Some selling to close out 2023 as the Dow fell 20 points on light volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving up. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. The major stock indices remain short term overbought with potential negative RSI divergences on the daily charts. I think that most expect the rally to continue to new all time highs for the S&P in the beginning of 2024. I am in that camp for now. But we must respect the fact that markets go where they want and perhaps the indexes will take a rest here. Some type of pullback is certainly overdue. But we will probably watch and wait for now with regards to the SPY until we see what we think is a solid signal. Gold was off ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates held steady. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on about average volume. GDX remains in the short term overbought range. 32 is the level that we need to get through on good volume to continue the move higher here. I would still like to try the GDX January calls at some point. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished flat after being higher during the session. Not sure where it is headed in the near term. My trading for 2023 finished slightly in the black. There were some big gains and some big losses. I will need to work on the management of the trades in order to produce better results. We'll try and focus on taking profits earlier in 2024. I also need to cut down on the huge losses but that is a goal every year. I'll try to have more success with that as well. There will certainly be plenty of trading opportunities as the year goes on. It's another long holiday weekend and all the players will return next week. I'll be checking the charts as usual to try and get ready for the 1st week of the new year. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break. Happy New Year everyone.

Another day of hanging around waiting for the year to end as the Dow gained 53 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index rolls on higher. The Dow was once again the leader, while the NASDAQ posted a nominal loss. Technical conditions for the S&P 500 remain overbought and staying that way. We are simply waiting for 2023 to finish and then we'll see how it goes to start the new year. Gold fell around $15 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU dropped three points and GDX lost over 3/4. Volume was good to the downside despite it being a holiday week. The short term indicators for GDX are starting to roll over. The longer term down trend line remains in place. GDX has areas of support at both 30 and 29.5. One down day doesn't make a trend and we still like the GDX calls at some point. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished pretty much flat today. Not sure where it is headed from here. I'd like to simply get through tomorrows market action and move on to 2024. Still plenty of time left in the January option cycle to trade. Asia was up with the exception of Japan and Europe closed lower. We'll finish out the week, month and year tomorrow.

Just hanging around today as the Dow gained 111 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues higher. The Dow was the leader today. The technical conditons haven't changed for the major indices. Waiting on new all time highs for the S&P 500. It is a holiday mode market and we are simply waiting for the new year to begin at this point. Trying to stay patient for now. Gold jumped almost twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU rose 1 1/4, while GDX added 1/3. Volume was light. We still want to try the GDX January calls at some point. GDX is now right at the down trend line that began in early 2022. We want to be on board with the calls when that line is broken to the upside with volume. However GDX is both short and medium term overbought at the moment. That doesn't mean that it can't stay that way but it does mean that the risk is elevated to attempt the trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with a positive market. The short term indicators have now turned down with room to go lower. This implys more near term gains for the stock market and the Santa Claus rally continues. Europe and Asia finished higher as the overseas markets get into the holiday spirit. A new all time high for the Dow today as we wait for the other indexes to follow suit. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

The Santa Claus rally is in full swing as the Dow gained 159 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ continues to lead but we must be reminded that the market is in holiday mode. You cannot argue with price though. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought with potential negative divergences looming. But for now it is all systems on go with the chance to break out to new all time highs in the coming sessions. We will remain on the sidelines with regards to the SPY options until the new year. Gold was up $10 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates remained steady. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional gains on very light volume. GDX is short term overbought but not at extremes. We will try and wait for a pullback here before attempting the January calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a touch lower today. The short term technical indicators here are mid-range. Not sure where the VIX heads next but with the market moving higher I'd guess that the VIX will trend lower. However it is hard to put much stock into this week as many of the players are off and will not return to their desks until the new year. Markets that were open overseas were muted and mixed. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Inflation data came in where expected and it was pretty much a lackluster holiday trading session. The Dow lost 18 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The overall market was stronger than the Dow with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posting gains. The S&P remains short term overbought. We are entering a long holiday weekend followed by the last week of the year. I would expect light trading next week and no major surprises. On the sidelines still with regards to teh SPY. Gold was up $13 on the futures. The dollar was a bit lower and interest rates remained steady. The XAU was up a point and GDX rose almost 1/4. Volume was average. The gold shares did drop from their best levels on the day. We will try and wait for some pullback here before attempting the GDX January calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and some of the short term indicators have rolled over. Not sure where it goes from here but the daily candlestick chart looks constructive for lower readings going forward. That would be a plus for stocks. We are also in the Santa Claus rally time period so higher stock prices from here would not be a surprise. We'll check the charts over the break and try and come up with a game plan for the new year. Europe and Asia were mixed to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break. Merry Christmas everyone.

