Up, down and then way back up as the Dow gained 574 points on the last day of May. Volume was end of the month heavy. The advance/declines were shy of 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is starting to move sideways. The inflation data came in where expected and after an initial pop at the open the market then sold off. Halfway through the session buyers stepped in to turn things around. Then in the final half hour the market took off like a rocket. End of the month squaring of positions? Short covering? Who knows but we were getting pretty oversold on a short term basis. Was it a one day bounce or is this the beginning of the next leg up? Always plenty of questions in this game. The Dow was the leader again and the NASDAQ posted a very small loss. However with the Dow up over five hundred points you would expect the NASDAQ to have some kind of gain on the day. So I'm not exactly sure what we are dealing with here. Gold was off $18 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates dropped. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. GDX is somewhat short term oversold but the indicators there still have room to move lower. My order for the June calls on GDX remains in effect. I'll reconsider what to do with it over the weekend. Gold down with interest rates moving lower doesn't fit either. Plenty of crosscurrents and mixed messages from the markets at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX had a big drop today which fits with the Dow but certainly not the NASDAQ. The short term indicators here have turned back down. An interesting last day of the month to be sure. What it all means going forward is what we'll try and figure out over the weekend. I'll go over the charts as usual to try and come up with some type of game plan. Three weeks to go in the June option cycle so there's plenty of time to find the next trade. Asia was mixed and Europe slightly higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Another day, another decline as the Dow fell 330 points on almost average volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive though. The summation index is heading lower. The NASDAQ led things down today and that isn't a positive development. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are now mid-range or lower. Tomorrows reaction to the inflation data will go a long way towards telling the story of where we go from here. Either things fall apart or a bounce will occur. I certainly don't know which as the indices are pretty mixed at the moment. Todays positive breadth is a puzzler as well. We'll stay on the sidelines with regards to the SPY options for now. Gold was up a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar and interest rates finished lower. The XAU was up 1 2/3, while GDX gained 1/3. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are starting to move sideways and could be putting in a bottom. I'm leaving the order for the GDX June calls out there. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX finished slightly higher today and is up against the upper Bollinger band. Some of the short term indicators on the VIX have reached the overbought level. This implies a lower VIX and higher stock prices but we'll wait and see. Asia was lower and Europe higher overnight. We'll see how the market reacts to Fridays data and close out the trading week.

Sellers took control today as the Dow fell 397 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 5 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving down. The Dow led the way lower again and that isn't the most bearish scenario. We had a gap down to begin the day followed by sideways action until droping again in the final half hour. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned down with room to go. The NASDAQ is still short term overbought and holding up better amongst the major averages. If it starts to really fall then I'd say the market is in trouble. Hasn't happened yet. Looks too late for the SPY June puts but we'll see. There are potential double tops on some of the daily charts for the major stock averages. The TRAN seems to be breaking down. It is a mixed pictire to be sure. Gold dipped twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU lost over three bucks, while GDX shed 7/8. Volume was a bit below average. The short term indicators for GDX are mid-range or lower. My open order for the GDX June calls remains out there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that fits a down market. Still below both the 50 and 200 day moving averages but another day like today would put it above those levels. Still pretty far away from the 20 level though. We've seen the Dow take the worst of the selling here recently. If it moves to the NASDAQ things would get a little rough on the bulls. Perhaps we'll get some answers after Fridays inflation data is released. Europe and Asia were lower once again as we are seeing selling around the globe. I'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

Starting the week off with a mixed picture as the Dow dropped 216 points on light volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving lower. The NASDAQ posted a gain on the session to a new all time high, while the S&P 500 was flat. The S&P is still on the overbought side for the short term. For now we'll take our cues from the summation index direction. As long as it is heading lower we will be on the lookout for an opportunity to purchase the SPY June puts. Perhaps ahead of the inflation data due out on Friday. Gold was up $25 on the futures. The US dollar finished a bit lower and interest rates were up. The XAU was up 3 7/8, while GDX added over 3/4. Volume was a bit below average. Silver had another big session, up 1.75. The short term indicators for GDX have turned back up. It looks like perhaps I've missed this next move higher for GDX but we'll see. The volume hasn't been as active as it was previously. My open order for the GDX June calls is still out there. However at this rate it won't get filled. Remaining patient for now as there is plenty of time in the June option cycle. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits with the Dow but not the NASDAQ. Not sure what to expect here next but the VIX remains below the mid-Bollinger band level. Negative breadth and a lack of volume are not the most bullish current conditions. Europe and Asia were lower overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

