It was off to the races from the start but some of the gains were later lost as the Dow rose 99 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trending higher. The overall market fared much better than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way and up over 2 1/2%. The S&P 500 also fell off from the highs of the session but did gain over 1 1/2%. No surprises from the Fed and that was all stocks needed to keep todays rally going. The short term down trend line on the S&P 500 has been broken to the upside. The indicators here are moving higher with plenty of room to go. I'm not saying that we are going back to new all time highs but who knows? The 50 day moving average held for now on the S&P. Gold was up over forty bucks on the futures to a new all time high and just shy of $2500. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU climbed 3 7/8, while GDX added a point. Volume was good here. The short term indicators for GDX are moving up with room to go. I canceled my open order for the GDX August calls as it looks like I've missed this move higher in GDX again. The question now is do we chase it? Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term overbought. I would have thought that it would move even lower today given the rally in the overall market. Not exactly sure what the story is here. Not sure how much of todays rally was short covering or end of the month gyrations. The daily candlestick for today on the Dow looks like a shooting star. Same for the Russell 2000. But we'll have to see where we go from here. Beginning of August tomorrow and the jobs report due on Friday. Europe and Asia finished higher as we saw buying around the globe overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Some volatility today before the Fed but the Dow managed a gain of 203 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still moving up. It was a mixed market to be sure with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posting losses. The NASDAQ dropped 1 1/4%. The S&P 500 is trying to hold on to its 50 day moving average. It remains short term oversold. Tomorrows price action will probably tell us a lot about where we are going from here. The short term down trend line remains in effect for the S&P. Gold was up $26 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up. I did place an order overnight for the GDX August calls but it wasn't filled. I'm leaving it out there for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was back up today which does fit with the overall market. Remaining short term overbought on the indicators here. Still below the 20 level on the VIX. Not expecting any surprises from the Fed tomorrow but you never know. We'll see if the gold shares drop and perhaps my order for the calls there will be filled. Or I may abandon that idea depending on the price action during the session. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher in last nights trade. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Waiting on the Fed as the Dow slid 49 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trying to move higher. Not a lot of price movement today and not a lot of volume. The S&P 500 is move oversold than overbought on a daily basis. There is still a down trend line in place as it has yet to make it back there. I still favor the SPY August puts if we make it back to that line but I could be wrong. Plenty of earnings due this week along with the jobs report on Friday. Wednesday has the Fed and the end of the month. There should be some opportunities but am I up to the task? Gold finished flat on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished little changed. The XAU was up a point, while GDX had a fractional gain. The gold shares finished up from the lows of the day. However the volume was very light. GDX is oversold on some of the daily indicators but not at extremes. I still am considering the August calls here if we get to the up trend line at around 35.5. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up just a bit today. The short term indicators here are still on the overbought side. Not sure now what's next here for the VIX. Asia was higher and Europe lower to begin the week. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments and see how the markets manage on Tuesday.

