The Dow led the way higher today as the most watched index gained 242 points on average volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 positive. This should move the summation index back to the upside. The NASDAQ underperformed today but still managed a small gain. The S&P was higher and remains short term overbought. It is getting far away from its 50 day moving average. Not sure what to expect with tomorrows inflation data but we'll watch the market reaction to the numbers. There is still plenty of time left in the February option cycle. Gold was up $3 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates were lower. The XAU was up 1 1/2, while GDX gained over 1/2. Volume was light. After yesterdays drop the gold shares found buyers today. The short term indicators for GDX have now turned back up. It is a confusing picture at the moment for the GDX daily chart. I still have my open order out for the February calls there but if GDX starts to head lower here I may just cancel it. If GDX continues higher tomorrow then this trade will be missed. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that does not fit an up market. Not sure what that means for tomorrow. There is no consensus with the short term technical indicators on the VIX. Some are oversold and some are mid-range. It appears that we'll just have to let this week pass and take it from there but we'll see what happens on Friday. Europe was up slightly and Asia was generally higher. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.