Back to the upside for the overall market today but the Dow only rose 4 points on light volume. The advance/declines were shy of 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is now trending lower. The NASDAQ was up 1% and led the way higher. That's a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 had a decent gain. The short term indicators here are turning back up. The S&P is still in short term overbought territory. I'm not sure where we go from here. The most recent time the S&P daily candlestick chart had this kind of configuration it led to a decline. Gold was off a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU was up 1 5/8, while GDX added 1/2. Volume was pretty light. The short term indicators for GDX are now mid-range. It is possible that the decline will end here for the gold shares but it is not a certainty. My open order for the GDX June calls remains out there. GDX has long term resistance where it stopped this week at 37.5-38. If it can make it through there on good volume the upside would be substantial in my view. Hasn't happened yet and GDX is medium term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and the short term indicators have turned back down. That gives the perception that yesterdays sell off was a one day affair. We'll know more in the coming days. We also don't know if today was just an oversold bounce since many players have seemed to take the day off ahead of a holiday weekend. Volume was pretty light. We'll go over the charts in the next few days to try and form a consensus as to what exactly is going on. Asia was lower and Europe ended little changed today to close the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Today had a dramatic one day downside reversal as the market had a huge gap up at the open only to roll over and close lower on the session. The Dow fell 605 points on light volume. The advance/declines were around 5 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to turn down. The Dow led the way down. NVDA earnings were fine but sellers assumed control of the market. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned down but they are still in overbought territory. I'm not exactly sure for the cause of today demise but interest rates did move higher. We will stick with the technicals though and any way you look at it today brings about a negative change. We'll see if we get any follow through tomorrow. Gold got clobbered as the futures dropped sixty dollars. The US dollar was up slightly and interest rates rose. The XAU lost 2 7/8 and GDX fell around 3/4. Volume was good to the downside again. The gold shares did hold up better than gold itself and that is a small plus there. I did place an open order for the GDX June calls but it will take some more selling for it to get filled. The short term indicators for GDX have rolled over but are not yet oversold. The up trend line for GDX that began in March was broken today. So there is a distinct chance that getting the calls here is not the right idea. I'll be keeping a close watch in things and may cancel the order. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX had a broad range today and finished higher which fits the sell off. The short term indicators here are turning up from oversold territory. The VIX did back off from its mid-range Bollinger band level. So there's a chance today was just a one day wonder and buyers return to the market tomorrow. Time will tell. The overall market certainly held up better than the Dow. Europe and Asia finished mixed. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Volatility made a return today but it wasn't to the extreme. The Dow fell 202 points on light volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. The Fed minutes today were not what the market was looking for. Perhaps the NVDA earnings will provide a catalyst for the bulls after the bell. Despite todays selling the S&P 500 remains short term overbought. We are still in the camp of waiting for a decent signal before trying the SPY options again. Doubt that it will happen this week. Gold dropped over forty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interst rates ticked up. The XAU fell 5 3/4, while GDX lost 1 1/2. Volume was heavy to the downside as traders headed for the exits. The short term indicators have now rolled over for GDX with room to go. However one of our other indicators here is already flashing a buy signal for GDX after todays decline. I'm inclined to wait for the daily chart to get down to oversold before trying the calls here for June. Sometimes things that go up fast come down fast too. We'll look at things overnight and take it from there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX did move up today but not as much as the intra-day volatility would suggest. It remains short term oversold although the indicators have slightly turned up. Just a couple of days left this week before a long holiday weekend. Pretty sure that we are going to let it pass before the next trade but you never know. The GDX calls will probably be the next trade idea. Europe was down and Asia mostly lower in last nights trade. On to Thursday.