A bounce back today as the inflation data came in where expected and the Dow climbed 654 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. This should have the summation index moving back up. The Dow led things higher today. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P 500 are turning back up from oversold readings. Ideally we'd like to see the bounce continue to the down trend line that comes in at around 5500 or so. That would be the spot to try the SPY August puts unless we see an increase in the volume through that area. Things should remain interesting next week with the Fed in the middle of the week and then the jobs report on Friday. Earnings for better or for worse will be a factor as well. The under performance of the NASDAQ is a negative here in my view. We'll certainly be keeping an eye on things. Gold was up $32 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat again and interest rates were lower. The XAU was up a point and GDX rose almost 1/3. Volume was light. A nice rise in gold itself but the gold shares didn't do much. That is not a plus for the bulls here. GDX is close to short term oversold on some of the daily indicators. I'm going to try and wait see if it makes it to the up trend line at 35.5. However I'm not as sure about the GDX calls here as I was earlier. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits an up market. The short term indicators here are rolling over and the daily candlestick chart looks like it wants to go lower. This would imply higher stock prices in the near future. Still above the 200 day moving average though. Quite a week it was and plenty to consider over the weekend. I'll be checking the charts as usual to try and decide which way to go. The Fed, economic data, earnings and the end of the month on tap on tap next week. Asia was mixed and Europe higher to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Trying to stabalize today and the market made a good attempt but then dropped again late in the day. The Dow managed a gain of 81 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is beginning to move sideways. GDP came in above expectations. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted losses on the session. The S&P is now short term oversold on most of the daily indicators. The trend now is obviously lower and we'll wait for the S&P to get back to the near term down trend line or become short term overbought before attempting the August SPY puts. We'll get inflation data reported tomorrow and that should get things moving. Plus earnings as they come out. Would like to see a light volume rally back to the down trend line in a perfect world to try the puts. There is plenty of time left in the August option cycle. Gold was sold and the futures lost over fifty bucks. The US dollar finished flat once again and interest rates were mixed. The XAU dropped 3 2/3, while GDX shed a point. Volume was good to the downside. GDX is almost to the up trend line at 35.5 which is also where the 50 day moving average is. Another down day like today and I'll have to reconsider trying the GDX August calls here. The gold shares are holding up better than gold now. However the longer term charts for gold and silver don't look all that bullish at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and that fits with the overall market. The short term indicators remain overbought. Getting closer to 20 but not there yet. How the market reacts to the inflation data will probably be the key to how things go tomorrow. I'm a believer now that rallies can be sold in the overall market. It has already been quite a week but we still have one more day. Asia and Europe were lower with the exception of the FTSE. We'll see how Friday goes.

Heading for the exits as stocks got slammed on some big tech earnings announcements. A gap lower at the open followed by selling for the rest of the day. The Dow fell 504 points on average volume. The advance/declines were better than 4 to 1 negative. The summation index is back to moving sideways. The NASDAQ led the way lower and lost more than 3 1/2%. The S&P 500 dropped over 125 points. It broke the longer term up trend line on the daily chart today and that should spell more trouble going forward. The S&P managed to hold at its 50 day moving average. It is not yet completely short term oversold yet. The weekly chart indicators have plenty of romm to head lower. There should be some support at 5200 but the next up trend line doesn't come in until 4600. I'm not saying that we are heading all the way down there tomorrow but those are some levels to watch. There is a down trend line now in place on the S&P daily chart. Any move back to that line will be an opportunity to try the SPY August puts. Gold lost $7 on the futures after being higher early on. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were mixed. The XAU drpped 1 1/3, while GDX shed almost 1/4. Volume was average. I did place an order for the GDX August calls overnight but it wasn't filled. Might try it again tomorrow or simply hold off. The short term indicators for GDX are now mid-range. The up trend line for GDX comes in at 35.5 and maybe I'll just wait to see if it gets back to that level before trying the calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX jumped today and that certainly fits with the carnage that we saw in stocks. The short term indicators are back to overbought. Still below the 20 level but it has made it back to 18. No extended summer doldrums in this July period as we've had good moves in both directions so far. GDP out tomorrow and inflation data to end the week on Friday. Plus whatever surprises we get from earnings. Hopefully we'll be able to take advantage of some of the opportunites. Europe and Asia were down and we'll probably see some more selling when they reopen. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Hanging around in the summer as the Dow was off 57 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is heading higher. There were slight losses for the major stock indices with the exception of the TRAN which had a bigger drop. The S&P 500 is still trying to decide what to do here. The short term indicators here are below mid-range but not yet oversold. Waiting on data out later this week. Patience for now. Gold was up $15 on the futures. The US dollar finished a bit higher and interest rates a bit lower. The XAU had a fractional gain and GDX ended the day flat. Volume was extremely light. Waiting for a signal here to try the GDX August calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished lower but did close still above its 200 day moving average. After last weeks volatility it suddenly feels like summer again. But things can change in a hurry in this game. I'll try and stay patient for the time being. Europe and Asia both finished mixed in last nights overseas trading. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Bouncing back today which wasn't unexpected as the Dow gained 127 points on light volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 positive. This should move the summation index back up. The NASDAQ was the leader by far today and that's a plus. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are turning back up. Are we going back to new all time highs or is this the snap back to the recent broken up trend line? I'm inclined to think that it's the latter but we might take time to build some kind of top here this week. We've got the first look at 2nd quarter GDP along with inflation data out later in the week. Earnings will be coming out as well. I am looking at the SPY August puts. Gold was up a buck on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates ticked up. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional gains on light volume. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up. I'm still considering the GDX August calls however GDX isn't close to being oversold on the daily chart. There is plenty of time left in the August option cycle as we have just rolled into it. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and its short term indicators have rolled over on the daily chart. Back within the Bollinger bands but still above the 200 day moving average here. I'm not sure what's next for the VIX. For now we'll just keep our eye on things as the week progresses and see if any perceived opportunities arise. Asia lower and Europe higher overnight. I'll keep watch on the evenings developments.

