A mixed bag to end the week but the Dow managed a gain of 238 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is beginning to stall. The NASDAQ posted a small loss, while the S&P 500 finished basically unchanged. The S&P remains short term overbought. I'm leaving my open order for the SPY October puts out there but might adjust it over the weekend. Still on a sell signal for one of our indicators that we like but it can be early at times. But not more than a couple of days. We will most likely try and buy the puts on Monday barring a huge rally. Gold was up $44 on the futures to a new all time high and also crossed the $3900 level. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates were higher. The XAU was up 3/4 and GDX finished flat. Volume was light. Gold up and the gold shares really didn't follow. That is not a plus for the bulls. GDX remains short term overbought as it has been for weeks. Will gold reach $4000 next week? Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished little changed. The short term indicators are trending higher but not yet overbought. I'm still not sure where the VIX is headed next. Another positive week for stocks as the rally seemingly has nothing to derail it. Plenty of money still to go around. It will end at some point but we certainly don't know what the catalyst will be. Two weeks left in the October option cycle. I'll be checking the charts over the weekend as usual. Europe and Asia finished Friday on the plus side except for the Hang Seng and the DAX. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The Dow gained 78 points in an up and down session to a new all time high again. The advance/declines were slightly negative and volume was heavy. The summation index continues to trend lower. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ posted new records as well. The S&P continues to be short term overbought and continues to move higher. This has been the case for a couple of months now. We're getting another sell signal from one of our indicators. I've placed an open order for the SPY October puts and I'm leaving it out there. Ideally this order would be filled early next week but markets rarely cooperate. It is also a more tricky trading environment with the US government shutdown. We'll stick with the technicals though. Gold dipped $17 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates ended flat. The XAU lost 1 2/3 and GDX fell 1/4. Volume was heavy. It was a very volatile session for the gold shares as GDX had an intraday swing of 4 points. Not sure what it all means but the gold shares finished well up from the lows of the session. Still considering the GDX October puts for now but really looking at the SPY options for the next trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which once again doesn't fit with an up market. The short term indicators here are moving up from the mid-range level. Still not sure what's next for the VIX. Asia and Europe were higher with the exception of the FTSE. We'll see where things go on Friday and take it from there.

We had a one day upside reversal to begin the month of October as stocks opened lower and closed higher. The Dow rose 43 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trending lower. The NASDAQ led the way up. Even a US government shutdown wasn't enough to derail the bulls. However another problem to deal with here is that the economic reports might be delayed. We won't know when important trading data will be released. As if trading itself wasn't hard enough as it is. The DOW and S&P 500 set new all time highs. The NASDAQ is almost there. I'm still considering the SPY October puts if we stay positive into Friday. The S&P remains short term overbought. Gold was up twenty bucks on the futures to another new all time high. The US dollar finished little changed and interest rates dropped. The XAU was up 3 2/3, while GDX added 3/4. Volume was average. I canceled my open order for the GDX October puts. I'll reconsider this idea tonight. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished unchanged and the short term indicators are hanging around the mid-range level. Not sure what's next now for the VIX. More than the usual amount of uncertainty right now but the market continues higher. There is no overhead resistance. Liquidity doesn't seem to be a problem. It's a teflon market at the moment. Nothing sticks to it on the downside. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of Japan. I'll keep watch on the overnight headlines.

End of the month buying as the Dow gained 91 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still heading lower. The McClellan oscillator gave a signal last night for a big move within the next two days. Didn't get it today so we'll see about tomorrow. Today was a sideways affair until a mild rally in the final two hours. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 led the way. The short term indicators for the S&P are slowly moving higher. I still think that new all time highs are coming soon for the NASDAQ and S&P. The Dow closed at a record today. The question now is how to postion ourselves ahead of Fridays jobs report. If we continue higher ahead of Friday I might try the SPY October puts but it would be risky. The market is overbought on many of the indicators though. Gold was up $32 on the futures to another new all time high. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU was up 2 7/8, while GDX rose 2/3. Volume was average. GDX remains short term overbought. I did place an overnight order for the GDX October puts and I'm leaving it out there. Not a lot of money invovled so I'm willing to take the risk here for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was slightly higher today which again doesn't fit with an up market. The Bollinger bands on the daily chart are getting tighter. Still mid-range for the short term indicators here. My guess would be that the VIX drops and we see a rally for stocks but who knows? Beginning of October tomorrow. Europe finished higer and Asia was mixed again. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

A positive start to the week as the Dow gained 69 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index continues lower. The NASDAQ led the way higher and that's plus. End of the month tomorrow. The highlight of the week will be the jobs report on Friday. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are starting to stall after turning back up. They are not as overbought as they have been. My guess is that we'll be heading back to new all time highs at some point this week. Gold was up $47 to a new all time high on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 3 points and GDX gained a point. Volume was average. The gold shares did finish well below their highs on the session. I'm still considering the GDX October puts and may place an order overnight. The 5 wave upside pattern for GDX that began in August that I thought was valid has been negated. GDX has moved above what I thought was the fifth and final wave higher. However on the gold itself weekly chart it appears that gold is in the 5th and final wave higher from 2022. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which doesn't fit with an up market. The short term indicators here are at mid-range so it could go either way from here. I'm still not sure what to expect next from this indicator. Asia was mixed and Europe little changed to begin the trading week. There is a potential US government shutdown tomorrow night but the market doesn't seem to care. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Back to the upside today as the Dow gained 300 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving lower. We opened with a gap higher, gave it all back and then rallied for the rest of the session. The inflation data came in where expected. The Dow led the way higher today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. However we did turn around where the S&P short term indicators have in the current rally so far. That leads us to believe that the rally will continue from here. The NASDAQ is beginning to lag though and that may be a cause for concern. The summation index is heading lower as well. We'll see how it goes at the beginning of next week but for now it appears the selling is done in the short term. Gold was up $23 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU was up 6 1/3, while GDX climbed 1 1/2. Volume was average. I adjusted my order for the GDX October calls and eventually canceled it ahead of the weekend. The short term indicators for GDX are turning sideways and it remains overbought. I'm going to have to take another look at the GDX put idea over the weekend as my 5 wave count in the current up trend might be wrong. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits an up market. The short term indicators here have moved lower. The VIX now looks like it is heading lower and that would be supportive for stocks. Plenty of work to do over the weekend to come up with an idea for next week. Asia down and Europe up to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

More selling today as sellers continue to have the upper hand and the Dow fell 174 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving down. The NASDAQ barely led things lower followed by the S&P. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have now rolled over with room to go. They are close to the mid-range level though and that has stopped every minor decline that we've seen on the way up. So if things hold up here we would have to figure that the selling is done for now. If not then we may actually see some kind of correction or extended decline. Tomorrow should tell a lot when the market reacts to the inflation data. Gold was up ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates moved up as well. The XAU gained 2 2/3 and GDX added 3/4. Volume was about average. GDX remains short term overbought and we are still considering the October puts here on a move back to the 75 level. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up today which fits with a down market. The short term indicators are on the overbought side of things but not completely so. I think the VIX could go either way here. Again, a lot will have to do with how the market reacts to the inflation data tomorrow. No idea how that will shape up so we'll watch and wait for now. Europe and Asia finished lower with the exception of Japan. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Some follow through selling today which we haven't seen in a while as the Dow fell 171 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trending lower. The Dow led the way down today and that isn't the most bearish scenario. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned lower but it still remains short term overbought. Not sure if this is the beginning of something sustained to the downside or just a pause in the rally. We'll know more by the end of the week. Gold dropped $52 today. The US dollar was higher and so were interest rates. The XAU fell over 9 3/4, while GDX lost 1 7/8. Volume was good to the downside. The short term indicators for GDX have turned lower but it remains short term overbought. However it appears that the 5 wave rally that began in the beginning of August for GDX is valid and completed. We are looking to purchase some GDX October puts. Ideally we'll see a light volume bounce from here that fails. The short term up trend line for GDX comes in at 68 and that would be the first downside target. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that doesn't fit with a down market. Some of the short term indicators here have started to turn down. Still not sure what comes next here for the VIX. Some economic data due out tomorrow and a lot of Fed speak. Inflation data on Friday is the main event. Europe and Asia were mixed again overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Sellers showed up on the street today as the Dow fell 88 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is beginning to trend lower. We got a signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two sessions. We'll see if that happens tomorrow. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. That is not a plus for the bulls however one day does not make a trend. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. Gold finished up $25 to the $3800 level on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower as were interest rates. The XAU was fractionally higher and GDX fractionally lower on the gold shares. Volume was slightly above average. GDX is still short term overbought as well. If the 5 wave count on the rally is correct the gold shares should take a pause here or perhaps enter a decline. I am looking at the GDX October puts. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits with a down market. The short term indicators on the VIX are moving higher. The VIX is at its upper Bollinger band. I still don't know what's in store next for this indicator. Europe was higher and Asia mixed again overnight. Asia trading will be impacted tomorrow by a major typhoon bearing down on Hong Kong. We'll keep watch on tonights developments.