It was a one day reversal to the upside as stocks opened lower and closed higher. The Dow gained 66 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still moving up. New all time highs for the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. There is no overhead resistance and the S&P remains short term overbought. Not sure what could derail things as there seems to be plenty of buyers and a lack of sellers. Can't stay overbought forever though. I'll remain sitting on the sidelines for now. Gold dropped ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was flat and interest rates dipped. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. GDX remains short term overbought and is pretty far from its 200 day moving average. Some kind of pullback should be forthcoming. I still like the GDX calls going forward but will wait for some kind of oversold condition. At the rate gold is going the wait could be a while. However we will not take a position in the calls while GDX is short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits a higher market. Back below the 12 lvel now. Short term oversold here for weeks. We are not making any money on the sidelines but we aren't losing any either. Sometimes you have to wait for an opportunity and that is where we find ourselves at the moment. There is an extra week in the June option cycle so we have time on our side there. A holiday weekend is on tap as well. Not much on the economic front this week but there is some anticipation of the NVDA earnings after the bell tomorrow. Both Asia and Europe closed lower last night. We'll see how it goes on Wednesday.

A mixed bag to begin the week as the Dow fell 196 points on light volume. The advance/declines were about even. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ finished higher on the day while the S&P 500 was flat. The S&P remains short term overbought as do most of the major stock indices. Not a lot of economic data out this week and there's an extra week in the June option cycle. With that in mind we'll be on the sidelines with regards to the SPY until we get some kind of signal either way. Gold was up $16 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU gained 2 1/8 and GDX rose 3/8. Volume was a bit above average. Short term overbought here as well and we are not interested in trying the GDX puts. We'll have to wait for GDX to get back to oversold and that might take a while. So again, patience will be required and we'll have to wait on the markets. We are not going to try and force things as that will most likely lead to losing trades. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly and continues to be short term oversold. It has been a lenghty stay in the short term oversold region for the VIX and this will not last forever. However trying to determine when it will end is virtually impossible. We'll keep an eye on things. Europe and Asia were higher to start the week. I'll keep watch on the overnight headlines.

A fairly quiet options expiration Friday as the Dow rose 134 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is moving up. The Dow was the leader today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. However they did all they could in the final minutes to get to the 40000 level at the close and made it. The NASDAQ posted a small loss. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. We are moving into the next option cycle that has an extra week in it. I will try and wait for a decent signal before attempting the next trade. There is no hurry as option premiums will be high. Gold was up $35 on the futures and silver soared as it broke through resistance at the 30 level. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were higher. The XAU added 5 3/8, while GDX gained almost 1 1/4. Volume was heavy to the upside. GDX remains short term overbought. We do not want to chase things here at this point but will wait for a pullback in the gold shares before attempting the GDX calls again. This space is in rally mode as money continues to pour into this sector. But we have missed the move during the May option cycle so we will wait things out for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower and closed below 12. Still short term oversold as it has been for weeks. This is the lowest weekly close for the VIX in years. May is usually not such a positive time for stocks but it certainly has been so far this year. We'll see how the last couple of weeks here go. I'll be checking the charts as usual this weekend. Asia was generally higher and Europe slightly lower to finish the trading week overseas. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Sideways was the theme of todays session as the Dow was above 40000 but then fell back to close below that milestone level. It lost 38 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues higher. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small losses. The market is extremely overbought. A pause is way overdue. I'm not saying some type of corrective decline but a rest in needed. Todays slight drop didn't do much to relieve the short term overbought condition for the S&P. We'll see how expiration Friday goes. Gold lost $11 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on about average volume. GDX remains short term overbought. We will wait to put on the next GDX call trade until it gets oversold. That's the idea for now. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX barely moved today and the short term oversold condition persists. Waiting to see if we make it down to 12 here. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow and roll into the June option cycle which has na extra week in it. Premiums will be high. Patience for now. Asia up and Europe down overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Up, up and away as the Dow gained 350 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving higher. The inflation data came in where expected and retail sales were flat. That was enough to entice buyers to send the Dow, S&P 500 and the NASDAQ to new all time highs. The Dow is knocking on 40,000. There is now no overhead resistance so we'll have to see how far this can go. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought with some of the indicators at extremes. It won't last forever but we'll simply have to enjoy the ride. Obviously we missed this move higher and had a losing trade attempt earlier this week. But the show must go on as the market doesn't care about my trading results. Two days left in the May option cycle and we'll watch from the sidelines with regards to the SPY. Gold was up $33 on the futures. The US dollar dropped along with interest rates. The XAU gained 1 1/2 and GDX was up 1/2. Volume was average. GDX is short term overbought and staying there as well. It is up against its upper Bollinger band on the daily chart. We missed out on the GDX May calls although there were opportunities. My analysis seems to be off right now so I'll have to tread lightly. We will try and wait for oversold conditions before trying the calls here again. Mentally I'm feeling somewhat disappointed at missing out on profits this option cycle. However not every idea will work and you certainly cannot expect to be correct all the time. I suppose we'll be thankful that we only lost a small sum of money this time around. The VIX was lower and is still short term oversold. Getting close to the 12 level here which was the previous low back in December. Not sure what's next here on the VIX. Europe was up and Asia generally lower with the exception of Japan overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

