Lower to end the week and the month as the Dow fell 185 points on average volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is back to moving sideways. The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 are starting to roll over but remain overbought. The market is still in a pattern of indecision in my view. We are about to enter a period of weak seasonality for stocks as the sell in May and go away crowd will get some air time. The potential double top is still there for the NASDAQ along with an elongated head and shoulders potential top for the Russell 2000. I'd still like to see some kind of blow off advance for stocks to get short but the market rarely cooperates with your best laid plans. We'll see how the beginning of May rolls out. GE was off a few cents on average volume. Bollinger bands still tight here. Gold was off five bucks as the US dollar was higher. Rates were slightly lower. The XAU fell 2 1/8, while GDX shed 3/8. Volume remains on the light side. Getting short term oversold now for GDX. I will consider the GDX May calls over the weekend. However the weekly candlestick chart for GDX has a bearish topping pattern on it after this weeks price action. That is something to consider as well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and the short term indicators are now moving up. I still think the VIX could go either way here but it is now at the top of its Bollinger bands. If it falls back down from here perhaps we'll get the rally I'd like to see in order to try the May SPY puts. We're still below the 50 day moving average here and the important level of 20. Plenty of things to think about over the weekend while going over all the charts. Europe and Asia generally ended todays session in the red. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Up, down, up was the pattern as the Dow gained 240 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is now trending higher but not decidedly so. That basically means that it is moving up but without the robustness seen with other advances. That doesn't mean that things won't move higher going forward. It does mean that the rally is getting long in the tooth. GDP came in where expected and after a gap open we sold off into negative territory. However things turned around and back up we went. Still plenty of money to go around. GE was flat on average volume. Sitting on the 50 day moving average here. Gold was down $7 on the June contract and finished well above the lows for the session. The dollar was little changed and rates ticked up a bit. The XAU was off 3 1/3, while GDX lost 2/3. Volume was average for lately. Not yet completely oversold for the gold shares. If we get there I'll most likely try the GDX May calls. HOLX got clobbered on its earnings report, losing over 6 points on heavy volume. Obviously getting the calls there was the wrong idea. Thankfully my orders never got filled and I didn't make the trade at any price just to get in. You live and die by the sword trading earnings reports but the profits can be as spectacular as the losses. Trading the individual issues is much riskier than the indexes in my humble opinion. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up despite the gains in the stock market today. That doesn't fit. It did spike up to touch the upper Bollinger band. Those bands keep contracting and something big is brewing. The short term indicators there remain mid-range. End of the month trading on tap Friday, not sure which way we'll go. I'm still hoping to see a blow off top to get some May SPY puts. Europe lower and Asia higher last night. We'll close out the trading week and month tomorrow.

A quiet day until we heard from the Fed and then the market took off to the upside only to come right back down before the close. The Dow dropped 164 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move higher but is basically still going sideways. The overall market was not as weak as the Dow. The first three days of this week have been sideways with light volume as the market is trying to decide what to do here. Still short term overbought for the S&P 500. I'm remaining in the bullish camp as nothing has changed to stop the flow of easy money just yet. We'll get 1st quarter GDP tomorrow. GE was off 1/4 on good volume. Gold was up $5 on the June futures and finished well above the lows of the session. The US dollar was lower and rates finished little changed. The XAU was up 1 1/2, while GDX rose over 1/8. Volume was light. GDX had a one day reversal to the upside as it opened lower and closed higher. Perhaps today was the time to try the GDX May calls. I placed another order for the HOLX May calls but it wasn't filled. I modified it near the end of the day but then simply canceled it as I was not going to get my price on what I was willing to risk on the calls. Earnings due out after the market closes. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was little changed again and the technical indicators are still mid-range. Bollinger bands are still contracting and a big move in the market is coming our way soon. I'm thinking a blow off top but that's just a guess on my part. GDP should be pretty good tomorrow and that should put the players in a buying mood. We'll have to wait and see. The market moves where it wants to. Europe and Asia were higher in last nights trade. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