The beat goes on as the Dow rose 66 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were about even. The summation index is moving sideways. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way higher. There is no overhead resistance. New all time highs for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 once again. The overbought condition for the S&P remains in place on both a daily and weekly basis. Enjoy the ride. Gold jumped $76 on the futures to a new all time high. The US dollar was lower and interest rates ended slightly higher. The XAU climbed 7 1/3, while GDX was up 1 7/8. Volume was good to the upside. Gold is moving straight up now and that cannot last forever. It is extremely overbought but I can't say when that will end. Same for the gold shares. I have started looking at the GDX October puts. However the money just continues to pour into precious metal assets. As I have stated before, this won't end well. The problem here is we don't know when it will stop. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today in an up market and that doesn't fit. The short term indicators here have turned higher. Not sure what is going on right now with this indicator. Most of this weeks economic data will be later this week higlighted by the inflation news on Friday. Asia and Europe started the week on a mixed note. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Higher and higher we climb as the Dow gained 172 points on expiration heavy volume. The advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative though. This will have the summation index going sideways again. New all time highs for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 again. No overhead resistance and apparently plenty of liquidity to go around. The S&P is simply overbought and staying that way. Sort of like the same situation we have with gold right now but not as extreme. We are in a seasonally negative period for stocks but that doesn't seem to matter. Just sit back and enjoy the ride for now I suppose. Gold gained forty bucks today. The US dollar was higher and interest rates edged up. The XAU jumped 12 7/8, while GDX climbed 3 2/3. Volume was heavy to the upside. Is there any point to saying GDX is still short term overbought? It doesn't seem to matter. Until it does. The gold shares are extremely overbought on all time frames and about as far away from their 200 day and weekly averages as they get. Money just keeps pouring in there though. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and its short term indicators have turned down. The Bollinger bands on the daily chart here are starting to contract again. I'll be checking the charts this weekend to try and come up with a game plan for the October option cycle. Asia and Europe were lower to complete the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

Moving higher today as the Dow gained 124 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is back to trying to move higher. The NASDAQ continues to be the leader to the upside and that is a plus for the bulls. There was a gap higher at the open and then we traded in positive territory for the rest of the session. The market did finish off from the highs of the day though. The short term indicators remain overbought for the S&P 500. New all time highs for most of the major stock indices today, now including the Russell 2000. It's been a bull run since the lows in April and there doesn't seem to be anything to derail things at the moment. I'll wait for the next technical signal and go from there. Gold was down $38 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and so were interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on average volume. The gold shares held up better than the metal itself most likely following the overall stock market. GDX is overbought as it has been for the last month and a half. One more run higher would complete a five wave upside pattern from the breakout in the beginning of August on the daily chart. We'll see of that occurs. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was just a touch lower today. The short term indicators here have stalled and came in sideways today. Not sure where the VIX is going next. Expiration Friday tomorrow so things could get strange. We'll let that pass and move on to next week. Asia finished mixed and Europe was higher overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

A volatile session after the Fed announcement but the Dow managed a gain of 260 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were abut even. The summation index is still trying to move higher. Rates were lowered as expected. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small losses. The market rallied after the Fed announcement only to give it all back and have a sharp decline. Then things turned right back around again to positive territory and finally drift lower in the final half hour. We finished well up from the lows on the day. The S&P is still short term overbought. During todays gyrations my SPY September puts got stopped out for a 33% loss. At one point they were showing a 100% gain. Todays results are an example of the stop loss order working against you as there could have been profits if not stopped out. However you are trying to cut your losses with the order so the trade doesn't go to zero. Perhaps I should have canceled the stop loss when things got volatile but hindsight is always correct. I wouldn't say the trade was mismanaged but obviously I'd feel a lot better if there would have been a profit. The sell signal we had did work but for only a very short period of time and not with a huge move in price. Not what I expected. Or perhaps the selling isn't done yet. We'll know more as the trading week is completed. Gold finished off $31 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates ticked up. The XAU fell 1 1/8 and GDX lost 1/3. Volume was good. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling frustrated booking another losing trade. There wasn't a lot of money involved but it has been a tough year on the trading front so far. The VIX finished lower today despite the increased volatility. Some of the short term indicators have turned back down. The daily candlestick chart here looks like it wants to go lower. We'll see. Two days left in option expiration week and I'm back on the sidelines. I'll start looking at the October options. Europe and Asia were generally higher in last nights trade. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

It was a one day downside reversal for most of the major indices as stocks opened higher and closed lower. The Dow fell 125 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still trying to move higher but has had a tough time doing so. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 had very slight declines. It's simply a waiting game ahead of whatever happens with the Fed tomorrow. The S&P is still short term overbought. I've still got the SPY September puts with only three days left before option expiration. They are still showing just a very small profit. The outcome of this trade will lie with the market reaction to the Fed tomorrow. One of our indicators remains in sell signal territory, so we'll see if this works tomorrow. Gold was up $7 on the futures. The US dollar was sharply lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost 6 1/3 and GDX fell about 1 1/2. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX are still overbought but they have turned down. Gold should move off of the Fed tomorrow as well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and the short term indicators are moving up. The VIX did close above its 50 day moving average. My hope is that it keeps moving higher but hope is not a trading strategy. Not sure where the VIX is heading tomorrow. Waiting on the Fed and that's all we can do at this point. Management of the trade in progress will be key. Asia was generally higher and Europe lower overnight. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

We had a gap higher at the open and spent the rest of the day in positive territory as the Dow gained 49 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move higher again. The overall market did much better than the Dow, with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closing again at new all time highs. The NASDAQ led the way up and that is a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 remains in its short term overbought condition. One of our indicators is flashing a sell signal however it might take another day or so for it to work. I did adjust my open order last night for the SPY September puts and it was filled at the open this morning. Todays price action gets me thinking that the market still wants to go higher in the short term as it can stay overbought for extended periods of time. But I'm also looking for selling on the Fed announcement if the trade can stay alive that long. The stop-loss order is already in place. The trade as it stands now is showing a very small profit. Gold was up $35 on the futures to a new all time high above the $3700 level. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up over 4 3/4, while GDX added 3/4. Volume was below average. GDX has been extremely short term overbought for an extended period of time. At this point I would only be guessing as to when that will end. It is not normal price action and I'm pretty sure that it won't end well. As money continues to pour in there, enjoy the ride. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that does not fit with an up market. The short term indicators here are starting to move higher. If that continues stocks would move lower and volatility would increase. I'm not so sure that is what will happen near term even though I own the SPY puts. Money continues to find a home in stocks and liquidity doesn't seem to be an issue. Four days left in the September option cycle and we are in the next trade. Asia was generally lower and Europe generally higher to start the week. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

A day of hanging around for the most part after yesterdays gains but the Dow did lose 273 points on good volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is starting to trend sideways again. The NASDAQ posted a solid gain and the S&P 500 was barely lower. The S&P is still short term overbought but is possibly beginning to stall where it has to for the SPY put trade to work. My open order almost got filled today at the high of the session but didn't. I adjusted the order but the market began to sell off in the final hour. I'll try again on Monday to purchase the September SPY puts but it may be too late. We are close to getting a sell signal on one of our own indiators. I suppose we'll hope for some early strength on Monday and take it from there. Gold was up $8 on the futures. The US dollar was barely higher and interest rates rose. The XAU was off 3/4 and GDX finished flat. Volume was light. The technical picture on GDX hasn't changed. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was barely higher today. It remains short term oversold but not completely. I'm back to not sure what comes next on this indicator. We made it through the inflation data this week and now it's on to the Fed. My guess is that it will be a sell the news event. Our game plan for now is to buy the SPY September puts on Monday if we get a chance to be filled at the premium that we're willing to risk. If not we will maybe try the SPY puts ahead of the Fed announcement on Wednesday. Plenty of charts to check over the weekend. Asia was higher and Europe little changed to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

