time high. I'm on the sidelines for now as the option premiums are high as we start the March cycle. Europe and Asia were generally lower overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

The market is still trying to make up its mind which way to go here as the Dow was up a point on heavy volume. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 positive. The summation index has now started to move sideways. We bounced around for much of the session and things finished basically mixed all the way around. The short term technical indicators on the S&P 500 remain overbought and pointing down. I do believe that we are just moving sideways here before moving up once again in the near future. I am not expecting a big decline right now. GE was up over 1/3 but the volume remains light. Gold was up $5 on the April futures as it tries to stabalize and did finish off of its lows. The US dollar was lower. The XAU was up a point while GDX was flat. Volume was light. I'll be taking a closer look at gold and the gold shares over the weekend to determine if I'd like to try a trade here again in the March option cycle. Mentally I'm feeling OK despite the double losses in the GDX call options this week. Win or lose in the game you have to keep moving on. The VIX bounced around and finished a little lower on the day. Still oversold here in the short term. I'm expecting the VIX to stay that way for a while longer and that stocks will move higher in the beginning of next week. We'll see if that actually happens. We're rolling into the March option cycle and the SPY premiums are pretty pricey. The puts much more so than the calls. Does the options market know something that we don't? Stay tuned. Asia was lower and Europe higher to close out the week. Plenty of work to so this weekend as I try to regroup. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The market sold off early and tried to come back for the rest of the session. The Dow fell 119 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is starting to try and move lower. The positive expiration week bias did not occur. The Dow was off over three hundred points early on. Like a broken record the overall market was weaker than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way down. The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 are starting to roll over. I was looking for higher prices for the S&P this week and it didn't happen. My take on things hasn't been correct for a while now with respect to both the overall market and the gold shares. It's probably time for me to head to the sidelines for a while. GE lost around 1/4 on light volume. Gold bounced around today and finished little changed. The US dollar was lower. The XAU dropped 1 3/4, while GDX shed 3/8. Volume was light. The earnings that came out today for the gold shares didn't do much. I sold my remaining GDX February calls for a 90% loss. Not a lot of money involved but a loss is a loss. Trading with such a short time left in the option cycle is not advised and it isn't my normal trading routine. The gold shares are now both short and medium term oversold. Will I attempt the March calls here when it makes technical sense? Perhaps but I'll let the week end tomorrow and see how I feel about things then. The fundamental picture for gold is not positive at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired, did not sleep well. The VIX had a spike up but did close back beneath the 50 day moving average. The oversold technical indicators are beginning to try and turn back up. As long as the VIX doesn't close above the 50 day, I have to believe that the market will be OK here and not have a dramatic drop. We've just had a pretty good run up for stocks so a pause would not be out of the question. However I'm not sure about five or ten percent correction at this time. We'll see how things play out going forward. Europe and Asia were lower overnight. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Another day of crosscurrents as the Dow gained 90 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is beginning to move sideways. Once again the overall market was weaker than the Dow with the NASDAQ the lead underperformer. We're not seeing the usual expiration week positive bias. The market is starting to feel heavy here but I'm still a believer in higher prices before the week is out. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. Retail sales came in better than expected thanks to the stimulus checks. The Fed minutes were a yawn. GE was off 1/8 on light volume. Gold looks like it is in free fall as the futures dropped another twenty bucks. The US dollar was higher. The XAU lost 2 1/2, while GDX shed 7/8. Volume was good. The GDX February calls I purchased yesterday are solid losers. I don't even think that a good earnings showing tomorrow can save this ill timed trade. The short term technical indicators for GDX are pointing down and are not yet oversold. I don't know what I was thinking when I tried this short term trade yesterday. Trying to make up for the other losing trade in GDX? Hoping that gold would suddenly turn around and head back up? Counting on the earnings reports due out tomorrow morning to be good? Stick to the technicals and do not deviate from that fact. Mentally I'm feeling like I'm forgetting lessons that I have already learned. I've already dug myself a hole to get out of and we haven't even completed two months of trading. I'll simply have to do better from here. The VIX was barely higher today and was stopped form crossing the 50 day moving average. Still oversold here on a short term basis. I'm guessing that as long as the VIX trends below the 50 day, stocks will be moving higher. The S&P has been in a sideways congestion for about a week while remaining overbought. We'll see how things go tomorrow. Europe and Asia were generally lower in last nights trade. We'll see how the gold shares earnings are in the morning and take it from there.