In a holding pattern ahead of the Fed as the Dow was up a couple points on light volume. The advance/declines were barely negative. The summation index is still moving sideways. The overall market was a bit weaker than the Dow. My guess is that we'll be heading higher tomorrow as I'm not expecting any surprises from the Fed but you never know. Still short term overbought on the S&P 500. Earnings season continues. GE sold off early but came all the way back to be off a few cents on heavy volume. The Bollinger bands are very tight here now and a big move is coming one way or the other soon in GE. Gold was off five bucks on the futures as the US dollar finished little changed. Rates did move higher today ahead of the Fed. The XAU fell 2 7/8, while GDX shed 2/3. Volume was light. Waiting for oversold for the gold shares. The gold shares are starting to underperform here lately and that's a warning sign. I did place an open order for some HOLX May calls today. It wasn't filled. Earnings are due out tomorrow for HOLX after the bell. I may try to get the calls before the close Wednesday. More oversold than overbought for HOLX but this is strickly an earnings trade. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished little changed and the short term indicators are still mid-range. Bollinger bands beginning to contract here as well. But I'm still looking for higher stock prices going forward this week as there is no overhead resistance and earnings have weak last year numbers to beat. We should hear a dovish Fed tomorrow as the easy money flow hasn't stopped. So we'll see what happens. Europe and Asia were generally lower overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

We begin the week mixed as the Dow fell 61 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still tracking sideways. The overall market was stronger than the Dow, with the NASDAQ as the outperformer. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. There's no overhead resistance and as the earnings come in this week we should see further gains. We do have the Fed announcement on Wednesday to deal with but nothing new is expected there. 1st quarter GDP will come in on Thursday. So there are some potential market movers in the pipeline for this last week of April. GE was up a couple cents and the volume was heavy. Earnings due out here tomorrow. Gold rose three bucks as the US dollar finished little changed. Rates were little changed as well. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves one way or the other on very light volume. GDX remains overbought but not extremely so. I'm still waiting to see if we can get to oversold here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was slightly higher today which doesn't fit with the mostly overall positive session for stocks today. The short term technical indicators here are mid-range. Not getting a clear signal here today on which way to go. However I'm still viewing last week as a consolidation before we move higher. So far so good but things can turn on a dime in this game. We'll see how the earnings coming out appear as I think we're in a just waiting on the Fed period for now. What the bulls don't want to see here is a roll over for the averages. Asia was mixed and Europe slightly higher in last nights trading action. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