Buyers were back in charge today as the Dow climbed 322 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index continues higher. Yesterdays huge decline looks like a one day wonder but we'll have to see tomorrows reaction to the inflation data to be sure. The NASDAQ was the leader today and that's a plus. The S&P 500 does remain short term overbought though. I'd expect most of the activity to take place early tomorrow as traders head home early for the holiday and the bond market closes early. The stock market remains in rally mode although we could head sideways here to relieve some of the overbought condition. We'll remain on the sidelines for now. Gold was up $8 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates remain steady. The XAU was up a couple points and GDX rose over 1/2. Volume was light. I'm still considering the GDX January calls but will remain patient for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today. The short term indicators here are starting to roll back over. This would be a positive for stocks if it continues. We'll know more after the reaction to the inflation data out tomorrow. The VIX does remain at low levels and as long as that continues the trend will be higher for the market. We are entering holiday mode for the markets so the volume will be light and the conviction of the moves in question. The Santa Claus rally is due to begin tomorrow. Asia was mixed and Europe slightly lower in last nights trade. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Finally we saw some selling today that was long overdue as the Dow fell 475 points on average volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is still moving up. Things were moving along to the upside as usual until there were only a couple of hours left in the session. Then the selling started and just fed on itself as it was practically a straight line down closing on the lows of the day. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned down but they are still overbought. I don't think that this is the beginning of some kind of huge decline but rather a well needed rest before the S&P goes on to a new all time high. We'll see. Perhaps we'll get a set up for the SPY January calls. Waiting for the end of the week and Fridays inflation numbers before commiting to any type of trade. Gold dropped $8 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates lower on the day. The XAU fell 2 7/8, while GDX lost 3/4. Volume was on the light side. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to roll over. The daily candlestick chart here now has a bearish engulfing pattern on it. There is also a potential negative divergence on the RSI daily indicator. So while we are inclined to try the GDX January calls, we will wait and see where things go from here with regards to the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX took off to the upside and closed above the upper Bollinger band. The short term indicators are moving up with room to go. I'm not sure what's next for the VIX as we got the volatility implied by the tight Bollinger bands today. Perhaps we'll travel up to the 50 day moving average at 15 but that's just a guess. We'll keep an eye on it. The extreme overbought market conditons are finally getting some relief. How long the relief lasts is the next question. The Santa Claus rally is supposed to start on Friday and last seven trading days. Perhaps todays decline will allow that to take place. We'll know as time moves on. Asia And Europe were mixed in yesterdays trading overseas. We'll see if there is any follow through selling in stocks tomorrow.

Hihger and higher we climb as the Dow gained 251 points on average volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. Sellers are nowhere to be found. At this point we are just repeating the same thing day after day. Extremely short term overbought and staying that way. But it is in fact what's happening. There is no telling how long this will go on and we are not about to guess when it ends. We are content to watch from the sidelines for now as there is plenty of time in the January option cycle to trade. The S&P 500 is pretty far from its 50 day moving average and that won't last forever. We'll remain patient adn perhaps will not put on a new trade until the new year. Gold was up $13 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates remain steady. The XAU rose 3 1/2, while GDX added over 3/4. Volume was good to the upside and money continues to find a home in this space. GDX is short term overbought but not extremely so. There is a longer term down trend line at 32.5 to get through and that is a point away. I'm still looking at the GDX January calls despite the recent advance. Getting through 32.5 would point to 35 as the next target. What are we waiting for? Some type of decline or consolidation as there is so much time left for the January options that the premiums are pretty pricey. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX pretty much finished flat today. The tight Bollinger bands stand out on the daily chart. The VIX is so low already that I can't think that the next move there will be even lower but anything is possible I guess. I'm still voting for an increase in volatility and some kind of market drop in the near term. Long overdue in fact but again, we won't stand in the way of this rally. Europe and Asia finised higher with the exception of Hong Kong. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