Back and forth was the general description today as the Dow gained 63 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still moving up. The overall market was weaker than the Dow today with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. A short trading week but I'm still looking for higher prices by the close on Friday. We'll get retail sales and the Fed minutes tomorrow. They are potential market movers. GE was up 1/4 but the volume was light. Gold dropped below the key level of $1800 today on the April futures as it fell almost $25. The US dollar finished little changed again. The XAU lost 1 3/4, while GDX shed 2/3. Volume was on the light side. I sold my GDX February calls for an 80% loss. I doubt that they'll get back to the strike price I had by Friday. This was a trade that moved sideways for the most part until the past couple of days when it fell apart. However I still would like to try and capitalize on the potential positive movement of the big earnings reports due out on Thursday. Near the close I purchased some other GDX February calls at a closer to the money strike price. There's only three days to go for this trade and gold is dropping so it could be another blow up trade. However I did not place a lot of money in this idea due to the inherent risk of trading with such little time left. So we'll see what happens. I'm holding on until the market open on Thursday to be sure. This trade does not make a lot of technical sense because the short term indicators are moving lower and are not completely oversold yet. It is definately out of my comfort zone. Mentally I'm feeling OK despite the loss. It's part of the game. The VIX was higher and is now back above the 20 level. It fits with the overall market being lower but not with the Dow higher. Still oversold here as well. On another note interest rates have started to rise and that will not be good for gold or the stock market at some point. That may already be reflected in the recent weakness for the precious metal. It's something to keep an eye on. Asia was up and Europe mixed overnight. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

We got some buying into the close before a long weekend and the Dow rose 28 points on lighter than lately volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index continues to move up. The overall market was stronger than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way again. New all time closing highs once again for some of the major indexes. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. It appears that the recent sideways price action has digested the prior gains and now we'll move higher. That's my take on things for now. The positive expiration week bias should come into effect as well next week. GE was up 1/4 but the volume remains light. Gold dropped around five bucks on the futures. The US dollar finished little changed yet again. The XAU and GDX had fractional moves one way or the other on light volume. My GDX February calls are now solidly in the red as time is running out. Only four days left in the February option cycle. At this point I'm probably going to have to wait for the earnings reports due out on the 18th. Even that may not save this trade if the gold shares continue to drift lower. The short term technical indicators for GDX are mid-range so it could go either way. But this is a trade that I should probably already be out of. It never really made any headway to the upside on the option premiums from the start. Slight gains at the best in the beginning. Well at least I didn't try the SPY February puts. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and actually closed below 20. This could set off a rally from here in stocks despite already being short term oversold. On the flip side, things for the VIX could abruptly turn around at this level and imply a decline in stocks. I'm going with the former. Once we get and stay below the 20 level on the VIX it usually has bullish implications for the overall market. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things go on Tuesday. A long holiday weekend here with plenty of time to go over all of the charts. I'm looking for higher prices next week. Asia was lower with many markets closed for the new year holiday there. Europe was higher. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

More of the same today as the market seems to be in a hurry to go nowhere fast. The Dow dipped 7 points on average volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving up. The overall market fared better than the Dow with both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 in the black. It's been sideways since the good gains on Monday. The S&P remains short term overbought. We'll see how the week closes out before a long weekend and go from there. My guess is that next week will be positive. GE was up a few cents and the volume remains light. Gold dropped today as the April futures shed $18. The US dollar finished little changed again. The XAU fell 2 1/3, while GDX lost 1/2. Volume is light here as well. The short term indicators are now rolling over for GDX and that isn't a good sign for the bulls. My GDX February calls are now back to where I bought them a week ago. This is a trade that probably should have been exited earlier this week as the light volume shows no interest in the gold shares. I'm probably going to hang on until the big earnings announcements on the 18th but we'll see what happens tomorrow. The rolling over of the technical indicators is a problem that can't be ignored though. Once again it looks like my management of this trade is not up to snuff. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and is staying short term oversold. The VIX is also moving sideways this week as the overall market is looking for direction. I thought that there might be a playable decline this week but it appears that sideways has been the trend or lack thereof. On the sidelines with regards to the SPY for now. I'll keep an eye on GDX tomorrow. Europe and Asia were generally higher overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow ahead of a holiday weekend in the US.

