It was a one day downside reversal as stocks opened higher an closed lower to end the month of June. The Dow fell 45 points on end of the quarter heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is beginning to move sideways. The inflation data came in where expected and the market opened higher. After the first half hour sellers took over and things went down from there. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 finished lower with the NASDAQ leading the way. The short term indicators on the S&P have turned lower. The daily candlestick charts for the NASDAQ and S&P now look like they want to go lower. I'd expect some beginning of the month money flowing into stocks on Monday but I could be wrong. No SPY trades in mind for now. Gold and the US dollar finished flat on the session. Interest rates were up especially on the long end. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. The short term indicators here are now at mid-range so GDX could go either way from here. I still am favoring the calls for GDX but we'll take another look over the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today which fits with a lower market. The Bollinger bands have gotten tight in a hurry here. Usually that implies some type of big move coming for the underlying symbol. I would guess that would mean a higher VIX going forward since it touched the lower Bollinger band today. That would be a negative for stcoks but it hasn't happened yet. Something to keep an eye on though. I'll go over the charts as usual this weekend before a holiday shortened week. It will probably lead to light volume next week and perhaps not as much trading activity as usual. It makes it that much tougher for the option trading but sitting on the sidelines is a type of position as well. Plenty to ponder over the next couple of days. Asia was mostly higher and Europe mostly lower to finish the month. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

More of the same as the Dow rose 36 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to form a sideways channel. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 had slight gains. Remaining short term overbought on the S&P. The inflation data tomorrow should be a catalyst in one direction or another. We've also got possible end of the month, quarter and half year gyrations on tap. Toss in a holiday week coming up and you have the potential for a volatile session. Traders may get all their work done before taking next week off. The inflation data is expected to show improvement so we'll see. No SPY trades in mind at the moment. Gold was up $23 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up a point and GDX rose 3/8. Volume was pretty light. The short term indicators on GDX have turned back up but it remains below the 50 day moving average. GDX is also still under the short term down trend line on the daily chart that began in mid-May. Tomorrow will probably get gold moving as well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continues to drop and is heading to the 12 level. The short term indicators are moving down and are not yet short term oversold. The VIX picture still looks positive in the near term for stocks. That could all change on tomorrows data but I'm not sure that it will. Asia and Europe were generally lower overnight. We'll see how the market reacts to the inflation data and closes out the trading week and month tomorrow.

Drifting would be the best way to describe the market action as the Dow was up 15 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still in a downward trend. The NASDAQ along with the S&P 500 closed higher with the NASDAQ leading the way. The S&P remains short term overbought. We are in summer mode with not a lot of volatility for now. Perhaps that will change with Fridays inflation report and the end of the month. Gold dropped another twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX finished practically unchanged though on light volume. Not sure what is going on there. Maybe the gold shares know something that we don't. However I'm remaining on the sidelines here for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down today and the short term indicators are moving lower. This implies more gains for stocks in the near term. We'll see. Asia up and Europe down overnight. Tomorrow could be a waiting game ahead of Friday. I'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

Still a mixed market as the Dow fell 299 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is back to trending lower. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posted gains on the session. The NASDAQ led the way up today and that is a positive. However we are not seeing the indices working in unison one way or the other. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. I'm not sure which way things will go from here. I am however more inclined to be bearish moving along from here as the S&P will not remain overbought forever. Gold lost a dozen on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates remain flat. The XAU was of 1 1/2, while GDX shed 3/8. Volume was very light. The short term indicators for GDX have turned lower. Keeping an eye on things here but the light volume shows little interest and that would make trading the options here that much harder. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits the overall market. Mid-range on the short term signs here. Still below the 50 day moving average for the VIX. Perhaps the market is simply waiting for the inflation report on Friday. Or we are in summer mode trading with less players and less volume. I will not try and force things here. There is plenty of time left in the July option cycle. Asia was up with the exception of China. European stocks were lower. We'll see what the middle of the week has to offer.