Producer prices came in higher than expected and the market didn't care as the Dow rose 126 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ led the way today and that's a plus. A market moving up on bad news usually wants to go higher going forward. Our sell signal did not work this time as sideways was all that happened. We deal in probabilities and not certainties in this game. Then today the market broke out higher. New all time highs seem like they are on deck and not a potential double top for the S&P 500. The S&P remains short term overbought and can stay that way longer than you think during rally phases. My prognosis of what would happen here has been wrong. I'll try and remain on the sidelines until I get a better idea of where we are going. Perhaps the positive options expiration week bias is stronger this time around. Whatever the case the market isn't doing what we anticipated. Gold was up $18 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The dollar and rates moved exactly opposite of what you'd expect with a stronger inflation print. The XAU rose a couple bucks nad GDX added around 1/2. Volume was light. Still closer to short term overbought on GDX and there's been a lack of volume here lately. Probably will wait for the June option cycle before trying another trade here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today and remains short term oversold. I don't have any good ideas regarding the VIX right now. We'll get consumer inflation data tomorrow. Perhaps it will be like today and the market won't care. But it's hard to expect that to happen two days in a row. Retail sales out tomorrow as well. I'll simply have to watch and wait for the next opportunity as I haven't got a good feel for what's going on at the moment. Asia was generally higher and Europe mixed overnight. We see what the reaction is to tomorrows data and go from there.

More sideways price non-movement ahead of inflation data as the Dow fell 81 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index continues higher. A brief pop in the morning was followed by mainly sideways activity for the rest of the session. The S&P 500 finished flat and the NASDAQ posted a small gain. The S&P remains short term overbought. The sell signal that we got failed to materialize in time for my SPY May put trade as I was stopped out early this morning. It was a 35% loss. Do I think that we will head lower tomorrow? Yes but I'm not following up with another put trade here. We also could just keep moving sideways but at some point that will end. The trade was risky but at least I followed the rules for a change, placed a stop loss order and took the loss. Not a lot of money involved here so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Gold was off $30 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat along with interest rates. The XAU lost 1 1/8, while GDX shed 1/3. Volume was light. Considering the drop in gold the gold shares held up quite well. I'm once again considering the GDX calls although I'm not sure about this week as the options expire on Friday. GDX is still on the overbought side of things on the daily indicators. We'll see. The VIX was up in a mixed market today. Not sure where it's heading next but it looks like it wants to go higher. It does remain overbought on the short term indicators. Producer prices tomorrow and comsumer prices on Wednesday should get the market moving. Overdue for some selling and the volume on this rise hasn't been all that great. My timing on the SPY May puts was off but I still think that is the proper trade here. Asia was mixed and Europe slightly lower to begin the week. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