A mixed bag today as the Dow gained 62 points on average volume. The advance/declines were about even. The summation index continues higher. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posted small losses. The market remains short term overbought as it digests the recent gains. I'm still thinking lower to sideways for the remainder of this week. No huge drop in store for now. We did have quite a dip intra-session after a move up early in the day. I did not attempt the SPY February puts. Running out of time for this idea and I'm pretty sure that I'm just going to let it pass. GE was off 1/8 and the volume remains light. Gold was up a few bucks on the futures, while the US dollar finished little changed. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves one way or the other on very light volume. Gold itself is holding up here but it's not really moving. The gold shares are finding little interest for now. My GDX February calls are still in the black but this trade has the feeling of getting long in the tooth. Six trading days left for it with the major gold companies earnings reports five trading days out. The short term technical indicators are still about mid-range. Holding on for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX bounced around today and finshed a bit higher. Still oversold here though. I'll continue to look for weakness or sideways price action for the market until next week. No real news to speak of today with earnings still coming in. There is the second impeachment trail underway but the market doesn't seem interested in that. Asia higher and Europe lower last night. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Choppy price action all day as the Dow fell 10 points on average volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues higher. The NASDAQ was up and the S&P 500 down on the day. I think that we're putting in a short term top here and I expect lower prices for the rest of the week. That's my best guess at the moment. Short term overbought for the S&P and it is due for a rest. Perhaps we'll only move sideways before heading higher next week. Volume is getting lighter the higher we go and that isn't a positive. I do not expect some type of huge decline. GE lost a few cents and the volume remains light. Gold was up a few bucks on the futures but off from the best levels of the day. That was disappointing for the gold bulls with the dollar having a decent drop on the session. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional losses on light volume. This too is not a positive for the gold shares as they did not follow gold higher. I'm still holding on to the GDX February calls that I purchased last week. They continue to show a slight profit. I've decided to hang on to them for a while as one of my preferred indicators here is still in a bullish mode. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a touch higher today and the daily chart looks like it is trying to form some type of bottom. That would fit in with my weaker prices going forward scenario if indeed it is a bottom. I am looking at the SPY February puts for a short term trade. There is however only seven trading days left before expiration as Monday is a holiday to begin next week. Perhaps if we see some early strength tomorrow I'll try the puts with an anticipated exit on Friday. Risky though as the timing would have to be right on. We'll see. Europe and Asia were mixed in last nights trade. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Overbought and staying that way as the Dow gained 237 points on good volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. New all time highs all around the indices. The small stocks are leading the way with the Russell 2000 the outperformer. No overhead resistance for stocks. I'm in a quandry as I would like to try the SPY February puts in the next couple of days but I already own the GDX calls. Six days in a row higher for the S&P 500 and that will not last forever. I don't think that a decline if it occurs will be a big one but I do think that it will be tradeable. GE was up almost 1/4 but the volume was pretty light. Lighter volume is also the story for the overall market as we go higher here. That fits in with the overall strategy of trying the SPY February puts this week. Gold found more interest as the April futures rose $18. The US dollar finished little changed. The XAU added 3 points, while GDX was up over 1/2. Volume was light. My GDX February calls are showing a small profit. The short term technical indicators for GDX have now made it back to mid-range, so things could go either way from here. GDX was once again turned back at its 50 day moving average, which has proved to be resistance for over a month. If we see weakness soon in the overall market, the gold shares will probably go with it. I'll consider what to do here overnight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX ticked up slightly today and that does not fit with an up market. This also could be a precursor to a near term pullback in stocks. The short term indicators for the VIX are now oversold. The SPY put premiums are not exactly cheap but with the proper timing on the entry profits can be had. The question is whether or not I'm up to the task. My other choice at the moment is to simply hold the GDX February calls as the earnings for the gold shares will be out before the February expiration. Never any easy decisions in the game. Europe and Asia were both higher overnight. We'll see if they follow the US lead tomorrow.