Trying to figure out which way to go here as the Dow gained 260 points on light volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. This should have the summation index beginning to move sideways. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 were lower on the day with the NASDAQ well in the lead. That is not a plus. The short term indicators for the S&P are turning over but remain well into overbought territory. Overdue for some type of sustained decline but I'm not sure when it's coming. Inflation data and end of the month on Friday. A shortened holiday week after that so we are already into summer trading mode. Makes it tough on the option trades but we'll keep moving on. Gold was up $13 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. Both the XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. The short term indicators for GDX are mid-range and it remains below the short term down trend line at 35. Also just below the 50 day moving average. There's a potential head and shoulders top being formed on the daily chart here and we'll be keeping an eye on that. If that pattern takes hold the GDX calls are off the table. Hasn't happened yet. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits the overall market but not the Dow. The short term indicators on the VIX are moving higher and imply more selling for stocks in the near term. We'll see. Europe was higher and Asia mixed to begin the trading week overseas. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

A fairly quiet option expiration Friday as the Dow was up 15 points on expiration heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still heading lower. We did get a signal last night on the McClellan oscillator for a big move with two days. We'll see if that pans out on Monday. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted samll losses. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought as it has been for most of the month so far. I'm still looking for some type of decline here soon. The upside blow off that I thought might happen has not occurred. Patience for now as we roll into the July option cycle. Gold dropped $34 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost 1 1/2, while GDX shed 1/2. Volume was a bit above average. Considering the drop in gold itself the gold shares held up pretty well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was just a bit lower today. The short term indicators here are now at mid-range. Seems like the VIX could go either way from here. It was tough week for me with two losing trades in two days. Perhaps I'll simply stay away from the short term ideas as they usually don't work. But as I said before we deal in probabilities so nothing is guaranteed. You also have to keep moving along in this game because the markets just keep on going. My thinking is that the next trade will be the GDX calls at some point but we'll see. I'll be checking the charts this weekend as usual. Europe and Asia were lower to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

A mixed bag as trading resumes in the US as the Dow gained 300 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still trending lower. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posted losses on the session. Some type of decline is very overdue for these indices. I'll do my best to forget that the selling today comes after I sold my SPY put trades for losses. One day doesn't make a trend as the SPY remains short term overbought. Option expiration tomorrow and I'll let that pass as we roll into the July option cycle. I'm still on the side of the SPY puts but the premiums for July will be high. Gold was up $26 on the futures. The US dollar was up and interest rates were slightly higher. The XAU gained 3 1/2, while GDX added 7/8. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX have turned up and GDX finished at its 50 day moving average. It's entirely possible that I've missed the chance at the GDX July or August calls but we'll have to see where things go from here. There is a short term down trend line for GDX that comes in at the 35 level. We're almost there. Mentally I'm feeling a bit distracted as outside issues are fogging up the focus that is necessary. There is also preparing to deal with the shutdown of the trading platform that I use and having to move to a new one. The VIX was up today and that fits with an overall lower market. The short term indicators have turned up with room to go which would imply more selling in the near term. Perhaps expiration Friday will provide some fireworks. Asia was mixed and Europe higher overnight. We'll keep and eye on tonights developments.

Sideways for todays session as the Dow gained 56 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still heading down. New all time closing highs once again for both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. The S&P remains short term overbought. Overdue for some type of decline but perhaps the positive expiration bias is in effect. I got stopped out of my SPY June put trade for a 40% loss. Sideways price action only erodes the option premiums especially with only two days to go in an option cycle. I took my chances here and lost. Also threw good money after bad when the first trade yesterday didn't work. We deal with probabilities in this game and this time they just didn't work. I'll regroup and look for the next idea but I am on a losing streak. Nobody enjoys that. Gold was up $15 on the futures today. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were lower. The XAU was up 1 3/4, while GDX gained 1/2. Volume was pretty light again. Mentally I'm a bit distracted as there was a water leak on my property today that had to be dealt with. The market doesn't care. The VIX was lower today and that fits a positive overall market. The short term indicators are oversold but not extremely so. Tomorrow is a holiday in the US. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. We'll see how it goes on Thursday.