Another day another loss as the Dow fell 377 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is beginning to move sideways. The Dow led the way down. There was an overnight computer glitch that affected trading at many online brokerages including mine which is also in the process of changing platforms. Now trading itself is hard enough without the sites that you are using to do it creating even more problems. But this is the reality of electronic trading. We'll see what happens on Monday. The S&P 500 had a pretty negative week. The short term indicators here are now mid-range or lower. The weekly indicators have turned down and have plenty of room to move lower. We'll look for a move back to the down trend line that was just broken on the daily chart. That might give us a chance at the SPY August puts. Gold got clocked as the futures fell $56. The US dollar was up along with interest rates. The XAU dropped 1 3/4, while GDX shed 1/2. Volume was average. The gold shares held up well despite the drop in gold and that is bullish. They also finished up from the lows on the day. Today could have been the completion of the move back to the longer term down trend line on the weekly chart. We'll know as time moves on. I still favor the GDX August calls at some point but will need a working platform to trade them. Mentally I'm feeling frustrated but the market doesn't care. The VIX was higher today and that fits a down market. The short term indicators are overbought. I'd expect the VIX to try and move lower next week. Quite an eventful expiration week in July with plenty of price movement. Throw in a computer mess and it makes you wonder why we try and trade at all. It's all part of the game though. We'll check the charts over the next couple of days and try to figure out a game plan going forward. Europe and Asia finished the week lower. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Stocks in general opened higher and closed lower for a one day downside reversal. The Dow got clobbered and lost 533 points on average volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is still moving higher. The Dow led the way lower today. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed up from the lows of the session thanks to some final hour buying. The S&P 500 has now broken its up trend line that began in the beginning of May. That is not a positive sign. The short term indicators there have turned down with room to go. We could see a snap back up to the line that was just broken but the tone of things has changed here. Volatility has picked up and there is a good chance that the party for stocks is over for now. That doesn't mean it will be a straight line down but caution for now is probably not a bad idea. Gold was off $14 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 3 points while GDX was lower by more than 1/2. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX have turned down but it remains on the overbought side. I'm still considering the GDX August calls and almost placed an order for them today. However if the overall market does tank here it will probably take the gold shares with it. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continued higher and now is well above its 200 day moving average. Not yet close to the 20 level though. Short term overbought here now on the VIX so a pause in the volatility is not out of the question. The weekly indicators still have plenty of room to go higher. A busy summer expiration week so far with only one day left. Europe and Asia finished mixed overnight. We'll see how expiration Friday goes.