Continuing to move higher as the Dow gained 92 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 poisitve. The summation index is now moving up. The overall market was stronger than the Dow. New all time highs for some indices as there is no overhead resistance. The jobs report came in about where expected and did not have a huge effect on trading in my view. The S&P 500 is short term overbought on some of the technical indicators. There is also a potential negative divergence with the RSI. If things hold up until the middle of next week, I'll be looking at the SPY February puts. GE was off a nickel and the volume was pretty light. Gold bounced back $17 on the April futures as the US dollar was lower. The XAU climbed 4 points, while GDX added 3/4. Volume was light. My GDX February calls are showing a small profit. Not exactly sure how long I'll hold on to this trade. The short term techncial indicators are nowhere near overbought but the Bollinger bands are beginning to contract. This doesn't give GDX a lot of room to move up normally. I'll consider my choices on what to do here over the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continued lower and is now oversold. This is a plus if I decide to try the SPY puts next week. Not a plus for the GDX call trade though because if the market does drop it will most likely take the gold shares with it. However for now though the trend for stocks is up until proven otherwise. The weekly candlestick chart for the S&P 500 is positive with a white bullish candle for this past week. The volume was lacking though and that is somewhat of a concern. Plenty to ponder over the weekend while checking all the charts. What to do about the GDX call trade will be addressed as well. Two weeks to go in the Feruary option cycle so there is plenty of time for price movement. Asia was higher with Europe mixed to finish up the week overseas. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The Dow powered higher today by 332 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is turning back up. No news to speal of but the earnings are driving things higher. My thesis of the market heading back to lower levels was wrong. I'll have to re-evaluate what I'm thinking here. The S&P 500 closed at a new all time high. Not yet completely overbought and no overhead resistance. The trend has turned back up but I will be watching for the potetial negative divergences. GE was up 1/4 but the volume was light. Gold got clobbered today as the futures lost forty bucks. The US dollar was higher. The XAU shed 2 1/8, while GDX dropped 3/4. Volume was round average for lately. Considering the drop in gold itself, the gold shares held up rather well. I adjusted my open order for the GDX February calls overnight and it got filled. It is showing a slight loss. The gold shares are oversold but the technical damage done today in gold itself cannot be ignored. My best hope here is that we get an oversold bounce to exit this trade. My take on the markets at the moment is off. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continues lower and that fits with todays gains. The NASDAQ along with the Russell 2000 also closed at new all time highs today. The volume hasn't been all that impressive here but you cannot argue with price. Unless there is some kind of reversal after the employment numbers tomorrow, you can look for higher prices going forward. I also might have to just head for the sidelines because my ideas right now are wrong. My readings of the charts are incorrect unless we see some sort of reversal for gold tomorrow. The Gamestop episode has quickly faded away. Asia was lower and Europe higher overnight. We'll see how the jobs report goes tomorrow as we close out the trading week.