There was another signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two trading sessions and we got that move today as the Dow jumped 617 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is now moving up. The inflation data came in about where expected and the market took off higher from the start. New record highs again for Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500. The S&P continues to remain short term overbought. Sellers are no where to be found. I did place another order for the SPY September puts but once again canceled it in the morning. This appears to be the wrong idea with the current market but I'm leaving in an open order overnight. If we continue with a good move up again tomorrow I'll have to forget about the puts. If we start to level off, then this idea might have a chance. With no overhead resistance on the major averages, a rally may be starting. If the RSI on the S&P daily chart gets above 70% tomorrow, that will put the end to any ideas of a negative divergence. With the summation index now moving higher the path of least resistance is up. Gold was off $6 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished little changed. The gold shares continue to soar. The XAU was up 4 1/2, while GDX added 1 1/4. Volume was a bit below average again. GDX is extremely short term overbought. The volume has started to decline on the rise though so it is probably getting near the end of this tremendous run up. Sour grapes that we didn't get to go along for the ride but as always the market doesn't care. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today. The short term indicators are oversold but not completely. Six days left in the September option cycle. I'd like to get some kind of trade in before expiration but must be wary of trading just for tradings sake. Tomorrows price action should give us an idea of what to do going forward. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of the Hang Seng. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

A mixed bag after todays inflation data as the Dow fell 220 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still in a sideways channel. Producer prices came in less than expected and we had a gap higher at the open. The market spent the rest of the day selling off before a bounce in the last half hour. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 had small gains to close at record highs. The S&P continues with its short term overbought condition. I canceled my open order for the SPY September puts this morning as it did not get filled on the gap higher open. I'll reconsider placing an open order for them again overnight. However the risk on this idea increases with each passing day as we are running out of time in the September option cycle. The S&P is still hanging around its upper Bollinger band. If the market remains positive into Friday I'll probably give the puts a try. Or perhaps an overnight order will get filled tomorrow. The timing on the entry will need to be good. Gold ended pretty much flat on the session as was the US dollar. Interest rates were mixed. The XAU climbed 6 1/2 and GDX was up 1 2/3. Volume was a tad lighter than lately. GDX is overbought and staying that way. The gold shares continue to attract money as any selling quickly dries up. Not sure how far this ride will go but I will say expect some kind of sharp sell off eventually. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit higher today and its short term indicators are starting to bend up. I'm still not sure what to expect from the VIX. Tomorrow is all about the market reaction to the inflation data. Asia was up and Europe mixed in last nights overseas trading. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Hanging around waiting on the inflation data as the Dow gained 196 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still trying to move up but it can't seem to break free from the sideways channel. We did get a signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move in the next two sessions so we'll have to see if that happens tomorrow. The Dow was the leader today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. Record highs across the board for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500. There is no overhead resistance. The S&P 500 continues to be on the overbought side of things. I did adjust my open order for the SPY September puts but it will take some more gains to be filled. I'm trying to be cautious right now because it looks like the market can go either way here. There are not enough clear signals to go one way or the other right now. The negative RSI divergence on the S&P daily chart is still there but I believe that we'll be moving on the inflation data in the next couple of sessions. Gold was off $7 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU dipped 3 1/8, while GDX lost over 1/3. Volume was a bit above average. The technical picture for GDX remains the same. Short term overbought for weeks and staying that way. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was just a touch lower again today. Still on the oversold side of things for the short term picture. Can't say that I have a good idea on what to expect next on the VIX. The daily candlestick chart here looks to me as though it wants to go lower which would be supportive of stocks. Asia and Europe finished mixed overnight. We'll keep an eye on the market reaction to the data tomorrow.

Kind of a mundane Monday as the Dow rose 114 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trying to move higher. We opened with a gap higher and it was a sideways affair after that. Waiting on inflation data due out on Wednesday and Thursday. The NASDAQ led the way higher today and closed at a new all time high. The S&P 500 was slightly up today with most of its short term indicators still on the overbought side of the ledger. My open order for the SPY September puts remains out there but I might be adjusting it tonight. I am still looking for a big move one way or the other due to the contracting Bollinger bands on the S&P daily chart. Gold was up another $23 today. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU added almost five points and GDX was higher by 7/8. Volume was a bit above average. GDX is overextended on the daily chart any way that you look at it. Not sure exactly how much longer this can go on but it's usually longer than you think. Enjoy the ride because these kind of moves usually don't end well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down ever so slightly today. Still on the oversold side of things here but not completely. I'm still not sure what's next for the VIX. Both Asia and Europe started the week on the positive side. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

It was a one day downside reversal as after a brief upside burst at the open, stocks sold off for the rest of the day. The Dow fell 220 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move higher. The employment data came in weaker than expected. The selling wasn't as bad as it could have been and the NASDAQ barely posted a loss. The S&P is still on the overbought side of the ledger. My open order for the SPY September puts wasn't filled this morning and I'm leaving it out there. If we see some upside in stocks early next week it may get filled. The Bollinger bands on the daily chart for the S&P are getting pretty close. This implies that a big move is coming. Which way is always the question that needs to be answered. Gold was up $32 on the futures to a new all time high. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 6 1/3 and GDX climbed 1 3/4. Volume was good to the upside. GDX has been short term overbought now for over a month. Overextended here any way you look at it. I'm not going to try and pick a top though. We'll let the market for gold speak for itself. Money continues to find a home there. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was a little lower today despite a down market. The short term indicators here are beginning to stall. Yesterday the VIX looked like it implied higher stock prices going forward. It still has that look on the daily candlestick chart. The Bollinger bands here are contracting as well. I'm in the camp for some kind of big move in the stock market and soon. Plenty of charts to go over this weekend ahead of next weeks inflation data. I'm sticking to the game plan of trying to get some SPY puts for now. Asia was higher and Europe lower to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Buyers took control today as the Dow rose 350 points on good volume. The advance/declines were shy of 3 to 1 positive. The summation index remains in a sideways channel. The NASDAQ led the way up and that's a plus. The S&P 500 closed at a new all time high. The market seems to be saying that tomorrows jobs report is nothing to worry about with todays price action. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned back up. Another day like today on Friday will negate any kind of negative RSI divergenes on the S&P daily chart. I did adjust my open order for the SPY September puts to a closer in the money strike price. We cannot rule out that the market takes off to the upside here but I am not counting on that scenario. I could be wrong. Gold took a breather and was off $29 on the futures. The US dollar was up a bit and interest rates dropped. The XAU fell 2 2/3, while GDX was down 2/3. Volume was above average. GDX is still short term overbought on the indicators. We are remaining on the sidelines with regards to the gold shares for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and is back below its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators here are pointing down with room to go. The VIX is implying that the gains for stocks will continue in the short term. We'll see. But we'll know more after the market reaction to the employment report. Asia finished mixed and Europe was generally higher overnight. We'll close out the short trading week tomorrow.