The buying spree continues for the overall market but the Dow finished flat on average volume. The advance/declines were around even. The summation index is still moving up. It feels like holiday mode already as we opened higher and trended that way for much of the session. The NASDAQ along with the S&P 500 led the way. The S&P remains extremely short term overbought and has been overbought for a month and a half. Sellers have vanished. This cannot go on indefinately. However trying to step in front of this freight train is not advised. Plenty of time in the January option cycle and the sidelines makes sense for now with regards to the SPY. Gold was up five bucks on the futures. The US dollar was flat along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves higher on light volume. You can see that the theme today was lackluster trading all around. Do not be surpirsed if that continues. I like the GDX January calls still if we get some pullback. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which doesn't fit todays price action. The short term indicators here have finally turned up. Combine that with the very tight Bollinger bands on the daily chart and you have a recipe for more volatility in the near term. That would not fit with our holiday mode thesis so we'll have to see how the rest of this week plays out. Asia and Europe were lower with the exception of the FTSE. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

We finished the week on a mixed note as the Dow gained 56 points on very heavy expiration related volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index continues higher. The S&P 500 closed with a fractional loss and remains short term overbought to the extreme. I would expect to see some selling or at least sideways movement next week but you never know. Perhaps we'll just plow on to new all time highs. But my guess is some kind of pause to set up the Santa Claus rally which takes place the last five trading days of the year followed by the first two days of the new year. Whatever squaring of the books for 2023 will take place next week as many players will be off between Christmas and New Years. We will wait for some kind of trading signal in the SPY before attempting anything there. Ideally something that sets us up for the calls because the market is in a bullish mode. Gold was off $11 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates remained steady. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional losses on average volume. I still favor the January calls for GDX and a few of the short term indicators are trying to turn lower here. I'll consider placing an order for some next week. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX is still short term oversold as it moved lower today. The daily Bollinger bands are getting closer together suggesting that we'll see some kind of outsized move in this indicator soon. We'll see. What we do know is that as long as the VIX stays low the rally has room to go. An extra week in the January option cycle so premiums will be high but there is more time for ideas to work. We'll go over the charts this weekend as usual. Asia was higher and Europe generally lower to finish the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

Some follow through to yesterdays huge gains as the Dow added 158 points on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The Dow is leading here and set a new all time high yesterday. That isn't the most bullish scenario but we expect the other major averages to set new all time highs in the coming weeks. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought to an extreme at this point. Pretty far removed from its 50 day moving average. Moving back up in a straight line again as well. Overdue for some type of decline but so far in this rally all we get is sideways consolidation. You cannot argue with price though so we'll just have to see how far it goes. The heavy volume in the past two sessions is another plus. Gold was up $54 on the futures. The US dollar continues to drop along with interest rates. The XAU was up 3 1/4, while GDX gained 5/8. Volume was heavy again to the upside for the gold shares although they did finish off of the best levels on the session. We still like the GDX January call idea and will look to purchase some on weakness. Obviously we've missed the ideal time to try this idea but I still believe that there is money to be made. I could be wrong. 5 weeks in the January option cycle so there will be plenty of time for this trade idea to work. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today and continues to be short term oversold. It also touched its lower Bollinger band for the third day in a row. The low level here continues to support gains in the stock market for now. It's a bull market and we're on a bull run. Europe and Asia were mixed overnight. We'll see how the week finishes with expiration Friday tomorrow.