A Monday rally to begin options expiration week as the Dow was up 188 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trending lower. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. Short term overbought and staying that way for the S&P along with the NASDAQ. I tried the SPY June puts this morning. I did believe in this idea for the short term but after a 50% loss I sold out. The market simply continued higher so I had to sell before taking even a bigger loss. I still wanted to try them again and I purchased some closer to money later on in the session. We had some selling near the close and the second purchase is showing a slight gain. I'm really not that good at the short term trades but I still try them sometimes. We'll see how this trade pans out as it was a busier day than usual for me. Gold was off $14 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were higher. The XAU fell a point and GDX was off fractionally. Volume was pretty light for the gold shares. I'm still looking at the July or August calls on GDX. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today which doesn't fit with and up market. Not sure what's next for the VIX. We've got retail sales out tomorrow followed by a middle of the week holiday on Wednesday. Needless to say, decisions on this SPY put trade will have to be made Tuesday. There's a chance we could be in the beginning of a blow off top as well. But we'll see how things go tomorrow. Asia was lower and Europe slightly higher to begin the week overseas. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Stuck in a rut as the Dow fell 58 points on light volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving lower. Once again the overall market was up with the Dow down. The NASDAQ posted a new all time high. The S&P had a small loss and remains stuck in a sideways channel near term. With the summation index going down the market is holding up rather well and I don't know the implications of that. I did not get the SPY June puts today as we had a gap lower on the open. I'm still in favor of this idea on strength Monday but I'll reconsider it over the weekend. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. Gold was up thirty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates just a bit lower. Both the XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. The gold shares did not follow gold itself that well today and that's a negative. GDX remains short term oversold. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today. The short term indicators have turned back up and it remains oversold. I don't have a good idea of what's next for the VIX. We'll have the weekend to go over the charts but with only four days left in the June option cycle taking on a trade here may not be worth the risk. The breadth has been pretty negative lately but we haven't seen a sell off. I'm not ruling out the possibility of some kind of spike higher before option expiration but that's just a guess right now. The technical work points to some kind of selling in the near term but we haven't seen a decent down day despite the lower summation index. The game is never easy. Asia remains mixed and Europe was lower to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Another day of hanging around as the Dow fell 65 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues in a downward trend. The inflation data today was a bit less than expected. A mixed day to be sure as both the S&P 500 along with the NASDAQ showed gains. New all time closing highs for these indexes yet again. How long can this continue? Usually longer than you think. I am looking at the SPY June puts though and perhaps will buy some on strength tomorrow. The S&P remains short term overbought. If we get a negative RSI divergence on the hourly chart tomorrow I may try the puts as the next trade. Short term in nature would be the plan. Hold it over the weekend and sell them early next week. That's the idea at the moment. Gold dropped $35 on the futures today. The US dollar was higher and interest rates were lower. The XAU fell 3 1/2 and GDX lost 7/8. Volume was average. GDX remains short term oversold and below its 50 day moving average. I'm still looking at the 32-31 level on GDX before trying the July or August calls there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and is now below 12. Some but not all of the short term indicators here are oversold. I'm still not sure what's next for the VIX. I'll have to decide overnight if trying the SPY puts here is worth the risk. Only five days left in the June option cycle as there is a holiday in the middle of next week. Asia was mixed and Europe lower overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Inflation data came in a bit less than expected and the market took off. However the final hour saw some selling and the Dow finished with a loss of 35 points on about average volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is still trending lower but might be in the process of turning sideways. The Fed meeting came and went as expected with no surprises. The overall market remains much stronger than the Dow with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 setting new record highs again. There is no overhead resistance. The S&P has jumped above its upper Bollinger band. It remains short term overbought. I'm still considering the SPY June puts but it may be too late. There is also the possibility that we are going to see a speculative upside blow off here and you do not want to own puts if that's the case. Gold was up ten bucks on the futures after being higher earlier on. The US dollar dropped along with interest rates. The XAU gained almost a point, while GDX was up 1/4. Volume was slightly above average. The gold shares also finished off of the highs on the day. GDX remains short term oversold. I am looking at the July and August calls there. Mentally I'm trying to figure out whether to make a trade here with the SPY or not. The VIX was lower today and that fits the overall market advance that we saw. There is romm for the short term indicators to go lower. Down to the 12 level here and that's about as low as it has been lately. Not sure where it is going next. Producer prices out tomorrow and that may move things one way or the other. I'll consider whether to try the SPY puts tomorrow overnight. Asia was mixed and Europe higher last night. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Once again stocks sold off early and came back for the rest of the day for upside reversals. The Dow was the laggard though as it dropped 120 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues lower. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 set new all time highs again. The NASDAQ has been the leader and that is a plus. The market just feels like it wants to go higher here. The S&P 500 is still short term overbought. Yes I'm thinking about the SPY June puts if we move up early tomorrow but it isn't a completely solid technical idea. I may just sit things out but we'll see. Inflation plus the Fed could make for a volatile session. Gold was up five bucks on the futres. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates dipped. The XAU lost 1 1/2, while GDX shed 1/4. Volume was pretty light. I did consider the GDX June calls again today in case the inflation data comes in weak. GDX is also short term oversold. GDX also made it down to the buy zone on one of our timing models. But I stayed out considering I just had a losing trade here. Plus the medium term picture for the gold shares looks like it still has work to do to the downside according to the indicators there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up again today which doesn't fit with an overall positive day for stocks. The short term indicators are beginning to drift sideways. Not getting any good ideas on which way to go right now from the VIX. Light volume today as it was a waiting day for the most part. Wednesday should be a different story. Europe and Asia were lower overnight. We'll see what tomorrrow brings.