Some back and forth today as the Dow fell 25 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index remains in a sideways channel. The overall market did much better than the Dow with the NASDAQ up 1%. The S&P 500 was higher and its short term indicators are stalling at mid-range. Still waiting on Fridays jobs report and the feeling here is that things could go either way at this point. I still have my open order for the SPY September puts out there but I'm ready to adjust it as the market moves dictate. Perhaps we'll see another run at a new all time high before things roll over or we will just head lower from here. Either way I'd advise caution for now. Gold continues with its bull run, up another $29 today on the futures. The US dollar was lower as were interest rates. The XAU was up two points and GDX added 1/3. Volume was good. GDX remains short term overbought on all of the indicators and is trading above its upper Bollinger band. I would think that maybe the GDX September puts would work here but I'm not stepping in front of this freight train. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits with an overall positive day for stocks. Some of the short term indicators here are beginning to turn lower. Not sure what lies next for the VIX. I will most likely not be taking on a position ahead of Fridays employment report but we'll see. The fact that the market didn't continue lower today is a plus for the bulls but we all know things can turn on a dime in this game. Europe was higher and Asia lower with the exception of India. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Sellers had the upper hand returning from a long weekend as the Dow lost 249 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is still in a sidewyas channel but another day like today will send it lower. The NASDAQ led the way south. It could have been worse but the market came back from the lowest levels on the day. There was a huge gap down at the open. We saw price action like this at the beginning of August but the market quickly recovered and went on to new all time highs. Will that be the case this time around? We'll see. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P 500 have made it down to the mid-range level. I canceled my open order for the SPY September puts as it had no chance of being filled after the drop. I still like this idea and will be looking to place another order. Obviously the ideal time to place this trade has passed. Gold jumped $83 on the futures to close in on $3600. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU gained six points and GDX added 1 2/3. Volume was heavy to the upside. I was looking for the gold shares to take some kind of rest but they continue to find buyers. Gold has had a 4 month consolidation and is now breaking out to the upside. There is no telling how high it will go here. It is getting parabolic on the monthly chart and we know that won't end well. But we don't know when. I'm not going to chase GDX here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX climbed up to its 200 day moving average and then fell back today. The short term indicators here are moving up. Not sure what's next for the VIX. It was a rough start to the month for stocks but it could have been worse. I'm not sure exactly what is going on here but we do know that the market knows more than we do. Employment data to deal with on Friday. Might look to own some SPY puts ahead of that. Asia was generally lower and Europe down overnight. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Inflation data came in where expected but the market still sold off as the Dow fell 92 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index remains in a sideways channel. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow, with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. That is not a positive. We opened with a gap down and stayed lower thoughout the session. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned lower. The Bollinger bands here are starting to tighten. My open order for the SPY September puts did not come close to being filled and I'm leaving it out there. Might have to adjust it again next week. Gold was up $42 on the futures to close at a new all time high. The US dollar finished about unchanged and interest rates closed mixed. The XAU gained 6 7/8 and GDX was up 1 7/8. Volume was about average. GDX is still short term overbought and far from its 50 day moving average. Not sure how much longer that can go on. I still think the gold shares are ovedue for a rest but the market knows more than I do. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which fits a down market. The short term indicators here have again turned up. Not sure what's next for the VIX. We made it through the week and now there's an extra day off for Labor day. All the players should be at their desks on Tuesday. I'm still in favor of some SPY puts although it could already be too late. We'll see. Plenty of charts to check over the weekend. Not sure if todays selling was the start of something sustained to the downside or just an end of the month issue. Perhaps inflation data related. Plenty to ponder in the next few days. Asia was mixed again and Europe lower to close out the week. Its Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

The drift higher continues as the Dow gained 71 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is trying to move higher but continues to track sideways. The earnings report from NVDA was about in line with estimates but it guided lower going forward. Markets shrugged it off. This is a market that wants to go higher. The Dow and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. The S&P simply continues to remain short term overbought. Will the inflation data tomorrow bring some selling? We'll see. I adjusted my open order for the SPY September puts to a closer to the money strike price. I still like this idea but the timing will have to be spot on. Now I'm looking at perhaps the beginning of next week to put this trade on but we'll see what happens tomorrow. Gold was up $30 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates generally finished little changed. The XAU was off over a point and GDX lost 1/4. Volume remains light here. The gold shares have started to underperform the metal itself lately and that is not a positive. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today. It remains short term oversold but not completely. If and when it gets there we will take a harder look at the SPY puts. For now I'd probably just take letting tomorrow go by and head to next week after a long weekend. But it will be up to the market activity on the inflation news. Asia and Europe were mixed overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Moving higher on a Wednesday as the Dow gained 147 points on average volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move higher but does remain in a sideways channel. The McClellan oscillator gave a signal last night for a big move within the next two days. We'll see if that pans out tomorrow. Waiting for NVDA earnings after the bell that the market seems to be fixated on. The Dow led the way higher. Technical conditions here have not changed. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. My SPY September put order remains out there. Gold added $16 on the futures. The US dollar finished unchanged and interest rates were a bit lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on very light volume. GDX is still short term overbought and overdue for a rest in my opinion. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit higher today which doesn't fit with an up market. That sometimes leads to selling the next day. The short term indicators there are trying to turn back up and it remains short term oversold. Not sure what to expect next on the VIX. Nothing to do now except wait to see how it goes in the next couple of sessions before a long weekend. We are not going to try and force a trade ahead of the inflation data as I made that mistake a couple of weeks ago. Asia and Europe were generally lower in last nights trade. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Just another summer trading day as the Dow gained 135 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. The market drifted sideways for much of the day and then rose in the final couple of hours. The S&P continues to be short term overbought. I did place an open order for the SPY September puts and I'm leaving it out there. It will take some more gains to get filled. If the market gets into rally mode and powers on up from here, I'll cancel the order. Gold was up twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with most interest rates. The XAU added 4 2/3, while GDX climbed another 1 1/4. Volume was light. There seems to be no sellers in the gold shares. GDX remains short term overbought and is even further away from its 50 day moving average. That doesn't mean that GDX can't go higher but my guess would be that it is getting close to a near term top. Perhaps the lighter volume is simply a function of it being the last week of August. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today. Remaining short term oversold on its indicators. Not sure what's next for the VIX but the low levels are generally bullish for stocks. Still waiting on NVDA earnings and Fridays inflation data ahead of a long weekend in the US. Europe and Asia were lower overnight. I'll keep an eye on the evenings news events.

Another sideways summer Monday session though the Dow did drop 349 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is drifting higher. The Dow led the way lower as both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small losses. We did not see any upside follow through the Fridays big gains and that is somewhat of a concern. Waiting on NVDA earnings after the bell on Wednesday and the inflation report on Friday. But there is plenty of time before that. I'm still in favor of some SPY September puts at some point. It looks like the short term indicators for the S&P are starting to roll over. We could have a very thin trading market this week as some traders take off for the last unofficial week of summer ahead of Labor day. I'll try and remain patient for now. Gold was off $8 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates creeped up as well. The XAU and GDX had minor fractional rises on extremely light volume. GDX continues to be short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits a downside market. Still short term oversold here but not completely so. Not sure what's next for this indicator. Would like to wait for it to get completely oversold before trying the SPY puts but markets rarely cooperate. Asia up and Europe mostly down to start the week. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

We certainly got more than just a bounce today as the Dow soared 846 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 9 to 1 positive. The summation index has turned around and is heading higher. The Dow and NASDAQ led the way with the Dow closing at a record high to finally catch up with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500. The Fed chairman spoke and stocks like what they heard. The short term indicators on the S&P have turned back up. Expect new highs for the S&P next week with no overhead resistance. The move lower from the negative RSI divergence is over. Not sure if we'll see another divergence soon. It will depend on the price action next week. Gold added $35 on the futures. The US dollar got pounded lower and interest rates dropped. The XAU was up 4 1/4, while GDX rose another 7/8. Volume was about average. GDX remains short term overbought and is getting pretty far from its 50 day moving average. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX sank today to its lowest level in months. The short term indicators have rolled back to oversold territory. My guess is that the rally continues with the VIX at these low levels. The market was waiting on the Fed and now that is out of the way. Not a lot of econmoic data next week but we will get inflation data on Friday. It will also be the last unofficial week of summer with Labor day weekend on tap. Not sure now what the next trade will be. I'll check the charts over the weekend to try and come up with something. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of India. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The selling continued today but nothing drastic as the Dow fell 152 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is beginning to trend lower. The selling was pretty even across the board. Waiting to hear what the Fed chairman has to say tomorrow. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are now mid-range and moving lower. That said, we are receiving a short term buy signal from one of our indicators. So I would not be surprised if we see some kind of bounce tomorrow regardless of the Fed. Gold was off five bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU was up 4 3/4 and GDX rose 7/8. Volume was lighter than average. The gold shares went back to outperforming the metal itself which is what has been the case for most of this month. The gold shares are just breaking out to the upside from their two week consolidation. GDX remains short term overbought as it has been since early this month. Volume has been light though. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and I did not expect that. Still closed below the 50 day moving average but the short term indicators are now moving up. It now looks like anything could happen with this indicator tomorrow. I'm hoping that stocks hold up here as I do believe that getting the SPY September puts will be a good idea at some point in this option cycle. But if we drop tomorrow it may be that it's too late. Ideally we'd see a bounce higher tomorrow so traders get complacent over the weekend. That would maybe set us up for a put purchase sometime next week. We'll see. Europe and Asia were mixed overnight. We'll see where things go tomorrow.