The Fed spoke and the market loved what it heard as the Dow climbed 512 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 8 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. It was a huge rally as all the stock indices celebrated Christmas a little early. The S&P 500 is short term overbought, staying that way and getting to extremes. New all time highs for the S&P will be coming in the following weeks. The Fed is done raising rates and will be looking to cut according to todays monologue. In retrospect the December SPY calls were not a bad idea but we were not willing to take the risk. Obviously did not anticipate a dovish Fed. The S&P is now pretty far from its 50 day moving average and that cannot last forever. But we will not stand in the way of this freight train as the bulls are clearly in charge. Gold took off with stocks as the futures rose $46. The US dollar got clobbered and interest rates sank. The gold shares rallied with the XAU gaining 7 1/8 and GDX jumping over 1 3/4. Volume was heavy to the upside. My order for the GDX January calls never got filled. I still like this idea but after missing todays move we'll have to wait and see if we get any pullback in order to give it a try. The short term indicators for GDX have now turned back up however there is still plenty of room for them to go higher. I don't think that today is just a one day wonder for gold but we'll see. It was an incredible move in the gold shares that the likes we haven't seen in quite a while. Mentally I'm feeling frustrated as we were looking in the right direction but not able to take advantage of the situation. But you've got to keep moving forward in the game. The VIX was up a touch as it bounced off of the lower Bollinger band again. This indicator has been short term oversold for so long it is beginning to lose any kind of useful reference for us. What it does point out is that with such low readings the bulls are in charge. Two days left in the December option cycle as the bullish expiration week bias has been in full force. I guess we'll see how far the market can go. Asia was mixed and Europe lower overnight. We'll see what kind of follow through we get tomorrow.

Continuing to move higher as the Dow gained 173 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still moving higher. The signal for a big move in stocks from the McClellan oscillator on Friday did not pan out. The inflation data came in where expected. After initially moving lower the market recovered and trended higher for the rest of the session. It was another one day reversal to the upside. The potential negative RSI divergence on the daily chart for the S&P 500 is gone. The short term indicators for the S&P are now extremely overbought. I suspect that we'll have to see some kind of selling very soon. However we have clearly gotten through the resistance at 4600 and the trend is up. We'll see what happens with the inflation data and the Fed tomorrow. Gold finished practically flat on the futures today. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were slightly down. The XAU lost 3 1/8, while GDX dropped 2/3. Volume was above average. GDX is almost short term oversold. I adjusted my open order for the GDX January calls to a closer to the money strike price. Another day like today would most likely get it filled. The gold shares dropping with gold going nowhere is bearish. GDX has made it all the way back to its 50 day moving average. Perhaps the idea of the January calls here is the wrong one. I will reconsider this overnight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continues to head south for the lowest close of the year. Still short term oversold as it has been for almost a month and a half. This too cannot go on forever. The VIX did touch its lower Bollinger band and bounce off of it today so perhaps it will move higher tomorrow. We'll see. Asia was higher with the exception of India while Europe was marginally lower. All eyes and ears on the Fed tomorrow.

Another one day reversal to the upside as stock markets opened lower and closed higher. The Dow gained 157 points on light volume. The advance/declines were barely positive. The summation index continues higher. We did get a signal from the McClellan oscillator on Friday for a big move within the next two trading days. Today really doesn't qualify, for we had muted gains besides the Dow. So we'll see how it goes tomorrow. We still have the potential negative RSI divergence on the S&P 500 daily chart. However the S&P is now comfortably above the resistance at 4600. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. Inflation data out tomorrow will most likely be the market mover. Gold lost $18 on the futures. The US dollar and interest rates finished little changed ahead of the inflation report. The XAU lost a point and GDX shed 1/8. Volume was light. The gold shares held up much better than gold and also finished up from the worst levels of the day. Not yet short term oversold for GDX on the daily chart. I did place an open order out there for the GDX January calls but it will take some more decline for it to be filled. If GDX makes it back to the 50 day moving average the order should be filled. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished higher today which doesn't fit with an up market. Still short term oversold here. Inflation data to be reported for the next two days in a row followed by the Fed later on Wednesday. So we should be ready for some kind of volatility either up or down. Not exactly sure what to expect so we'll be on the sidelines with regards to the SPY for now. Asia and Europe were generally higher. WE'll see how the market reacts to the inflation numbers tomorrow.

