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.

The overall market conitinued to rise today but the Dow dipped 10 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. We are in summer rally mode despite the mixed picture of the last two days. The NASDAQ took the lead higher today. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. Only a half day trading tomorrow with the employment report out early in the morning. My guess is that many traders have already left for the holiday weekend so the price action tomorrow could be skewed. I still have my order out there for the SPY July puts but it may be time to rethink this idea. Markets can stay overbought for extended periods of time during good rallies. The S&P continues to hug its upper Bollinger band. Gold was up $19 on the futures. The US dollar was barely lower and interest rates were up a bit. The XAU rose 3 1/4, while GDX added about 2/3. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are now pointing up at the mid-range level. The tight Bollinger bands imply some type of decent move coming soon. At this point it appears that move will be to the upside. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits with an overall higher market. Still short term oversold here. Asia continues to be mixed and Europe was higher again with the exception of the FTSE. We'll see how the holiday mode market reacts to the jobs report tomorrow.

Kind of a mixed bag today as the Dow gained 400 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted losses on the day with the NASDAQ having a decent decline. We received another signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two days. We got an outsized move from the Dow today but not the overall market. The indicators for the S&P 500 remain overbought. The 50 day moving average is moving up through the 200 day on the S&P daily chart. That is a longer term positive for this index. I'm leaving my open order out there for the SPY July puts. Gold was up forty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates a bit higher. The XAU had a fractional gain and GDX finished flat. Volume was about average. Gold up forty and the gold shares just hanging around is not a positive. The short term indicators on GDX are now tracking sideways. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today and remains short term oversold. Not sure what's in store next for the VIX. Only a day and half of trading left this week in the US. Jobs report due Thursday. Asia continues to be mixed and Europe was lower with the exception of the FTSE. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Continuing higher as the Dow gained 275 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving higher. The Dow led things to the upside to close out the month of June. We got a signal from the McClellan oscillator on Friday for a big move within the next two sessions and today takes care of that. The S&P 500 continues to travel above its upper Bollinger band and remains short term overbought. There is no overhead resistance. I'm not sure how much longer this goes on but I did place an order for some SPY July puts overnight. We do have a short term sell signal from one of our indicators but sometimes it remains in place for more than a day. It will take some more rally to get the put order filled so I am comfortable leaving it out there. We are still at the mercy of the next headline and we've got the jobs report on Thursday. It is also a short trading week in the US. Gold was up $32 on the futures. The US dollar continues to fall and interest rates were lower. The XAU was up 4 3/4, while GDX added 1 1/3. Volume was just about average. The short term indicators for GDX are turning up. It is possible that the decline for the gold shares is over. The Bollinger bands on the XAU are about as tight as they can get. Something big is probably about to occur in the gold shares. Which way is the question. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and that does not fit with an up market. The last time this happened it led to some selling. The VIX is short term oversold but in rallies it tends to stay that way. Beginning of a new month tomorrow and we should see some positive money flows but we'll see. Asia continues to be mixed and Europe closed lower to begin the week. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

An interesting day to say the least as stocks stormed higher out of the gate, gave it all back and then some only to rally on in the final hour to new all time highs in the NASDAQ and S&P 500. The Dow gained 432 points on extremely heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is trying to move higher. The inflation data came in about where expected. The S&P is still climbing above its upper Bollinger band and the short term indicators are overbought. There is no overhead resistance. I will probably try the SPY July puts at some point next week. The question is when and where? Half a day trading on Thursday and a long holiday weekend coming up. Employment data will be released on Thursday. Monday is the end of the month and quarter. Not sure what kind of position squaring that we'll see there. All signs seem to point to higher prices going forward but as we saw today things can turn on a dime. Gold got clobbered as the futures fell $65. The US dollar was up a little as were interest rates. The XAU lost 7 1/2 and GDX shed 1 7/8. Volume was good to the downside. GDX is now at its 50 day moving average. The up trend line in place that began in January comes in just above 48. GDX is getting to short term oversold but is not there yet. The problem we now have here is that gold itself has now broken down through that same up trend line that started in January. Will the gold shares follow? This is something that we have to consider over the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and is now short term oversold. It can stay that way for a while during rallies which is where we find ourselves at the moment. Not sure what's next for the VIX. Plenty to do this weekend as we try and figure out the next trade. I'll be going over the charts as usual. Asia was mixed and Europe higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