More overall selling today but the Dow once again managed a gain. The most watched index rose 16 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index continues to move sideways. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posted losses with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. This is not a positive development. Stocks did come up off of the lows today and that may lead to some kind of try to rally from here. The short term indicators for the S&P are still heading down but might be trying to turn around. I would think that tomorrow will be a wait and see session before the Fed chairmans speech on Friday. I'm all for letting this week go by before attempting the next trade. Gold was up $33 on the futures. The US dollar finished unchanged while interest rates were a touch lower. The XAU was up five points and GDX gained 1 2/3. Volume was light once again. GDX is still in a sideways range that now has lasted two weeks. The short term indicators here have turned back up but they are not completely overbought yet. No GDX trades for me here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today and did come back from touching its 50 day moving average. Most of the short term indicators here are still oversold. The daily candlestick chart for the VIX looks like it wants to head lower. That would imply a dovish Fed on Friday. We'll see. Still a summertime market here getting to late August. Asia was higher with the exception of Japan and Europe was lower with the exception of the FTSE. We'll see if there are any breaking news developments overnight.

Sellers had the upper hand today but the Dow managed a gain of 10 points on average volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues sideways. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted losses on the day with the NASDAQ off 1.5%. The short term indicators for the S&P are rolling over but are still on the overbought side. It appears that the negative RSI divergence for the S&P on the daily chart is valid but we don't know how long the decline from here will last. I'm not sure if this is the beginning of a sustained move lower but it could be. The SPY September options are pricey though with plenty of time left in them. We've got the Fed chairman giving a speech on Friday and that may have an impact on things. Gold was down $18 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates a bit lower. The XAU fell six points and GDX lost 1 1/2. Volume remains light for the gold shares. The gold stocks clearly underperformed the precious metal today and we haven't seen that happen in a while. The short term indicators on GDX are rolling over. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which fits with an overall down market. Still short term oversold here. If the VIX starts to climb here it will be trouble for stocks. I'm not sure what is about to happen but the weak NASDAQ is not a good sign. The bulls will hope today was a one day affair. I'm hoping things hold up for a while to make the September puts cheaper but hope is not a trading strategy. Europe was higher and Asia lower with the exception of India. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Today was your typical summer Monday going nowhere type of session. The Dow fell 34 points on average volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 finished basically unchanged. The S&P remains short term overbought. It is a light week for economic data. Some major retailers will be reporting earnings but that's about it. I will probably try and let this week pass before trying the next trade. Gold was off $4 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates ticked up. The XAU and GDX had very slight fractional losses on extremely light volume. Volume has dried up for the gold shares lately. GDX remains in a sideways channel and short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a touch lower today and remains short term oversold. Nothing new to report here. Perhaps we have finally hit the summer doldrums. Asia was generally higher and Europe lower to start the week. We'll see if things pick up tomorrow.

We had a one day downside reversal on many of the stock indices but the Dow managed a gain of 35 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving sideways. The overall market was weaker than the Dow with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posting losses. Retail sales came in where expected. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. If it heads lower from here the negative RSI divergence on the daily chart will be valid. I am already looking at the SPY September puts but the premiums are high. Gold finished flat on the session. The US dollar was higher and interest rates ticked up. The XAU was up two points and GDX added 1/2. Volume remains light. GDX is still short term overbought and has been trending sideways for a week. No trades planned there for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and that fits with an overall down market. Still short term oversold here. The Dow hit a new intra-day high today but did not close at a record. Perhaps next week. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend. The extra week in the September option cycle makes it tough to find a reasonably priced option at the moment. Asia was generally higher and Europe mixed to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The inflation data came in hotter than expected but after a small gap lower at the open the market basically went sideways. The Dow was off 11 points on good volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is now starting to track sideways. Bad news was not met with extended selling as liquidity doesn't seem to be a problem for this market. Perhaps it is the positive option expiration bias but we don't know for sure. The negative breadth does show some underlying weakness. But we can't argue with price. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 both ended the day about unchanged. We'll get retail sales tomorrow on expiration Friday. The technical configuration for the S&P remains the same. Short term overbought with a possible negative RSI divergence. Gold was down $22 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and so were interest rates. The XAU fell two points and GDX shed 1/3. Volume is still pretty light here. GDX remains in short term overbought territory. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit higher today but still at a low overall level. The short term indicators are oversold. Not sure what to expect next here on the VIX but being this low it's expected for the rally in stocks to continue. We will be rolling into the September option cycle that will have an extra week in it. Premiums will be high. Asia was lower except for India, while Europe was higher overnight. We'll see how expiration Friday goes tomorrow.

Continuing higher as the Dow climbed 463 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were shy of 4 to 1 positive. The summation index has turned back up. The Dow was the leader today and is back to approaching new all time highs. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 set new records today. The S&P 500 is short term overbought on some of its indicators. There is a potential negative RSI divergence on its daily chart though. Only two days to go in the August option cycle. I'll try my best not to do anything stupid here as I've already booked a loss this week. Gold added ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional losses on very light volume. The volume for the gold shares has dried up lately. Not sure what's going on with that. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX is still heading lower. It is short term oversold. As long as it continues to be at these low levels the rally will go on. PPI data due out tomorrow. Asia and Europe were higher overnight as money finds a home in stocks around the world. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Inflation data came in where expected and the markets took off to the upside as the Dow gained 483 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. The NASDAQ led the way and that's a plus. New all time highs for the NASDAQ and S&P 500. No overhead resistance now. The S&P remains short term overbought on some of its indicators. My SPY August put trade went from a small gain to a medium loss overnight. My stop loss order was hit for a 40% drop on the trade. The techncial set up was OK for this idea but not the best that it could have been. I think that I was anxious to make a trade since I hadn't done one in a few months. I also think that I relied too much for a favorable reaction to the economic data on the trade rather than the techncial set up. Although the entry was good, the gap higher at todays open doomed this trade. The theme for me so far this year has been missed trades and losing trades. Needs to be corrected. Gold was off five bucks today. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU was up 2 2/3, while GDX rose 1/2. Volume was pretty light. GDX continues to be short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was sharply lower today and is now below the 15 level. The short term indicators here are oversold. During rallies they remain that way and that might happen now. Three days left in the August option cycle and I should remain on the sidelines. But who knows? I might try the August puts again ahead of Friday but it would be very risky. Asia and Europe were up for the most part. India and Germany posted losses. If the up/down pattern holds the S&P will be lower tomorrow. We'll see.

The market continues with its alternating up and down day pattern as the Dow fell 200 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still trending lower. It was quiet for much of the session until we got some last minute gyrations. The Dow led the way lower and that isn't the most bearish scenario. The NASDAQ along with the S&P 500 posted small losses. The short term indicators for the S&P are beginning to stall. I did place an order for the SPY August puts this morning and this time it got filled near the high for the day. The entry point was spot on. It is showing a small profit at the moment. Tomorrows inflation data will probably determine the fate of this idea. Gold lost $90 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished little changed. The XAU fell a point and GDX dipped 1/3. Volume was light. Gold got clobbered and the gold shares did not. That is a positive for the gold share indices. GDX remains short term overbought. Money simply continues to flow into this area. Mentally I'm feeling a little tired. The VIX was up today and that fits a down market. The short term indicators here are trying to turn back up. If successful, the market will continue lower and the SPY put idea will work. If not we'll probably head up to new all time highs. Tomorrow will most likely be the key. Asia higher and Europe lower to start the trading week. I'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