Mild gains today as the Dow rose 130 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues higher. The employment data came in about where expected. We had a rally, then a sell off and another rally into the close. The NASDAQ barely led the way higher. The S&P 500 did close above the resistance at 4600. It still remains short term overbought with a possible negative divergence on the daily RSI. We are not looking at the SPY December calls anymore with a week to go in the December option cycle. Gold dropped $25 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 1 3/8, while GDX shed almost 2/3. Volume was good to the downside. The gold shares had a bearish week led by the one day downside reversal on Monday. That should have been our cue to exit the GDX December call trade. But it was poorly managed by me once again. I dumped the calls today for a 55% loss. We have now seen GDX close below the neckline of the inverse head and shoulders pattern that had a valid breakout last week. So there is the likelyhood that the pattern will be negated and the breakout was false. It happens. The short term indicators for GDX are now mid-range. If they do make it down to oversold we'll probably try the GDX January calls as the January option cycle has an extra week in it. But that doesn't cancel the fact that the recent GDX trade had a nice profit that I failed to capture. We were looking for the 34 level for GDX and it did not even make it to 32. Mentally I'm feeling frustrated as we chalk up another losing trade. I suppose the short term goal now is to try and not do anything stupid next week. But win or lose moving on is next thing to do. The VIX was down to close at the lowest level on the year. Still short term oversold but not at extremes. The VIX is still implying higher stock prices to come. We've got inflation data and the Fed next week so there will be plenty of excuses for the markets to move. I would expect things to quiet down after that with the holidays coming up towards the end of the month. Asia was mixed and Europe higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Buyers showed up ahead of tomorrows employment report as the Dow rose 63 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ led the way and that's a plus. The S&P 500 is still in a sideways pattern but the short term indicators are turning back up. Still short term overbought though and below the resistance of 4600. Not sure what will happen tomorrow but todays price action was encouraging for the bulls. Or SPY Decmber call idea is back on the shelf after the S&P already moving higher today. Gold was off a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were flat. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses again on light volume. My GDX December calls are barely in the black. We had GDX make it back to the neckline of the inverted head and shoulders pattern today at the 30 level. The next technical expectation is to move higher from here. I did place an order for the GDX January calls but it wasn't filled. The price action for gold and the gold shares hasn't been bullish lately. Todays drop in the dollar should have resulted in a rally for the precious metal but none occured. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished barely higher today which doesn't fit with an up market. The short term indicators here remain oversold but not as much as they were. The low readings on the VIX imply higher prices for stocks as we move forward. We'll have to see how the markets react to the jobs report and go from there. Europe and Asia finished lower overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

It was a one day reversal to the downside as the market opened higher and closed lower. The Dow fell 70 points on average volume. The advance/declines were barely negative. The summation index is still moving up. Most of the major stock indices had a gap up at the open but then sold off for the rest of the day. That's negative price action to be sure. The NASDAQ led the way lower as well which isn't a plus for the bulls. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are moving lower with room to go. It has still basically moved sideways for the past couple of weeks but another down day will change things. Not sure why we are seeing the selling but we still like the idea of the SPY December calls if and when we reach short term oversold. Perhaps by the end of this week or the beginning of the next. Gold was up $7 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates were steady. The XAU and GDX had very slight fractional losses on light volume. The fact that they could not show a gain when gold itself was up is negative. The short term indicators for GDX are still heading down. My GDX December calls are still at a small profit. Looks like we'll wait and see the reaction to Fridays jobs report before deciding on whether to continue to hold on to this trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up just a bit today. The short term indicators here are trying to move up. Still oversold on the VIX but not at extremes. Not sure what to expect next here for stocks but Friday should provide the near term answers. We'll be patient and wait for now unless something dramatic occurs tomorrow. My guess is that it will be a waiting game. Europe and Asia finished up on the session. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