It was a one day reversal to the upside as stocks opened lower and closed higher. The Dow rose 69 points on light volume. The advance/declines were even. The summation index is trending lower. A quiet day to begin the week of trading. We've got inflation data on Wednesday and Thursday. We've got the Fed announcement and press conference on Wednesday. So there will be plenty of excuses for markets to move. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 set new all time closing highs. Both remain short term overbought. It seems like the market just wants to go higher here. I am considering the SPY June puts though if we continue to see strength into the Fed announcement. Gold was up a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates ticked up. The XAU bounced back by two points and GDX was up 1/2. Volume was light. GDX remains short term oversold and I could make a case for the calls here again. However I'll remain on the sidelines here for now but I am looking out to the July and August opton cycles on the GDX calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which doesn't fit with an up market. The short term indicators here are not oversold but are starting to turn back up. This would not bode well for the bulls if it continues. Asia was mixed and Europe lower to start the trading week overseas. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

The jobs report came in hotter than expected but stocks seemed to take it in stride as the Dow slipped 87 points on light volume. The advance/declines were shy of 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving lower again. Back and forth would be the best way to describe todays session as the market was both positive and negative throughout the day. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought and stuck at the upper Bollinger band. My thinking is that the next trade here would be the SPY June puts but we'll have to go over things this weekend to be sure. Gold got absolutely clobbered today. The futures here lost $82. The US dollar soared along with interest rates. The gold shares got pummeled. The XAU lost 9 1/8, while GDX fell almost 2 1/2. Volume was very heavy to the downside. My GDX June calls got killed overnight. What was a decent gain turned into an average loss. This is sometimes the story when it comes to trading options. But it works both ways. I sold my position for a 55% loss. I'll try and put it behind me. The short term indicators for GDX turned back down and GDX closed below its 50 day moving average. It looks to me like support comes in at the 32-31 level. Perhaps I'll consider the calls here again if we make it down there. Mentally I'm feeling a bit disappointed after the loss. I would not have done anything differently though except perhaps sold the calls earlier in todays session. It still would have produced a loss. The GDX daily chart was looking bullish yesterday but not after today. Of course I could not have predicted an over eighty dollar loss in gold on the jobs number. Markets go where they want. The VIX was lower today which doesn't fit a slightly down market. Not yet completely short term oversold here yet. I'll go over all the charts this weekend because with two weeks left in the June option cycle there is plenty of time to find another trade. Leaning towards the SPY June puts but it may already be too late for them. Asia was mixed and Europe lower to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