It's been a back and forth week in the market and today it was back to the upside. The Dow gained 227 points on light volume. The advance/declines were around 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving sideways as the market tries to figure out what to do here. The economy looks good and the earnings numbers are coming in strong. I'd expect new all time highs again next week. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought but in rallies it simply stays that way. This week looks like a consolidation before pushing on higher. There is no overhead resistance. The only caveat today was the light volume. GE was up 1/4 on light volume. Gold dropped $7 on the June contract despite a decent fall in the US dollar. That isn't a good sign for the bulls. Rates were slightly higher. The XAU and GDX had very slight fractional losses on very light volume. I'm still looking at the gold share calls if they get back to oversold. Hasn't happened yet. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX traveled back down today and the short term indicators have rolled back over. This implies higher stock prices going forward next week. I'm a believer in that also. We'll get the end of the month of April too and I do believe that new all time highs will be seen. There remains plenty of money around to lift stocks. We'll see what happens when we get to May. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend and might be trying trade in an individual stock ahead of its earnings in the beginning of May. More research must be done beforehand. Europe was a bit lower and Asia mixed overnight. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Turnaround Thursday as we were heading up and then news of a higher capital gains tax rate roiled the markets. The Dow fell 321 points on average volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving sideways. The market is now trying to factor in exactly what kind of taxes it can expect to pay for whatever is next on the governments agenda. Needless to say that higher taxes on capital gains won't be a plus for stock investors. The details have yet to be determined but just the notion of higher taxes drove things lower today. It still has the feel of just a consolidation before moving higher but we'll see. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have rolled over. Tomorrow could give us a clue if we indeed continue lower. GE was up a few cents on average volume. Gold dropped ten bucks and the US dollar was slightly higher. Rates were little changed. The XAU lost 3 1/4, while GDX fell almost 2/3. Volume was light. Still overbought for the gold shares on a short term basis. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX popped back up which was interesting considering yesterdays drop. This still puts some more selling into play if it continues higher tomorrow. There is some room on the short term indicators to move higher into overbought territory. I think that the 20 level will contain any further rise in this indicator. If we move above there I might have to change my outlook. The NASDAQ along with the Russell are still hanging in there. The Bollinger bands on the Russell 2000 have contracted to the point where a major move one way or the other is coming. I'd keep an eye on that for clues as to what's about to happen here. With all the money sloshing around I wouldn't expect a huge decline but we'll let the market tell us where it wants to go. Europe and Asia finished higher last night. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Back to the upside as the Dow gained 316 points on average volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is beginning to track sideways. Gains all the way around as the selling has stopped for now. We'll probably hit new all time highs again soon. I'll be watching for any possible divergences when and if that happens. The other potential negatives with the NASDAQ and the Russell 2000 don't look so potential after todays price action. GE was up about 1/4 and the volume was light. Gold gained $15 on the futures as the US dollar was slightly lower. Rates were little changed. The XAU added 3 1/3, while GDX was up 2/3. Volume was light. Looks like we won't get a chance to jump on the gold bandwagon this time around. Overbought and staying that way. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX dropped today and that fits with todays price action. Unless we see a big down session tomorrow, the VIX should trend lower and stock prices trend higher. We're still in the good seasonal spot for equities but at the tail end. Perhaps a nice run higher into the end of the month and then the picture could change. Just a guess on my part there. Still plenty of earnings reports to sift through. Asia was lower and Europe higher overnight. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Selling continued today but it wasn't a full scale race to the exits as the Dow lost 256 points on average volume. The advance/declines were shy of 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is now turning lower. The overall market was a bit weaker than the Dow. So some sellers have finally showed up but I don't think that this is the start of something big or long in duration. The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 have now rolled over but we're still in overbought territory. I'm keeping an eye on the Russell 2000 here as it could be the canary in the coal mine if it breaks down. Hasn't happened yet and as always the market will go where it wants. GE was off 3/8 and volume picked up a little. Gold bounced back $6 on the June futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and rates were slightly lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. Overbought for the gold shares and I'll wait for some type of pullback before attempting the May GDX calls. Gold is now finding a bid and the tone of this market has changed. I'm a believer in the long side here but we may not get a chance to get back in. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX jumped again but has so far stayed below 20. There is still some room on the short term indicators to go higher here which would mean some more selling in the near term. We'll see if that actually happens. Still plenty of earnings reports to digest and the comparisons have to be better than last years coronavirus numbers. Staying patient on the trade front for now. Europe and Asia were generally lower. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

A bit of selling today as the Dow fell 123 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to stall now. The negative price action that we saw today was the opposite of Fridays expiration. That usually happens on the Monday after expiration either way. The NASDAQ led the way lower. I'm not expecting a downturn here and we'll probably hit new all time highs again later in the week. That's my best guess at the moment. GE was up a few cents and the volume was light. Gold lost about ten bucks on the June contract and the US dollar was lower as well. Interest rates went up slightly. The XAU fell 1 1/2, while GDX shed 1/4. Volume was light. We're still overbought on the gold shares. With an extra week in the May option cycle, there's plenty of time to let a long side trade work itself into the picture here. I am looking at the GDX May calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX popped up today but finished well off of the highs for the session. We are still oversold here on a short and medium term basis. For the bears out there, I'd keep an eye on the NASDAQ and the Russell 2000. The former may be forming a double top on the daily basis chart. The latter perhaps a complex head and shoulders top. It's just something to keep an eye on. As long as the summation index keeps moving higher, the bulls are in charge. Asia was higher and Europe mixed to begin the trading week. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

We closed the week on a high note as the Dow gained 164 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive and the summation index continues higher. More new all time highs abound as the market has no sellers. Extended, overbought and whatever else you want to call it but the market keeps chugging along. Not sure how much longer it will go on like this but it's usually longer than you think. The S&P 500 is getting pretty far away from its 50 day and 50 week moving averages but that doesn't mean it can't continue. Not sure what to look for here, perhaps a high volume blow off top kind of day. However trying to guess when that will happen is probably a losing game. GE was off around 1/8 and the volume remains light. Gold was up about a dozen on the futures as the US dollar was a bit lower. Rates ticked up a little today. The XAU rose a point, while GDX was up 1/3. Volume was light. GDX is right at the long term down trend line that has been in effect for months. Overbought short term now here as well. Some sideways to lower price action here would set us up for the May GDX calls in a perfect world. We're rolling into the May option cycle that has an extra week in it. The premiums are high as expected for now. However the May GDX calls appear to be the next trade in mind at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower yet again today and remains very oversold. This indicator is suggesting that the rally will live on though. We're in earnings season and the comparisons should be looking pretty good for most companies after the beginning of the pandemic at this time last year. We'll have to wait and see if the sell in May crowd shows up this year. I'll be checking the charts over the weekend to try and come up with a near term game plan. Europe and Asia were higher as money is finding a home in stocks around the world. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

