Looking for direction as the Dow gained 48 points on light volume. The advance/declines were about even. The summation index is moving sideways. We bounced around trending lower for much of the session before a last half hour rally sent indices into positive terrritory with the exception of the NASDAQ. The Fed beige book was a non event. Waiting on NVDA earnings after the bell to set the tone for tomorrow. The S&P 500 is now mid-range its Bollinger band channel with the short term indicators drifting lower. There is no clear trading signal one way or the other here so we'll be on the sidelines with regards to the SPY for now. Gold was off a few bucks on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional losses on average volume. I did place an order for the GDX March calls but it will take some selling there to get filled. I'm leaving it open overnight. Newmont earnings on tap for tomorrow. The gold shares seem to be holding in here so this trade may have been missed as well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a touch lower today. The daily candlestick chart here looks like it has put in a small top and that the VIX will be heading lower near term. That would be a plus for higher stock prices. I still like the idea of the SPY March puts at some point during the monthly option cycle but need to see a decent signal first. We'll have to stay patient for now. Europe and Asia were mixed again. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.