Indecision for the middle of the week as the Dow rose 36 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index has stopped moving down. The NASDAQ posted a small loss. Some hesitation here and that's not unexpected in my view. We've dropped, bounced back and now we're approaching the moment of truth. Will things turn back down here or power up to new all time highs? I'm still a believer of the former for now. Just waiting on the employment report. GE was off a nickel and the volume was very light. Gold was off a few bucks on the futures and the US dollar finished little changed. The XAU was up 1/2, while GDX was basically unchanged. Volume was light. My open order for the GDX February calls remains out there. I'm going to have to consider canceling it before the jobs report. If the market drops on that report, it most certainly will take the gold shares with it. I'll ponder what to do tonight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower again today and closed below its 50 day moving average which is a plus for the bulls. Not yet completely oversold here either. There's still plenty of time in the February option cycle for a trade in the SPY. The drawback is that I do not have a clear signal just yet. I will say that the volume on the bounce has decreased with each passing day. Todays price action looks to me that it has run out of steam. Perhaps trying the SPY February puts on any strength tomorrow ahead of the jobs report is the way to go. I'd kind of prefer to wait until next week for that trade though if the market cooperates. It rarely does. It's something else to think about tonight. Asia was up and Europe mixed in last nights trade. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Still bouncing back as the Dow gained 475 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 positive again. The summation index is now trying to turn around. Perhaps my prognosis of not getting back to new all time highs soon is wrong. Volatility does remain though so we'll see what happens for the rest of the week. It appears that the market is putting the Gamestop shenanigans in the rear view mirror. The S&P 500 has bounced up from its 50 day moving average. The short term technical indicators have moved back up as well. So things are not looking as bleak as they did a week ago. GE climbed 1/2 on average volume. Gold dropped over $25 on the April futures. The US dollar was a bit higher. Silver got crushed after its recent gains as the volatility in the precious metals has ramped up. The blame will be placed on the Gamestop crowd but markets go where they want to. The XAU fell 7 1/4, while GDX shed over a point. Volume was light. I adjusted down my order for the GDX February calls. I'm still not sure this is the right trade here but we're getting close to another buy signal on one of the more reliable indicators. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX dropped pretty good today and that fits with todays rally. The short term indicators have rolled back down here for the VIX. We are not yet close to being oversold yet. If the market holds up for the next week, I'll be taking a look at the SPY February puts. We could have some negative divergences by then. But let's see how the rest of this week plays out first. The jobs report on Friday looms. Europe and Asia were both higher in last nights trade. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

February begins to the upside as the Dow climbed 229 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is still heading lower. A sell off in the S&P 500 futures last night did not take hold as the market took off to the upside from the start of cash trading. Still trying to figure out what's going on here but the S&P has held on to the 50 day moving average for now. More oversold than overbought for stocks at the moment but we're not at any kind of extreme. We'll have to see how the rest of the week plays out and if we get some kind of technical signal one way or the other. Still plenty of time in the February option cycle. GE was up a nickel on light volume. Gold added over a dozen on the futures as the US dollar was higher as well. Silver is the story in the precious metals right now. The futures there gained almost 10% today. The XAU jumped 7 3/4, while GDX added 1 1/4. Volume was average. My GDX February call order is still out there but it may be time to just cancel it. GDX has already moved a couple points higher and the short term techncial indicators have moved up. I'm not sure that I want to chase things here but I'll ponder this thought a bit more overnight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and the short term indicators are now pointing down. I'm still looking for lower prices going forward though. There is plenty of room on the weekly indicators for the major stock averages to head lower. The recent volatility means to me that a change in the nature of the market is upon us. I do not think that we'll be heading back to new all time highs soon. I could be wrong. The silver market is getting a lot of attention right now but that hasn't translated into a big move higher in gold. I guess that I'll wait and see what happens tomorrow and take it from there. We've got the jobs report on Friday and I do think that will be a mover for metals one way or the other. We'll see. Europe and Asia rallied overnight as well. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.