All time highs all around today as the Dow jumped 305 points on what now passes for average volume. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 positive. The summation index continues higher. Running up into option expiration and that was to be expected. No overhead resistance and the almost extreme overbought conditions remain. We are on our way to a top but where that will end up is the question. Starting to go straight up again and that never ends well. My belief is at some point the May SPY puts will be the place to be. But for now we'll enjoy the ride higher. We had strong economic data yet interest rates were lower and that doesn't fit. We'll see how long this rally can last and it's usually longer than you think. GE was off 1/8 and the volume was light. Gold took off to the upside as the futures gained $28. The US dollar finished little changed. The XAU climbed six points, while GDX was up almost 1 1/2. Volume expanded to the upside and that is bullish. GDX is now almost at the long term resistance at 36 that goes back to when the most recent decline began. GDX is in a declining rectangle that started nine months ago. A break above 36 changes the picture if it occurs. I believe that it will. Any hesitation here for GDX is an excuse to try the May GDX calls in my view. It doesn't look like it will get back to completely oversold anytime soon. Of course I could be wrong but the volume today says that things are going to go higher for the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower and remains oversold. Yes, it seems like a broken record but the VIX is staying oversold as the overall market is staying overbought. This too can't go on forever but even if we get an expected pullback the VIX is saying that higher prices are in the future as well. As long as the VIX stays below 20 the trend will be up. Asia was mixed and Europe higher in last nights trading action. We'll see how the options expiration goes tomorrow as we close out the trading week.

The Dow added 53 points on light volume today. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues higher. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow as the mixed bag market continues. The NASDAQ led the way lower. Things were moving along nicely to the upside but then turned lower with two hours left in the session. Overdue for some selling but I'm not sure that this is the actual top. We're still overbought on all of the major stock averages as earnings season kicks in. GE was up 1/4 on what passes for average volume now. Gold dropped about $10 on the June futures contract. The US dollar was lower and rates ticked up slightly. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. The gold shares continue to perform well in spite of the recent weakness or sideways trend for gold itself. For me, that's a positive moving forward and I'm still looking at the GDX May calls if GDX can get to oversold. GDX has so far managed to stay above its 50 day moving average this time around. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up slightly today which fits the overall market but not the Dow. The short term technical indicators here are starting to turn up. If they do, we'll see some type of pullback but I wouldn't expect a rout and it hasn't happened yet. We could also just be on our merry way higher again tomorrow and the VIX indicators remain oversold as they have for weeks now. Two days to go in the April option cycle and we'll sit things out for now. Europe and Asia were mixed overnight. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

Once again a mixed picture on wall street as the Dow fell 66 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is trending higher. The overall market was much stronger than the Dow, with the NASDAQ leading the way. The S&P 500 remains short and medium term overbought. It reached a new all time high today. I think that we are in the late stages of this rally now though. Things will probably trend up into the option expiration but after that, I don't think it will be so easy. Indicators are getting stretched to the point of breaking for the S&P. Going straight up the upper Bollinger band and moving further away from the 50 day moving average never ends well. I'm looking at the May SPY puts. GE was off over 1/8 and the volume remains light. Gold found a bid today and bounced back a dozen on the futures. Higher US inflation data was the reason given. The US dollar dropped and so did interest rates which didn't really fit with higher inflation. The XAU was up 2 1/4, while GDX gained almost 2/3. Volume was light. I'm looking at the GDX May calls if we get back to short term oversold. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that coincides with the overall market but not the Dow. Oversold here for so long but that is a big plus for the bulls. The rally will live on as long as the VIX remains below 20. Tomorrow we'll get the Feds beige book and we'll see if we get some kind of market reaction to that. Looks like I'll simply remain on the sidelines for the rest of this week. Europe and Asia were generally higher overnight. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