The overall market got whacked but the Dow managed to post a gain of 243 points on average volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving higher. The NASDAQ dropped over 500 points today. It has now broken below the up trend line on the daily chart that began in the beginning of May. That is not a good sign for the bulls. The S&P 500 lost almost 1.5%. The short term indicators here have rolled over. I thought that the market would simply drift higher into the option expiration on Friday but that was wrong. A mixed picture here with the Dow hitting a new all time closing high. However the NASDAQ is generally the leader of the pack and todays price action puts the rally at risk. It's possible that the summer rally is over. Gold was off $6 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU fell three points and GDX dropped around 7/8. Volume was average. If GDX makes it back to the longer term breakout point at 37 we'll consider the August calls there. Still short term overbought on GDX though. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and closed above its 200 day moving average. Yesterday the daily chart had the look of wanting to go lower but that is no longer the case. Short term overbought now for the VIX but not at extremes. The tightening Bollinger bands forecast a big move coming and it is to the upside for the VIX. That does not bode well for stocks. We'll see how things go for the rest of the week. Asia and Europe were mixed. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Higher we go and it's not unexpected as the Dow soared 742 points on average volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The Dow led the way again which tells me we are probably closer to the end of the rally than the beginning. However we don't know how high it will go. The NASDAQ is lagging now and that isn't a good sign necessarily. But you can't argue with price and the other major stock indices are climbing. It has all the makings of a blow off top right now. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. I continue to think that we'll move higher into the option expiration on Friday. Gold was up $45 on the futures to a new all time closing high. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were lower. The XAU jumped 4 7/8, while GDX added 1 1/3. Volume was good. Still lamenting not owning the GDX July calls but that won't do me any good. GDX has broken the longer term down trend line resistance that was years in the making. It should be going higher for a while now. The next techncial expectation will be some sort of move back towards the line that was broken. That will be our next chance at the calls there. Not sure when and if that will happen. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up slightly again today which makes no sense give the huge rise in stocks. Getting more short term overbought here. The daily chart is implying that the VIX will head lower which should be supportive of higher stock prices in the near future. Let the rally live on. No summer doldrums in July this year. Asia was mixed and Europe lower overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Back and forth today but a positive beginning to the week as the Dow gained 210 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. The Dow led the way higher and reached a closing record high. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought but not at extremes. I still expect a drift higher into Fridays option expiration. Retail sales out tomorrow is the highlight of this weeks economic data. I don't think that I'll be placing any SPY trades this week but we'll see. Gold was up $6 on the futures after being higher early on. The US dollar was up slightly and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on average volume. Gold up and the gold shares down could be a problem for the gold bulls here. I expected more upside from gold today considering the weekends turmoil. I still like the GDX calls going forward but we'll watch and wait for now. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that does not fit with an up market. It is now above its 50 day moving average. The last time the VIX was up along with the market a pretty negative session followed. We'll see how things go this time around. Europe was lower with Asia generally higher but only partially open to begin the trading week overseas. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

A bounce back today but we did finish well off of the highs for the session. The Dow gained 247 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The inflation data came in where expected. The Dow reached a new intra-day high. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. I'm not sure if this is the top for the rally that began at the end of April. I expect the market to drift higher into option expiration next week but I could be wrong. No SPY trades in mind at the moment. Gold was off $4 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were slightly down. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional gains on light volume. I'm still positive on the gold shares. If we see some selling next week I may try a short term trade for GDX or go out to the August option cycle there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits an up market. The short term indicators here are starting to move lower with room to go. The VIX implies higher stock prices in the near term. We'll continue to go over all the charts this mid-summer weekend. Europe and Asia were higher to close out the week with the exception of Japan. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The much anticipated inflation data came in lower than expected however after a brief rally the major indexes sold off. The Dow did manage a gain of 47 points on average volume. The advance/declines were better than 5 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving higher. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 dropped, with the NASDAQ off almost 2%. Big tech saw some selling. The short term indicators on the S&P have now turned down but are still short term overbought. I did not try the SPY puts today although the thought did cross my mind. We knew an opportunity was coming but could not get the timing down right. I don't think that this is the beginning of a straight drop lower but I could be wrong. I'm guessing things will hold together into option expiration next week. Things are mixed here with the Russell 2000 having a stellar day. The TRAN woke up as well. Gold continued to rise with the futures up forty bucks. Both the US dollar and interest rates dropped. The XAU was up 3 7/8, while GDX gained a point. Volume was good moving through the longer term down trend line on GDX and that is bullish. Although overbought I still like the GDX calls going forward. We will be looking to purchase them on any pullback. The technical picture for the gold shares is positive. Mentally I'm a bit frustrated having missed out on the GDX calls and not attempting the SPY puts this morning. But at least we know the overall ideas have merit. Timing, as always, is key. The VIX finished little changed on the day after reaching its upper Bollinger band. The short term techncial indicators here are now mid-range. Could go either way. More inflation data on tap for tomorrow. I'll most likely remain on the sidelines for now. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. We'll close out the trading week on Friday.