It's like watching paint dry as the Dow gained 125 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues higher. After a pop higher on the open, the market sold back down to slightly negative and then drifted sideways to higher for the rest of the session. The Dow was the leader once again. The S&P 500 had a slight gain and the NASDAQ a slight loss. The S&P remains short term overbought. My SPY May puts are showing a small loss as they almost got stopped out this morning. I was thinking of simply taking the loss and moving to a closer to the money strike price. I did place another order for the SPY may puts near the close but it wasn't filled so I remain with the original trade. The short term sell signal that we got is still valid and I do expect the market to head lower early next week. I could be wrong. Gold jumped $30 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates rose. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves one way or the other on about average volume. Gold higher and the gold shares not going along is not bullish. The gold shares are short term overbought and perhaps they are now due for a rest. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continues lower and remains short term oversold. Not sure what to expect here next but I suppose it can just keep heading down and remain oversold longer than we think. I guess we'll wait and see what happens with the inflation data next week. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend but I'm already in this SPY may put trade so the focus will be on that. If it does get stopped out on Monday I may simply move to a closer to the money strike price before Tuesday as I was going to do today. But we'll have to see where we go on the open Monday. Asia and Europe were higher to finish the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The stock market keeps on keeping on as the Dow climbed 331 points on light volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. Sellers can't be found. I did place an order for the SPY May puts but it wasn't filled. This trade is going against the prevailing trend but we have gotten a short term sell signal on one of our more reliable indicators. We will try this trade again tomorrow morning if we see the market open higher. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. The Dow was the leader today with the NASDAQ lagging. Gold was up $28 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 4 1/2, while GDX climbed about 1 1/4. Volume was good to the upside as gold is moving up again. Money wants to be in this space. GDX is now short term overbought so we'll have to wait for it to get back to oversold before we can try the calls here again. We did at least have the right idea here but did not get filled on our trading order attempts. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower and remains short term oversold. The VIX still implies more gains for stocks going forward. It now appears that our open order for the SPY May puts was filled after the bell. So we are in the next trade. The stop loss order has been placed. This is a risky trade but they all are. Short term in nature, we could be out tomorrow. We've got a signal there so we'll give it a shot. Asia was mixed and Europe higher overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

More of the same lackluster price movement although the Dow did have a decent gain of 172 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving up. The S&P 500 finished flat and the NASDAQ posted a small loss. The S&P has stalled here for the past couple of sessions. I am thinking about the SPY May puts and if we see some upside tomorrow I might make the trade. The S&P 500 is short term overbought on some of the indicators. If I don't try this idea by the end of this week, I might try it next week on Monday ahead of the inflation data. However I'm not looking at huge decline in the cards for the market. It would be short term trade at best. Gold was off $8 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher along with interest rates. Both the XAU and GDX finished flat again on light volume. We haven't seen any real selling in the gold shares with gold weaker in the past couple of days. That's a plus. I might try the GDX May calls if we get oversold but that idea is fading as we are running out of time. But we can't rule it out yet for perhaps next week. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continues to drop and remains short term oversold. The VIX can sometimes stay oversold for quite a while and it appears that we may be in one of those times. That's one of the reasons against trying the SPY puts here. We don't have all the indicators lined up for this idea but we do have enough that it might be worth the risk. Obviously the trading is never easy. Europe up and Asia down overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

Hang around Tuesday as the Dow was up 32 points on average volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. Without a catalyst in either direction the market is simply marking time. Frustrating if you're trying to trade it but we must recognize things for what they are. The S&P 500 is short term overbought on some of its indicators. If we continue higher on light volume into Thursday we might try the SPY May puts for a short term trade. Or this might just be a time to remain on the sidelines. Markets go where they want and sometimes they are going nowhere. Could we reach new all time highs again soon for the S&P? Perhaps but we'll have to see an increase in participation to believe that. Gold was off $8 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished relatively flat. The XAU and GDX finished basically unchanged on extremely light volume. Seems like the gold shares are waiting around now as well. Trying to stay patient here but we are running out of time in the May option cycle. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and continues to remain short term oversold. It says that the rally that began a week ago has legs. We'll see. Europe finished higher and Asia was mixed overnight. Maybe things can get going on Wednesday.