We've been moving back and forth between gains and losses each day for the past week. The Dow gained 207 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trending lower. The NASDAQ led the charge and that's a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 had a decent gain and is almost to its upper Bollinger band. The short term indicators here are moving higher with room to go. I might have to reconsider my SPY August put idea at this rate. Something to ponder over the weekend. Gold was up a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates a bit higher. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on below average volume. GDX is now short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. Getting to short term oversold on the indicators but not all the way there yet. Plenty of work to do over the weekend as I have to try and figure out what to do next week. The short term trades are not my best efforts usually. However we'll see how it goes this time around. The stock market has shown a lot of resilience lately and it may not pay to go against that. But we'll have to wait and see what happens over the weekend. Europe was mixed on Friday and Asia lower with the exception of Japan. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

Another one day downside reversal as markets opened higher and closed lower. The Dow fell 224 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index continues lower. We have had a few one day downside reversals lately and none of them have amounted to more than a day. Eventually that will change. The NASDAQ made it back to positive territory at the close but the S&P 500 had a minor loss. The short term indicators for the S&P are still around the mid-range level and beginning to track sideways. It is a sign of indecision. I'm still looking at getting the SPY August puts ahead of the inflation data next Tuesday. Gold was up $37 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates a touch higher. The XAU was up 4 1/4 and GDX added 1/2. Volume was average. Short term overbought now on GDX. If we see a move back to 54.5 on GDX we may try the calls there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today in a mixed market. The short term indicators appear like that they want to turn back up. That would not be a plus for stocks if it happens. I am probably going to let Friday go by and look to make the next trade on strength at some point on Monday. Asia and Europe were higher overnight with the exception of the FTSE. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Moving higher today as the Dow gained 81 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still moving lower. The overall market did much better than the Dow. The NASDAQ was up 1 1/4%, while the S&P 500 posted a decent gain. Earnings were the main driver today. The short term indicators for the S&P are moving higher with room to go. I still like the idea of the SPY August puts again ahead of the inflation data next Tuesday. The timing of when to purchase them will be the key. Gold was off a buck today. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished little changed except on the long end. The XAU rose 3 points and GDX gained 7/8. Volume was light. GDX has gotten to short term overbought and may need a rest. The gold shares have followed the market higher while gold itself has stalled. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down today and the short term indicators are heading lower. This implies more gains for stocks in the coming sessions. I guess what we'd like to see now is a new all time high for the S&P with a lower RSI reading. That would set us up to try the SPY puts. However as you all know markets rarely cooperate with the best laid plans that we have. Europe and Asia were up with the exception of India. We'll watch for any overnight developments.

Back to the downside today as the Dow dipped 62 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues lower. The overall market was weaker than the Dow. The NASDAQ led the way lower. It was another one day downside reversal. The short term indicators for the S&P are about mid-range. I'm getting the idea that things could go either way here. I still want to try the SPY puts at some point before option expiration next week. The Bollinger bands for the S&P remain tight so I believe that we will get some kind of tradeable move soon. Gold was up $8 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were mixed. The XAU was up 6 1/8, while GDX added 1 1/2. Volume was good to the upside as the gold shares have broken out. Our only hope now is that GDX revisits the breakout point at around 54.5 so that we can get some calls. GDX is on the way to short term overbought but not there yet. The gold shares outperforming the metal itself is bullish. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was a bit higher today. The short term indicators here are stalling at the mid-range level. Not sure what's next here for the VIX. Volatility has returned though. The market is light on economic data this week. Asia and Europe finished generally higher. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Quite a bounce back today as the Dow gained 585 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving lower. We were looking for a rally out of nowhere and we got it today. However I have to say not so fast on buying those SPY August puts as this particular rally might have legs. We are going to have to patiently wait for a signal with less than two weeks to go in the August option cycle. The NASDAQ led the way higher and that's a plus for the bulls. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P 500 are moving back up. The broadness of todays price action leads me to believe that there will be more near term gains. Gold rose thirty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates dropped a touch. The XAU was up 9 1/4 and GDX jumped 2 1/2. Volume was above average. GDX is on the verge of breaking out of a two month consolidation to the upside. The short term indicators are moving up with room to go. It looks like I've missed out on the calls here again. Just as we started looking at the GDX September calls they took off to the upside without us. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX turned right back down and closed beneath both the 50 and 200 day moving averages. Some of the short term indicators have turned back down. Tomorrows VIX movement could tell us a lot about where things are going. Perhaps. We didn't see any real selling today in the stock market as it gapped higher at the open and just kept on going. This happened despite the huge losses on Friday. Interesting times. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of Japan. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Stocks got clobbered today as the Dow fell 542 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is heading down. The employment report came in weaker than expected and some earnings were a disappointment. For now it looks like any rally can be shorted. The NASDAQ led the way lower and that is not a good sign for the bulls. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have rolled over with room to go. We will look for a strong rally out of nowhere in order to try the SPY August puts at some point next week. We have missed the ideal entry for this trade though. However at least we know that our ideas are on the right track. Gold rallied in a flight to safety as the futures gained $64. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU gained 2 1/4, while GDX added 3/4. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up. I'm now looking st the GDX September calls as a possible trade. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX shot up today and closed above the 20 level. It is now also above both its 50 and 200 day moving averages. The short term indicators here are moving up and some have room to go before getting overbought. It appears that the tight Bollinger bands on the VIX implied a move higher for this indicator. It was quite a week for the markets and we were expecting some kind of fireworks with all the data coming out. But the most important thing now is where we go from here and how do we capitalize on it? Certainly we will expect more selling to occur. I'll be going over all the charts this weekend in an attempt to find the best opportunity. Asia and Europe finished down as we had a worldwide head to the exits. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

There was another downside reversal today as stocks had a huge gap higher at the open only to give it all back and then some. The Dow fell 330 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving down. The inflation data came in about where expected. Good tech earnings powered the market early. But then sellers took over. I'm not sure if was an end of the month positioning or what. The Dow once again led the way lower. The NASDAQ had a minor loss with a modest drop for the S&P 500. The short term indicators for the S&P have now rolled over. Unless things turn around tomorrow I've missed the SPY August put trade. I canceled my open order there overnight and it would not have gotten filled even with the strong open. There is obviously something going on here but I can't quite figure it out yet. Gold lost $8 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished little changed for the most part. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves one way or the other on light volume. GDX is not yet completely short term oversold. The up trend line for GDX that began in the beginning of the year comes in at 50. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX, which I thought was going to move lower from here, jumped up. That fits a down market. The short term indicators now for the VIX are moving higher with plenty of room to go. This should make tomorrow interesting. Europe and Asia were lower with the exception of Japan. The jobs report will take center stage as we close out the week tomorrow.

Volatility returned today as the Fed provided its usual ups and downs. The Dow fell 171 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving lower. We got a signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two sessions. We'll see if it happens tomorrow. We had a sell off and a bounce back in the final two hours of trading today. The NASDAQ posted another small gain today, with the S&P 500 showing a slight loss. My SPY August put order never got filled and I think that idea has run its course for now. I'll probably cancel it tomorrow. The S&P remains short term overbought. If we can go on to make new highs with a lower RSI on the daily chart the put idea will be back in play. I'm guessing that the near term selling is done but I could be wrong. Gold dropped over fifty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU shed over 7 points and GDX lost 1 1/2. Volume was average. GDX closed below its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators here are back to heading lower. Mentally I'm feeling a bit frustrated as the SPY put trade has passed me by. You would have had to take the profits quickly and perhaps I would not have been up to the task. However I never got the chance to find out. We'll simply move on to the next idea as the markets keep moving along. The VIX finished lower and the daily candlestick chart implies lower readings to come. Still short term oversold here. Yesterdays rise in the VIX appears for now to be a one off. Inflation data tomorrow should set the tone ahead of Fridays jobs report. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher overnight. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

We finally saw some selling today as there was a one day reversal to the downside. The Dow fell 204 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were about even. The summation index is trending lower. There was a gap higher at the open but then sellers took over for the rest of the day. The Dow led the way lower but the TRAN took a pretty good hit. My open order for the SPY August puts wasn't filled and I adjusted the ticket. It could be that this trade will be a miss but I don't think stocks are going to roll over without a fight. I'm still going to stick with this idea for now. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 remain overbought. If we continue to drop tomorrow it will be too late for the puts most likely. Still plenty of data and earnings to sift through this week. Gold was up $13 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates dropped. The XAU was up over 1 3/4 and GDX rose about 2/3. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to stall. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that fits with a down market. The short term indicators are turning up but it is still oversold. If the VIX continues higher the SPY put trade will have been missed. Europe was higher and Asia mixed in last nights trade. We'll see how it goes with the Fed tomorrow.