The mixed market theme continues as the Dow fell 79 points on light volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index continues higher. The NASDAQ posted a small gain while the S&P 500 was barely lower. The short term indicators for the S&P have now rolled over with plenty of room to go lower. Still short term overbought there but not as much as lately. Not sure what the next move for the S&P is and we may have to wait until Fridays jobs report to find out. Markets have stopped moving straight up though as the easy money has already been made. If we continue to see a dip we might try the SPY December calls. Gold was off five bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates were lower. The XAU fell 2 1/3, while GDX lost over 1/2. Volume was good to the downside as traders are getting out of their gold positions. The short term technical indicators for GDX are moving lower from overbought readings. I'm still holding on to the GDX December calls and they still have a small gain. It appears that the best time to exit this trade has passed. The price action now is heading back to the neckline of the inverse head and shoulders pattern on the daily chart which lies at the 30 level. 30 should contain the recent decline and price should move back up from there. That is a reasonable conclusion of the price action for GDX but markets go where they want. We are counting on the technical analysis to work but it never has been 100%. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains oversold but not at an extreme level. Don't know what to expect next here. Still plenty of time left in the December option cycle. We'll have the Fed to deal with next week as well. Asia was lower with the exception of India and Europe higher except for the FTSE. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

Sellers took over in the overall market to begin the week but the Dow only fell 41 points on good volume. The advance/declines were barely negative. The summation index continues higher. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. We had a gap down at the open on the S&P 500. It did manage to finish off of the worst levels on the session. The short term indicators still remain overbought though and we'll need more than what we saw today to relieve that condition. Still pretty far removed from the 50 day moving average for most of the major stock averages.. We do have economic data out this week with the jobs report on Friday as the main event. Gold was highly volatile on the futures as the daily range was over $100. Overnight there was jump to the $2150 level only to see sellers take over and drive the price back back to below $2050. It finished off over forty bucks. The US dollar was higher and so were interest rates. The gold shares sank with the XAU dropping 3 1/3 and GDX losing over 3/4. Volume was heavy to the downside. The short term indicators for GDX have rolled over but are still overbought. My GDX December calls are still in the black but were cut in half today. Managing things from here won't be easy after todays price action. I'm still a believer in the gold shares but they are due for a rest just like the overall market. I'll consider where we go from here overnight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit higher today but is still short term oversold. If it continues higher perhaps we'll see the pause in the market uptrend that is overdue. Or maybe the market just goes sideways from here. When in doubt, stay out is how the saying goes. Perhaps trying the SPY December calls before expiration isn't a good idea but we are still considering it. Asia was lower with the exception of India and Europe finished little changed one way or the other. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Still powering higher as the Dow gained 294 points on good volume. The advance/declines were around 6 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. It was a one day reversal to the upside for the S&P 500 as it opened lower and closed higher. Still short term overbought here as we've reached the next level of resistance at 4600. Will we see a pause? We should, as the stock market is long overdue for some kind of decline. The angle of ascent that we've seen simply cannot be sustained forever. The short term indicators for the S&P are beginning to reach extremes. However we'd only be guessing if we think now is the time for some selling because the market is on a roll. We certainly would not recommend trying the SPY puts anytime soon because the trend is steeply up. Gold jumped almost $35 on the futures and closed at a new all time high. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 2 1/2, while GDX rose 1/2. Volume was good to the upside. The gold shares did not rise as much as expected with gold itself having such a good day. However GDX is very short term overbought and some kind of sideways price action or decline is likely at this point. I would still like to wait until it gets to at least the 33 level before selling the GDX December calls that I own but we'll have to wait and see. Two weeks left in the December option cycle so managing the trade from here is the key. The gold shares are starting to act like the overall market itself, up with no downside. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains oversold to the extreme. There seems to be nothing but buyers out there now but that will chenge eventually and probably sooner rather than later. We'll have to be on our toes to figure out the remaining two weeks in the December option cycle. I'll check all the charts as usual this weekend. Europe was higher and Asia mixed to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.