A little minor selling to start the week as the Dow fell 55 points on pretty light volume. The advance/declines were even. The summation index continues higher. Lack of volume means no interest but I still think that we'll head higher this option expiration week. The underlying overbought technical conditions persist for the major stock indices. However there is no overhead resistance and no selling of any consequence lately. GE was flat on the session and volume was light. Gold dropped a dozen today and the short term technical indicators are rolling over. Rates ticked up slightly while the US dollar was little changed. The XAU fell 3 points, GDX shed 3/4. Volume was light. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was just a bit higher today. It remains oversold and stuck there on the short term indicators. As long as the VIX remains below the 20 level, the bulls have the benefit of the doubt. With only 4 days to go in the April option cycle I'll most likely be on the sidelines this week. I have no SPY trades in mind at the moment. Europe and Asia were lower last night. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Sunday update: I mistakenly said that the Feds beige book was due out and reported this past Wednesday. The recent Fed policy meeting minutes were reported on Wednesday the 7th. The Feds beige book will be out this Wednesday the 14th.

Up, up and away as the Dow climbed 298 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues higher. We witnessed a buying spree in the final hour. New all time highs on many indices with no overhead resistance. Remaining overbought on all time frames. This is beginning to feel like a runaway train or the speculative upside blowoff that I mentioned before. I continue to believe that things will run up into the April option expiration in a week. After that, who knows? There are no sellers at the moment but the light volume isn't something not to be concerned about. Not sure how high we'll go here but enjoy the ride. GE was up over 1/8 and volume picked up a little. Gold dropped but came off of the worst levels on the day. The June futures lost a dozen. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates ticked up. The gold shares held up rather well as the XAU shed 1/2, while GDX was flat. Volume was very light. The gold shares continue to outperform the precious metal and that is a plus. I did sell my GDX April calls but my exit wasn't very good. Still short term overbought for GDX but that doesn't mean that it can't go higher. I did not want to take the risk of holding them into next week. The profit was 240%. The weekly chart for GDX remains bullish and I'll wait for it to get short term oversold and then perhaps try the calls again. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continued lower and the oversold technical condition here remains the same. Comfortably below the 20 level on the VIX means the rally can last. But the market is beginning to feel a little frothy and going straight up never ends well. Still, you can't argue with price and stocks are being bid up. We'll see how things go next week. Plenty of charts to check this weekend. Asia was mixed again with Europe generally higher to finish out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Continuing higher as the Dow rose 57 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues to trend upwards. New all time highs for some of the major stock indices including the S&P 500. We remain short term overbought on most of the indexes and have been that way for quite some time. There appears to be no sellers. The Fed chairman spoke today and the market liked what it heard. Easy money will continue for as far as the eyes can see. It will end eventually but not anytime soon or so it seems. I'm still looking for a drift higher into the option expiration next week. GE was up a few cents and the volume was light. Golds rally continues as the June futures were up $17. The US dollar was lower and interest rates had a slight drop. The XAU was up 3 1/2, while GDX rose 7/8. Volume was light. Short term overbought for GDX and it is touching its upper Bollinger band. My time in the GDX April call trade is coming to the end. There's a chance that it goes higher from here but when I look at the technical indicators they're saying it's time to go. With any luck I'll be getting out of this trade tomorrow. It is still showing a decent profit. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains very oversold. Solidly below the 20 level, this indicator implies that the rally has plenty of room to run. The market can stay overbought longer than you think sometimes. I think that we're in one of those conditions at the moment. Europe was higher and Asia mixed overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

It seems as if the market is on hold here as the Dow gained 16 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving up. The Feds beige book was a non event. Chairman Powell is giving a speech tomorrow so we'll see if that gets things going. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought any way you look at it. The best case scenario for the bulls would be more sideways consolidation before heading higher again. I'm still a believer in more gains going into the April option expiration. GE was flat on the session and the volume remains light. Gold was off six bucks on the futures as the US dollar had a slight gain. Interest rates finished little changed. The XAU fell 2 1/3, while GDX lost 1/3. Volume was light. My GDX April calls lost some ground today and it could be time to sell them. Not completely overbought in the short term though so there may be another push higher. I'll give it some more thought tonight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and touched its lower Bollinger band. We've been short term oversold here for too long. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what's going on with this indicator but I don't think that it is signaling a big decline is in the forecast. Some near term selling perhaps but not a debacle. That's my best guess at the moment here. Another fly in the oinment is that the NASDAQ hasn't made it back to new all time highs as the other major averages have. We'll keep an eye on that going forward as well. My near term focus remains on gold and the gold shares for the current GDX call trade. Europe and Asia were mixed overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