Moving higher as the Dow rose 176 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ continues to lead and that's plus. Sellers have taken to the sidelines for now. As long as the summation index is moving up the path of least resitance is higher. That said I might try the SPY May puts if we get a short term overbought signal. The short term indicators for the S&P are getting there. If we continues to trend higher and the volume turns out to be light the puts may be the right idea. We'll see. Gold was up $24 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat as did interest rates. The XAU gained 3 1/8, while GDX added 3/4. Volume was average. I canceled my open order for the GDX May calls as I have missed this small move higher. The short term indicators for GDX are neither overbought or oversold. If GDX makes it back down to the bottom of its current price channel I might have time in the May option cycle to try this idea again. But GDX could also just keep going up from here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was just a bit lower today. Still short term oversold on the technical indicators. There's still room to go lower here. Not a big week for economic data. Plenty of Fed speak though as numerous speeches are on tap. We'll stick with the technicals and remain patient for now. Asia and Europe were higher for the most part to begin the trading week. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

The employment report was a bit weaker than expected and stocks took off to the upside as the Dow gained 450 points on average volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is now moving up. Once again the NASDAQ led the way higher and that's bullish. The S&P 500 closed just below its 50 day moving average but it did break above the short term down trend line. The short term indicators here are moving up with room to go. It appears that the decline has ended. Gold finished flat on the session. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional moves one way or the other on average volume. There doesn't seem to as much interest in the gold shares as we've seen lately. The short term indicators for GDX are still hanging around the mid-range level. I adjusted down my order for the GDX May calls with only two weeks left in the May option cycle. It's possible that GDX will simply trend sideways for a while which would not be a help to any option trades. I'll reconsider what to do here over the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term overbought. This bodes well for stocks going forward as the VIX can stay oversold for weeks during up swings. That appears to be what we are going to have happen from here on the VIX. We'll check the charts over the weekend for clues as to what to do next week. Europe was higher and Asia mixed to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The market was back to the upside today as the Dow gained 332 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to break to the upside out of its sideways channel. The NASDAQ was the leader today and that's a plus. Perhaps the market knows something we don't as it was a pretty good day ahead of the jobs data. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are still mid-range though. The S&P is also still below the near term resistance. But it was a decent day overall for stocks after yesterdays volatility. Gold was up a few bucks on the futures. Both the US dollar and interest rates were lower. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional rises on average volume. My open order for the GDX May calls remains out there. The Bollinger bands on the daily chart for GDX are contracting so some kind of sustained move is coming there. I'll hopefully be on the right side of things when it does occur. Could go either way at this point. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower today and that fits with todays market rise. Back below the 50 and 200 day moving averages here. Still mostly short term oversold on the indicators. Tomorrow could say a lot about where stocks are headed for the rest of the May option cycle. Both Europe and Asia were mixed overnight. We'll see the reaction to the employment report and close out the trading week tomorrow.

It was a volatile back and forth Fed day as the Dow was up 87 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues to move sideways. Back and forth, up and down, todays market had something for everyone. The Fed seemed to come to the rescue during the chairmans speech but then sellers took over in the last half hour to drive things lower. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small losses on the session. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are now a little bit below mid-range. Not sure what to expect next but I'd venture a guess that we'll be lower tomorrow after todays price action. The next main event will be the employment report on Friday. No clear signal here to trade the SPY options so we'll remain on the sidelines here for now. Gold was up $23 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on good volume. They did however finish well off of their highs for the session. I did place an overnight order for the GDX May calls but it wasn't filled and it will take some more selling in the gold shares to get hit. I'll reconsider this idea tonight as todays turnaround in price was not exactly bullish. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX bounced around today and finished lower which doesn't exactly fit with an overall down market. Still short term oversold on many of the daily indicators. Also remaining above the 50 and 200 day moving averages. It appears as though it wants to go higher from here which would be bearish for stocks. We'll see. It was a holiday for most of the overseas markets last night. What was open finished mixed. We'll see what tomorrow brings.