To the upside as the Dow climbed 429 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. This should move the summation index higher. The McClellan oscillator signal for a big move was valid this time around. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 soared to new all time closing highs. The summer rally is here. I also think that we're in the midst of a blow off top that eventually will not end well. But we'll enjoy the ride for now. The S&P continues to be short term overbought. The short term sell signal that we got did not work just like last month. However this time around I did not act on it so we didn't have a losing trade here. Taking a step back right now with regards to the SPY. I don't know how long this blow off will last. Good news on inflation tomorrow could propel things even higher. Gold was up ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower along with interest rates. Both the XAU and GDX followed stocks higher. The XAU gained 4 points and GDX was up almost a point. Volume was about average. GDX is short term overbought on some but not all of the indicators. GDX is up against the longer term trend line at 37. Getting through there on good volume is what I think is about to happen. We did miss this move higher in the gold shares though. I'm not sure that we'll get another chance for the calls here in the July cycle. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and that does not make sense with the across the board move higher for stocks today. Not sure what it means going forward. The VIX does remain below its 50 day moving average. Europe was up and Asia generally lower with the exception of Japan. All eyes on the inflation data out tomorrow morning.

Another day of hanging around as the Dow dropped 52 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trying to move higher but is in a rangebound state. Yet again new all time closing highs for the NASDAQ and S&P 500 but just barely. The S&P remains short term overbought. We did get a signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two sessions. We'll see if that happens tomorrow. I'd like to try the SPY puts again and may just do it tomorrow if we see some strength. Inflation data Thursday and Friday. We still have the short term sell signal from one of our indicators. Gold was up $7 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates were up a touch. The XAU and GDX finished little changed on the day. Volume was extremely light. I did place an order for the GDX July calls but it wasn't filled. Might try again tomorrow but if the overall market does drop here it should take the gold shares with it. We are kind of in a conflicting zone at the moment when it comes to the next trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today. The Bollinger bands here continue to converge so we are going to get something happening here. The question is when? Summer trading can get thin but there sre still opportunities to be had. Never easy in this game. Asia up and Europe down overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Hanging around today as the Dow lost 31 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is now moving up. New all time closing highs for the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. The S&P remains short term overbought. I did place an order for the SPY July puts today but it wasn't filled. We are getting a short term sell signal from one of our indicators. I might try this idea again tomorrow if we see some strength in the morning. I'm not completely sold on this since when we tried it last month it didn't work. However the market will not stay overbought forever. Inflation data out on Thursday and Friday. Fed chairman Powell will speak tomorrow and Wednesday. So there will be excuses for the markets to move. Gold dropped over thirty bucks on the futures. The US dollar and interest rates finished a little higher. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. They finished well off of their lows for the session. Despite the drop in gold the gold shares fared well. That is bullish. I'm still considering the GDX July calls but GDX is short term overbought. However in rallies it can stay that way. So we have a couple of conflicting trade ideas with the GDX calls and the SPY puts. I'll ponder the possibilities overnight. Mentally I'm feeling a bit distracted. The VIX was lower today and remains below its 50 day moving average. Not sure what to expect here next. Europe and Asia were lower to begin the week overseas. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