It did end up as a day of hanging around as the Dow was up 79 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is trending sideways to slightly lower. Both the NASDAQ along with the S&P 500 finished with very small losses. So it is still a mixed picture for stocks. Basically sideways trading on the day. The S&P 500 is short term overbought and up against the upper Bollinger band. That probably means that it will be tough to go very much higher from here in the near term. So perhaps the reaction to tomorrows jobs report won't be a positive one. But that's just a guess as the market goes where it wants. Gold was up $15 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly lower and interest rates were flat. The gold shares came to life as the XAU gained 4 1/2, while GDX climbed almost 1 1/4. Volume was good to the upside which is a positive. The short term indicators for GDX are now pointing up with room to go. My GDX June call trade that I wasn't so sure of at the entry is now showing a decent gain. However there are still a couple of weeks left in the June option cycle so the management of the trade from here is what will determine the ultimate outcome. For now the 50 day moving average for GDX has proven to be support. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was slightly lower today. Not yet short term oversold here on the indicators. Seems like we've been waiting all week for tomorrows employment report. It should provide at least the early market direction. I certainly don't know what to expect the reaction to be but stocks have been acting well lately. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Today we saw a broad based rally but the Dow only managed a gain of 96 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving sideways. Both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ posted new all time closing highs. The NASDAQ was up 2%. That is a plus for the bulls. There is no overhead resistance. The S&P is getting to short term overbought. The lack of volume is a concern but you cannot argue with price. Gold was up over $20 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates continued to fall. The XAU rose 2 1/8, while GDX almost gained 2/3. Volume was light. The 50 day moving average has held for now on GDX. Light volume here is a concern as well. GDX is short term oversold on some of its indicators. My GDX June calls are showing a small profit. Would have liked to see GDX moving up better than it did considering the good day that gold itself had. Tomorrow is probably a waiting game ahead of the employment report. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower which fits an up market. The short term indicators are still around mid-range. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher in last nights trade. I'll keep watch on tonights headlines.

Just seems like we're marking time here as the Dow added 140 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is tracking sideways. Not much to say about todays price action or lack there of. Slight gains for both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. The short term indicators are a little above mid-range for the S&P. Not exactly sure what to expect next here but are we already just waiting for Friday? The Bollinger bands are beginning to contract on the S&P 500 so maybe we'll see some movement by this index in the near future. Gold lost a little more than it gained yesterday as the futures dropped $22. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates continued to fall. The gold shares got spanked as the XAU fell 6 3/8, while GDX lost 1 1/3. Volume was good to the downside. GDX is now back at its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators here are oversold but not extremely so. My open order for the GDX June calls was filled. The calls closed about where I bought them. Now I'm not so sure that I want them as the volume today picking up on the downside is not a good sign. June also tends to be a weak seasonal period for gold at times. We'll see if the 50 day moving average holds it here. Plenty of time for the trade to work but the management of it from here will be the key. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today. The short term indicators are mid-range. The daily candlestick chart here looks like it wants to go lower which be be a plus for stocks. Still above the mid-Bollinger band though. So I'm in the next trade and it doesn't exactly have the feel of the right idea. I suppose we'll at least give it until the jobs report on Friday. Asia was mixed and Europe lower in last evenings trade. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

In a word mixed is way to describe the current market situation as the Dow fell 115 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. There was a trading glitch for some stocks during the day but it didn't last. The NASDAQ posted a gain on the session. The S&P 500 had a slight gain as well. The short term indicators here are now mid-range. Some economic data due out this week highlighted by the jobs report on Friday. But it's only Monday. Earnings season is winding down. We are still waiting on a decent signal to trigger the next trade for the SPY. Plenty of time left in the June option cycle so we won't try and push things. Gold was up twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX finished mixed with fractional moves. Volume was light. Gold up and the gold shares not going along is not bullish. I do still have my open order for the GDX June calls out there though. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX had a wide range today and finished slightly higher. The short term indicators here are around mid-range as well. So it seems we are in a period of indecision for the markets as to where we are going next. Or perhaps a sideways pattern is in the process of being developed. We'll know more as time rolls on. I wouldn't rule out new all time highs for some of the stock indices going forward either. But we'll see. Asia and Europe were higher for the most part to start the week. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.