The rally took a break today as the Dow lost 96 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues higher. As long as the summation index is moving up, the path of least resistance is higher. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. It is also above the upper Bollinger band which doesn't last that long. Perhaps we'll move sideways before heading to new all time highs again. The overall market wasn't as weak as the Dow and that's another plus for the bulls. We'll get the beige book tomorrow and perhaps that will get things moving one way or the other. A caveat here is the light volume. GE was off a few cents and the volume was pretty light. Gold was up over a dozen on the June contract as the US dollar conitnued lower. Interest rates dropped as well to help the precious metal. The XAU was up almost 2 1/2, while GDX gained 1/2. Volume was light here as well. I would have liked to have seen the gold shares act a little better today. Getting short term overbought here but not all the way there yet. GDX has made it above its 50 day moving average again but it hasn't been able to stay above there for the past six months. My GDX April calls are still in the black with 8 days to go in this months option cycle. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was barely higher today and that fits with the small decline. We've been oversold here for a while now on the VIX and that won't last much longer I believe. Solidly below the 20 level though and as long as that's the case I don't see any major decline coming. Of course, I could be wrong. I still think that stocks are going to run up into the April option expiration. After that, we'll see. Most of the major stock averages are overbought on both the short and medium term. Thay usually stay that way during multi-week rallies. Asia was mixed with Europe higher in last nights trade. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

The market took off to the upside as the Dow gained 374 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. Stronger than expected job creation is the excuse for the rally. New all time highs in many of the major stock indices but not the small stocks yet. No overhead resistance and plenty of cash to go around. I'll look for the rally to continue into the April option expiration. Short term overbought and staying that way for the S&P 500. GE was up over 1/8 but the volume was pretty light. Gold finished little changed on the June futures despite a drop in the US dollar. The strong jobs report may have had something to do with that. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. The short term rally in the gold shares look like it could take a rest here. My GDX April calls are still showing a profit. I'm inclined to hold on to this trade for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up a little today and that doesn't jibe with a market up over 300 points. Not sure what it means going forward. We're still well below the 20 level though and that supports higher prices going forward. Some econmic data due out this week and the Fed chairman will be speaking on Thursday. Interest rates ticked up higher today but it didn't affect the stock market this time. I'm still bullish for now but if we continue going straight up it could be the speculative blow off that leads to a decent decline. Hasn't happened yet but I'll be keeping an eye on things as usual. A lot of overseas markets were closed last night but what were open moved higher. We'll see if they follow todays US rally tonight.

Moving higher to begin the month of April as the Dow gained 171 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is now moving up. The overall market was once again stronger than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way. New all time highs for the S&P 500 as the 4000 level was crossed. There doesn't seem to be anything in the way of higher prices going forward. The only drawback here is the light volume but it is a holiday week. The S&P remians short term overbought. My thinking is that prices could run up into the option expiration in two weeks but that isn't set in stone. For now we'll enjoy the ride. GE was up over 1/8 on light volume. Gold continues to bouce as the futures rose twenty bucks on the June contract. The US dollar was lower and interest rates took a step back. The XAU was up 5 1/2 to climb back above its 50 day moving average. GDX was up a little over a point on average volume. GDX is right at the 50 day moving average and getting above it would be a plus for the bulls. With a couple of brief exceptions, the 50 day has held prices in check for GDX for the past half a year at least. The short term technical indicators here have turned up. My GDX April calls are now showing a better profit. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX dropped much lower today and now is well below the 20 level. This means that the rally is on. In general, when the VIX stays below 20 any decline will be brief and not turn into something more. This makes sense as the government is printing so much money that it has to find a home and the home will be stocks. The recent declines that we've seen are just bumps in the road as we travel higher. Europe and Asia were higher last night as spring has brought buying around the globe. Time for a long weekend in which I'll be checking the charts and getting in some relaxation. It's Thursday afternoon and time for a rest.