The employment data came in where expected and the rally continues. The Dow was up 67 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is on a sideways track. New all time closing highs for the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 with the NASDAQ leading the way higher. The S&P remains short term overbought. Just how high are we going to go here? Weak breadth hasn't stopped things. July has gotten off to a fine start for the bulls. No SPY trades in mind at the moment. Gold was up $27 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 3 1/2 and GDX rose a buck. Volume was average. GDX is getting close to the longer term multi-year down trend line at 37-38. If it can get through there on good volume it should travel up to the 40 level. GDX is getting to short term overbought but not all the way there yet. I've missed the best entry point for the GDX July calls but there is a chance that they may still work. It appears now that any weakness here can be bought. We will be keeping an eye on things. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which certainly doesn't fit with an up market. The short term indicators have turned up. Not sure what's going on here. It was a good holiday week for stocks but the volume wasn't all that strong. We can probably chalk that up to many players out on vacation. It will be something to keep an eye on next week. Still two weeks left in the July option cycle so there is plenty of time for a trade. I'll go over the charts this weekend to hopefully come up with some ideas. Right now it appears the GDX calls on weakness might be the plan. But we'll see. I'm not exactly sold on the stock market rally but you cannot argue with price. It is very narrow and concentrated though. Asia and Europe were mostly lower to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

It was a light volume levitation for the the overall market but the Dow lost 23 points. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving sideways. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 set new all time highs again. The S&P remains short term overbought. I suppose we'll know on Friday if this is the beginning of a new next leg up or not. The jobs report will probably determine that. Many players will be out for a long weekend. Gold woke up today as the futures jumped over thirty bucks. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU climbed 5 points, while GDX rose 1 3/8. Volume was light but not bad for half a day. Does the gold market know something about the employment report that we don't? Not yet short term overbought for GDX but Friday will tell the story here as well. It could be that I've missed the next move up for GDX but we'll see. GDX did break above the short term down trend line and 50 day moving average today. Gold has been traveling sideways for three months so perhaps it's time for it to break out. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was barely up today but that still doesn't fit with an overall positive day for stocks. Short term oversold here but not extremely so. Not sure what's next on the VIX. Tomorrow the US markets are closed and then it will be Friday morning for the job numbers. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of China. Enjoy the holiday.

A pre-holiday rally as the Dow gained 162 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is still trying to trend sideways. The NASDAQ was the leader once again and that is a plus for the bulls. A half day of trading tomorrow and not Friday as I stated yesterday. Should be quiet and to the upside. New all time closing highs for both the NASDAQ and S&P 500. The S&P remains short term overbought. Today it bounced off of an up trend line that began back in the beginning of May. Perhaps this is the beginning of the famed summer rally. Gold finished flat. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up a point and GDX rose 1/8. Volume remains light. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and closed at the 12 level. Still short term oversold here. Just waiting on Fridays employment report at this juncture. Not sure how it will be treated with so many players at the beach. However this is how things go in the summer. Asia was generally higher and Europe down overnight. Should be a lightly traded non-event for the US markets tomorrow.

To the upside to begin the month of July as the Dow gained 50 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is still trying to move sideways. The NASDAQ led the way higher. July is usually a good month for stocks. We'll see how it goes this year. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought but not extremely so. A short holiday week with Thursday closed and only a half day trading on Friday. The jobs report is due on Friday but many traders will be out. So it isn't your normal market week. I'll probably just stay on the sidelines unless we get some type of decent signal. Summertime and the trading is thin. Gold was up a buck. The US dollar finished little changed and interest rates were higher. The XAU lost 1 1/8, while GDX was flat. Volume was very light as there appears to be no interest one way or the other for the gold shares. The short term technical indicators for GDX remain mid-range. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits with a positive day for stocks. Not sure where it's headed next but it is more oversold than overbought on a daily basis. Patience for now when it comes to the next trade. Asia and Europe were higher to begin the week. We'll keep an eye on any overnight developments.