It was a Trump victory in the US election and stock markets exploded to the upside. The Dow, S&P 500 along with the NASDAQ hit new all time highs. The Dow gained 1508 points on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. Stocks rejoiced at the implication of another four years with Trump at the helm of the US government. The short term techncial indicators for the S&P improved and are moving straight up. There is no overhead resistance for the major stock indices. I'm not sure how long the rally lasts but there is nothing in the way for now on higher prices. We've got the Fed tomorrow and a rate cut is widely expected. I missed out on the SPY November calls as I did not want to pay the high premiums for another mistake on my part. Too late for that idea now. Gold got clobbered as the futures lost eighty bucks. The US dollar jumped higher and so did interest rates. The gold shares got slammed with the XAU losing almost 4 points and GDX dropping 1 1/2. Volume was heavy to the downside. Considering the drop in gold itself, it could have been worse for the gold shares. Gold was dropping overnight but not as steep as it became today. I should have canceled my open order for the GDX November calls but did not. Yet another mistake. It was filled at the open and is showing a loss. I might be able to cut the loss tomorrow if we get some good news from the Barrick Gold earnings before the bell. The technical picture for GDX has changed as the short and longer term up trend lines have been broken. It remains short term oversold but can remain that way during down trends. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX gapped lower today which fits with a robust stock market. It is now well below the 20 level and its 50 day moving average. The VIX is right by its 200 day moving average and if it can get below that level the rally will have legs. Today we saw an example of how quick things can sometimes change in the market place. We don't often see moves like we saw today but thare is always that potential. Asia was mixed and Europe lower overnight. We'll see how the market reacts to the Fed tomorrow.

Moving higher on election day as the Dow gained 427 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn around. Another day of breadth like today would do it. The NASDAQ led the way higher and that is a plus for the bulls. Getting the election put of the way was to be seen a positive for the market and we probably got some of that today. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned up with plenty of room to go. I might be premature but this could be the beginning of a rally to new all time highs for the S&P. I did not get any of the SPY November calls here as the option premiums were too high for me but perhaps there will be another chance. Of course one day doesn't make a rally and the election results could change things. But my thinking is that the market will go higher from here regardless. Gold was up $5 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. The gold shares did not follow the overall market today. GDX remains on its 50 day moving average and short term oversold. My open order for the GDX November calls is still out there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and its short term indicators have turned down. The movement here is another reason to be positive on the market going forward. Still above the 20 level and its 50 day moving average though. Getting below those levels should be an all clear signal for the bulls. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. I'll keep an eye on the election results along with the futures movements tonight and we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Some selling today ahead of an important week as the Dow fell 257 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving lower. We've got the US election and the Fed on tap this week. The NASDAQ along with the S&P 500 had minor declines. Waiting on results and data. I still like the idea of the SPY calls in a sigh of relief rally once the election has been called. More importantly the S&P is short term oversold and hanging in at the 50 day moving average along with the lower Bollinger band. However the option premiums remain high for the SPY options. If they do move low enough for me I'll probably give this trade a shot. Gold was off a few bucks on teh futures today. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves one way or the other on light volume. GDX is hugging its 50 day moving average and is also short term oversold. I did place an order overnight for the GDX November calls but it was not filled. I am leaving the order open. This is a trade that has worked the previous four months heading into option expiration. We'll see if number five follows that pattern. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished flat today. Still in short term overbought territory. Still below the levels of the recent highs for this indicator. It is another reason that leads me to believe that the SPY calls will work here. However if the VIX spikes up from here that trade idea would be dead. Asia was mixed and Europe lower to begin the trading week. We'll see how election Tuesday shapes up.

We did not see follow through selling today but instead got an oversold bounce as the Dow gained 288 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving lower. The jobs report came in weaker than expected. The NASDAQ led the way up but we are in a precarious market position. We do not know if today was just a reaction to relieve the oversold market condition before we head lower or if the decline will end here at the 50 day moving average on the S&P. We are in short term oversold territory on the S&P 500 so you can make the case either way. However todays price action cannot be construed as positive, since the early gains were sold off for the rest of the session. I did place an overnight order for the SPY November calls but it was not filled. I think that I still like this idea but from lower levels on the S&P if we get them. Gold was off five bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU lost almost 2 points and GDX dipped 1/2. GDX is now short term oversold which is what I've been waiting for to consider the calls here again. A call trade on GDX has worked the last three times it got short term oversold in the previous three months. There is nothing to say that it won't work again this time around. GDX is right on its short term trend line though. A break below here would make me want to reconsider this idea. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and some of the short term indicators have turned down. The rise in the VIX did stop at the recent previous levels during the past couple of months. This is another vote for higher stock prices moving forward and trying the SPY November calls next week. That's not to say that the VIX can't simply turn back up and stock prices continue to move lower. The techncial evidence at the moment though suggests that isn't going to happen. There will be plenty to ponder going over the charts this weekend. Asia was mixed and Europe higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.