A mixed bag today as we had some minor selling during the day and the Dow closed with a loss of 64 points on good volume. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is trying to trend lower again. The NASDAQ posted another gain and the S&P 500 finished flat. Overdue for some kind of selling in my opinion but you cannot argue with price. The S&P 500 simply continues to be short term overbought. I'm leaving my open order out there for the SPY August puts. Plenty of economic data out this week plus earnings. Gold was down $19 on the futures. The US dollar was strongly higher and interest rates were a touch off. The XAU fell 4 1/2, while GDX slid 1 3/8. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX are now moving lower with room to go. You could make a case for the gold shares heading lower this week from that. Strong economic data would probably bolster that idea. I'm on the sidelines right now with regards to the GDX options. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX finished flat today and remains short term oversold. Closed right at 15 and close to the lower Bollinger band. Not sure how long the VIX will stay down here. We made it quietly through Monday but I'm pretty sure there will be some fireworks this week. Up, down, both ways? As usual always plenty of questions in this game. I'm sticking with the idea of the SPY puts for now. Asia was mixed and Europe lower overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Stocks moved higher to end the week as the Dow gained 208 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues sideways. The Dow led the way up and that isn't the most bullish scenario. The S&P 500 along with the NASDAQ continue to set new records. The S&P continues to be short term overbought. I did place an order overnight for the SPY August puts and I'm leaving it out there. It will take some more gains to get filled and perhaps that will happen early next week. I would like to own the puts ahead of the Fed announcement on Wednesday but markets rarely cooperate. Gold lost $33 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished slightly lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on better than average volume. Gold down and the gold shares up is generally a positive for the gold share indices. Todays gains there were basically driven by a good earnings report from NEM. The short term indicators for GDX are starting to turn back up and they are not yet completely overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX is still moving lower and is now oversold on a short term basis. It can stay that way during rallies like the one we're in right now. The VIX closed below the 15 level. It still implies higher stock prices in the near term. Then why attempt the SPY puts you may ask? The VIX is one of several indicators that I follow. We are getting at least a short term sell signal from some of them. That doesn't mean that we'll see some type of collapse but it does mean that there may be a chance for some short term profits to the downside. We'll see. I'll be going over the charts this weekend as usual to try and figure out what to do. Europe and Asia were lower to end the week. Plenty to keep an eye on in the coming days. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Another mixed picture today as the Dow fell 316 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving sideways. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 had slight gains but were higher during the session. Running in place would be an apt description for the overall market. I thought that the Dow would follow through today to new all time highs but that wasn't the case. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought on the indicators and is due for some kind of selling here. I still favor the SPY August puts at some point. Gold was off $23 today. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU was down 2 1/4 and GDX lost 1/2. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to roll over. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished flat today and is hugging its lower Bollinger band line. Short term oversold here. Not sure exactly what to expect next with this indicator. Almost done with this week and that was one of the goals to try to do before the next trade. We've got the Fed, inflation data and the jobs report next week so things will be moving. Throw in earnings reports and the August 1st tariff deadline as well. So it should be quite a week for the markets. Europe and Asia were up with the exceptions of India and France. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Stocks took off to the upside today as the Dow gained 507 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving sideways. The Dow is now within striking distance of reaching a new all time high. It would join the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. The S&P remains short term overbought. We are getting a short term sell signal from one of our indicators. Lately however it has taken a couple of days after getting the signal for stocks to head lower. And they haven't gone that far down when they do start to drop. I'm still willing to try the SPY August puts here soon though. Gold dropped $42 on the futures today. The US dollar was lower again but interest rates moved up. The XAU dipped 2 1/3 and GDX slipped about 2/3. Volume was average. Some of the short term indicators for GDX have turned lower but it isn't completely overbought just yet. I'm on the sidelines here for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with an upside market. It appears that the converging Bollinger bands have foretold a rally. The short term indicators here are not yet completely oversold so there is probably more room to go to the upside in the near term. Asia and Europe finished higher as the recent tariff news was viewed as positive. A light week for economic data but plenty of earnings news to digest. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Back and forth today as the Dow managed a gain of 179 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is in a stall with a downwards bias. It was a mixed picture once again as the NASDAQ posted a small loss. The S&P 500 had a slight gain. The short term technical picture on the S&P remains overbought. The Bollinger bands here are beginning to contract. I'm still looking at the SPY August puts as the next trade. Gold was up $37 on the futures. The US dollar was lower again along with interest rates. The XAU rose 5 2/3, while GDX was up 1 1/2. Volume was a bit above average. I have missed the GDX call trade yet again. The short term indicators are not yet completely overbought. They never got to short term oversold but I wasn't able to make an adjustment in my thinking in order to purchase some GDX calls. The floor for GDX was at its 50 day moving average. The move implied by the contracting Bollinger bands is to the upside. Gold continues to draw interest for traders and investors. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was slightly lower today. The short term indicators are beginning to trend sideways but are not completely oversold. The Bollinger bands here are about as tight as they can get. Something big is about to happen with this indicator. Volatility is about to really increase leading to a decline or the VIX will continue to trend lower leading to a sharp rally. We will see. Asia was generally higher and Europe generally lower overnight. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

We had a nice intra-day rally going on but then sellers showed up to spoil things. The Dow had a downside reversal as it opened higher and closed lower. It fell 19 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index continues to stall and is trending lower. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted gains and closed at new all time highs. The NASDAQ led the way but along with the S&P fell well off from the highs on the session. The short term indicators on the S&P remain overbought. I do want to own some SPY puts at some point during the August option cycle. Premiums for now remain high. Ideally I'd like to get the puts ahead of the Fed announcement next week. The market may not cooperate though. Gold rallied fifty bucks to begin the week. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU gained 7 1/8, while GDX climbed over 1 3/4. Volume was a bit above average. The short term indicators for GDX have turned up. Could this be the beginning of a move higher implied by the contracting Bollinger bands on the daily chart? Should we now just jump into the GDX August calls? Always plenty of questions in the game without clear answers until everybody else sees them. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which doesn't fit an upside market. The Bollinger bands here are getting very tight which tells me that something is about to erupt here. The VIX is already pretty low so my guess would be we are about to see volatility return with a vengeance. I could be wrong. Perhaps we'll see a sharp rally instead. Either way something is about to happen here. Europe finished sightly higher and Asia was up with the exception of Japan. I'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

Expiration Friday turned into a day of just hanging around as the Dow fell 142 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index has stalled. It was a mixed picture as the NASDAQ posted a slight gain and the S&P was basically unchanged. It felt like a mid-summer trading day. The S&P has moved sideways for two weeks and remains short term overbought. I'm considering the SPY August puts at some point in the near future. Gold rose $8 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. GDX continues to hang around its 50 day moving average. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was slightly lower. The short term indicators here are moving lower but not yet oversold. The Bollinger bands here are starting to move closer together. We are moving into the August option cycle so premiums will be high. No clear signal on what to do next right now. Still at the mercy of the next headline as earnings reports are due. I'll try and remain patient for the next signal. Checking the charts over the weekend as usual. We don't want to force things just for the sake of making a trade. Europe and Asia finished mixed to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Moving higher as the Dow gained 229 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. There is no overhead resistance. Remaining short term overbought for the S&P which has been the case for weeks. This will end and we certainly want to own some SPY puts when it does. But markets can stay overbought for extended periods of time and that is what we are seeing now. I am considering owning some SPY puts at some point in the August option cycle. Gold was off $14 on the futures but did come up from the lows on the session. The US dollar was higher while interest rates finished flat. The XAU fell 1 1/2 and GDX dropped 5/8. Volume was light. GDX is still flirting with its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators here have now turned down. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower and the short term indicators here have rolled over. The VIX still implies higher stock prices to come in the near term. The Bollinger bands on this indicator are beginning to converge here. Asia was mixed and Europe higher overnight. We'll close out the week with expiration Friday tomorrow.

Selling in the morning and buying in the afternoon. The Dow gained 231 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is starting to head sideways. The Dow was the leader today. The PPI data was lighter than expected which was the opposite of what I thought would happen. Regardless, sellers took over early before buyers surfaced for the rest of the day. The SPY July put idea is now over and we'll look to the August option cycle for the next trade. The S&P 500 is still short term overbought and I still like the idea of the index puts but we'll let the rest of this week pass before trying that. Gold was up $18 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and so were interest rates. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves either way on light volume. The Bollinger bands on the gold share indices still imply a big move coming for this group soon. Perhaps we'll just jump on board when it occurs instead of trying to figure out which way it will go. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today after making it up through its 50 day moving average early on. This implies lower near term VIX readings and higher stock prices. We'll see. The short term indicators are still at the mid-range level. The market is still at the mercy of the next headline and we are into earnings season once again. Asia and Europe closed generally lower. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Lower to mixed today as the Dow fell 436 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. The NASDAQ posted a small gain today while the S&P 500 had a modest loss. We opened with a gap higher as the inflation data came in where expected and NVDA had some positive news overnight. The rest of the session was met with selling. I did consider placing an order overnight for the SPY July puts but did not. It would not have gotten filled anyway even with the early gains at the price I was looking to pay. Another missed opportunity. I'm expecting the PPI to come in higher than expected tomorrow but we'll see. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are now beginning to roll over but still remain overbought. Gold dropped $22 on the futures. The US dollar continues higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell three points and GDX lost over 3/4. Volume was average. GDX tested its 50 day moving average again and bounced off of it. The short term indicators are back at mid-range. The Bollinger bands continue to converge as to imply that the next move here will be big. Which way is the question. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was only slightly higher today. The short term indicators are still heading higher. I'm not sure what's next for the VIX. It appears that I've missed the SPY put trade with 3 days to go in the July option cycle. It would have been pretty risky but risk is part of the game. We'll keep our eyes open for the next perceived opportunity. Asia up and Europe down overnight. I'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

A one day upside reversal to begin the week as we opened lower and closed higher. The Dow rose 88 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still trending higher. The NASDAQ led the way higher and closed at a new high but the gains overall were small. Waiting on inflation data tomorrow. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. If we get upside there tomorrow I may try the SPY July puts ahead of the PPI due out on Wednesday. It would be a pretty risky trade with only a few days left in the July option cycle so we'll see. Gold lost ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU and GDX had fractional moves on light volume. Both finished well off of the highs for the session. GDX remains in a channel and the Bollinger bands are still tight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which doesn't fit with a positive market. The short term indicators here have now turned higher. Not sure what the VIX is implying from here. Where we go in the short term will be influenced by the CPI and PPI in the coming days. Tariff noise seems to be getting discounted for now. The S&P has been overbought for quite a while and that won't last forever. Asia and Europe started the week mixed. We'll see how markets react to the inflation data tomorrow.

Selling from the start as we had a huge gap lower at the open and spent the rest of the day trying to come back. The Dow fell 279 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is still moving up. The Dow led the way down. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought but todays price action may put our SPY July put idea on hold as we have already started to move lower. I'll take a look at things over the weekend and go from there. Gold was up $46 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU was up 3 1/8, while GDX gained 1/2. Volume was about average. The short term indicators for GDX continue to be at mid-range but they are heading higher. It is a tough trading environment as we are still at the mercy of the next tariff headline. Which could be positive or negative. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits with a down market. Still short term oversold here. I don't have a good idea of what's next for the VIX. I guess we'll have to let the weekend go by and see where we go on Monday morning. It may be that we will have to let another option cycle go by without a trade but I don't really want to do that. I'll go over the charts this weeknd and try to figure something out. Asia was mixed and Europe lower to close out the trading week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Drifting higher today as the Dow gained 192 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The Dow led things today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. Things would have been higher but we had a late mini sell off. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. There is once again no overhead resistance. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. Our next trade will be trying the SPY July puts ahead of the inflation data next week if we continue to the upside before Tuesday. Markets rarely cooperate. Gold was up $14 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates finished little changed. The XAU rose two points and GDX was up 1/3. Volume was light. Some of the short term indicators for GDX are at mid-range. It's hard for me to figure out which way the gold shares are going to go from here so I'll remain on the sidelines for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today and continues to be short term oversold. I'm hoping it will stay down for a couple of more days but markets and indicators go where they will. Running out of time in the July option cycle with only six days left. The risk on any July cycle trade going forward will be high. Europe and Asia were mixed in last nights trade. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Back to the upside today as the Dow gained 213 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ led the way higher and that is a plus for the bulls. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 remain overbought. My SPY July put order came within a tick of being filled this morning and then I canceled it. It appears to me that the couple days of selling that we just saw will be it for now and the S&P 500 will probably go on to new all time highs again soon. I could be wrong. I may try the SPY put idea again early next week if we continue higher from here. The up trend line from the beginning of April remains intact on the S&P daily chart. Gold was up $6 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat again and interest rates moved lower. The XAU rose 2 2/3 and GDX added 2/3. Volume was average. Some of the short term indicators for GDX are turning back up. GDX has held in here at its lower Bollinger band and its 50 day moving average. If it makes it down to the up trend line at 49 perhaps I'll consider the August calls at that level. It continues to be overbought on a weekly basis. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an upside market. Still short term oversold here. The VIX is well below 20 and trending towards 15. A move down to that level would be supportive for stocks and lead to more new all time highs in my opinion. I'm guessing that's what we'll see here in the coming days. The NASDAQ got there today. Asia was lower with the exception of Japan and Europe higher overnight. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

A summer day of hanging around as the Dow fell 165 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues higher. The NASDAQ had a slight gain and the S&P 500 a slight loss. The S&P remains short term overbought. My open order is still out there for the SPY July puts but I may cancel it soon. No real downside follow through in the overall market to yesterdays drop. Gold dropped thirty bucks on the futures. The US dollar finished flat as did interest rates. The XAU fell 9 3/4, while GDX slid 2 3/8. Volume was heavy to the downside. Yesterday I thought that we'd missed out on the gold share calls and today we are glad that we didn't purchase any. Not sure what's going on here but a longer term up trend line for GDX comes in now at 49. As always markets know more than we do. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term oversold. Not sure what's next for the VIX. Asia and Europe were both higher as the tariffs have been postponed once again. Busy day for me today so the blog is a little short. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Sellers returned today as tariff turmoil returned and the Dow fell 451 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were shy of 4 to 1 negative. The summation index is still moving up. The Dow barely led things lower. We were looking for some type of decline and we saw it today. I canceled my open order for the SPY July puts that wasn't filled on Thursday and replaced it with another at a different strike price. My hope is that we see a light volume up move from here back to the recent new high and roll over from there. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought despite todays drop. Gold finished up $6 coming back from early selling. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU was up 2 1/4, while GDX added almost 1/4. Volume was average. The gold shares opened lower and closed higher for a one day upside reversal. The short term indicators for GDX are moving higher with room to go and tight Bollinger bands. Perhaps the gold share calls were the way to go today. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX gapped higher today and the short term indicators turned up. Still short term oversold here though. I do not think that todays price action is the start of a sustained decline just yet. But I could be wrong. I would like to see sideways to higher price action from here to try the SPY July puts before expiration. However markets rarely cooperate. Not a lot of economic data out this week. We will probably just move from tariff headline to headline. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher to begin the week. I'll keep an eye on the overnight news.

The employment report came in better than expected and stocks took off to the upside as the Dow gained 344 points in a shortened pre-holiday session. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. Volume was light. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way higher and that's a plus. The short term technical picture for the S&P hasn't changed. Overbought, staying that way and now getting extreme. Back above the upper Bollinger band. This one reason why I still favor the SPY puts for now. But this may be a fools errand as the rally goes on. I'll figure out what to do over the long weekend. My SPY July put order is still out there but another positive session would most likely fill it. Gold dipped $16 on the futures. the US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU added 1 3/8 and GDX was up 1/8. Volume was very light. The short term technical indicators for GDX remain at mid-range. No GDX trades for me here at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was still lower today and remains short term oversold. Its 50 day moving average is about to cross the 200 day to the downside. This would imply lower VIX readings and higher stock prices. I'll be going over the charts this weekend to try and figure out what to do with two weeks remaining in the July option cycle. Asia markets contiue to be mixed while Europe finished higher. It's Thursday and time to take a break during the long holiday weekend.