Pushing up to the cusp of new all time highs for some of the major stock indices as the Dow gained 404 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to move back up. Price and volume continue to confirm that the rally has legs. The S&P 500 is now above its upper Bollinger band. The potential negative RSI divergence on the daily chart has been negated after todays price action. The 50 day moving average is about to cross above the 200 day for the S&P. It appears that all signs point to higher prices in the near term. A decent inflation report tomorrow will most likely result in new closing highs for the S&P 500 along with the NASDAQ. My SPY put idea will have to be put on hold. Gold finished the session flat. The US dollar continues to drop along with interest rates. The XAU was up 4 3/8 and GDX was up 5/8. Volume was light. The gold shares outperforming gold is a plus. Some of the short term indicators for GDX are strating to turn back up. The Bollinger bands on the GDX daily chart are beginning to converge. Could be that I've missed the chance for the July calls here but GDX did not get all the way to short term oversold. We'll see where it goes from here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today but did finish up from the lows. Short term oversold here now but not completely. The VIX can stay oversold during rallies and that is probably what will happen this time around. Another positive day for stocks tomorrow will trigger a sell signal on one of our short term indicators. However at this stage I will probably let tomorrow pass on by and consider what kind of trade I want to put on at some point next week. Asia was mixed and Europe generally higher overnight. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Todays price action can best be described as digesting the previous two days worth of gains as the Dow fell 106 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. This should have the summation index tracking sideways again. The NASDAQ posted a gain while the S&P 500 ended the day flat. The S&P is hugging its upper Bollinger band. Some of its short term indicators are now overbought. If the market stays up into the close on Friday I may try the SPY July puts before the weekend. It would be risky for sure as it looks like the major stock indices are heading to new all time highs. There is another potential negative divergence on the daily RSI indicator for the S&P. This signal did not work out on the previous example but that doesn't mean it won't this time around. Or not. We'll see how things go before Fridays close and take it from there. Gold was up $15 on the futures. The US dollar continues to drop and interest rates finished flat. The XAU Was up 1/8, while GDX ended the day basically unchanged. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are now moving sideways and they haven't made it to oversold territory. If GDX makes it down to 50 we'd think about getting some calls there. The longer term up trend line that began at the start of the year comes in at 48. A move down to that level would certainly have us trying the calls. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower today in a mixed market. Not yet completely oversold on the short term indicators here. I don't have a good idea now for what's next on the VIX. Asia up and Europe down overnight. I'll keep an eye on this evenings headlines.

Stocks continued to jump higher today as the Dow gained 507 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is now moving up. The Middle East ceasefire has already been violated but the market doesn't care. The NASDAQ led the way up and that's a plus. Some of the stock indexes are just about at new all time highs. QQQ made it there. Another day like today will do it. The S&P 500 is up against its upper Bollinger band. The short term indicators here have turned higher and are not yet overbought. At this rate a new all time high should be put in sometime this week. We've got the Fed chairman on capital hill tomorrow which might provide a pause in the rally. Inflation data on Friday should be benign. Gold dropped $57 on the futures as peace in the Middle East does not support gold. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates again. The XAU fell 4 points and GDX shed 1 1/4. Volume was average. The gold shares did finished up off of their worst levels on the day. So there is still some interest in owning the gold shares. The short term indicators here are back to moving lower but are not yet in oversold territory. If and when GDX gets to oversold we will have to make a decision on whether or not to try the calls there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and the short term indicators are heading lower. Not short term oversold just yet. The VIX still seems to imply that it is all clear for higher stock prices in the near future. We'll see. It has been quite a rally to begin the week as the bulls are in charge. Can they keep it up? Asia and Europe were both higher as buyers around the globe stepped up. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Plenty of volatility today after the US bombed Iran over the weekend. There was movement in both directions before stocks made up their mind and went higher. The Dow gained 374 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. This should turn the summation index sideways. We got a signal on Friday from the McClellan oscillator for a big move with the next two sessions and we got that move today. All the major indiecs moved higher. The S&P 500 was up over fifty points. The short term indicators here have turned back up. Perhaps the S&P is finally ready to break out of its sideways range. Gold was only up $6 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. I would have thought that gold would be much higher today but that didn't happen. The XAU was up 2 7/8, while GDX added 3/4. Volume was average. Some of the short term indicators for GDX have turned back up at about the mid-range level. I would like to see GDX get completely oversold before trying the calls here but the market may not cooperate. Plenty of time in the July option cycle. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today as it came back down after reaching its 50 day moving average. Its short term indicators have turned back down. If that continues we'll see a lower VIX and higher stock prices. I'm not sure exactly what we'll see next for the VIX because of the geo-political turmoil and the current headline risk. We don't have a clear technical signal for the SPY options at the moment either. I'll have to watch and wait for the time being. Europe was lower and Asia mixed to start off the trading week overseas. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

We had a one day downside reversal for most markets today as they opened higher and closed lower. The Dow however managed to score a gain of 35 points on expiration very heavy volume. The advance/declines were about even. The summation index is trending lower. The NASDAQ led the way lower and that is not a positive sign. Markets are still at the mercy of geo-politcal concerns and the next headline. Tariffs have taken a back seat but they still remain. The short term technical indicators for the S&P 500 are heading lower but price has been in a sideways range so far. No progress in either direction for over a month now. Not the best environment for trading options. We are rolling into the July option cycle. Gold dipped $27 on the futures. The US dollar was shighty lower as were interest rates. The XAU fell 2 1/3 and GDX lost 2/3. Volume was slightly below average. The short term indicators for GDX are heading down with room to go. Will I finally buy the GDX calls if it gets to short term oversold this time? The 50 day moving average lies at 50 and an up trend line from the beginning of the year comes in at 48. One caveat is that the events around the world have been a positive for gold this past week and it did not rally. That could be a problem for the gold bulls going forward. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today and that fits with an overall down market. Some of the short term indicators here are overbought but not completely. On the weekly VIX chart the 50 day moving average is about to cross up through the 200 day. If that happens it would be bullish for higher VIX prices and bearish for stocks going forward. Not sure what to expect next from the VIX. The July option cycle is a day and half short due to the July 4th holiday. I'm still leaning towards the SPY puts but will be checking all the charts over the weekend as usual. Asia was mixed and Europe generally higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternon and time for a break.

Another day goes by in a sideways market as the Dow fell 44 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trending lower. The NASDAQ posted a small gain and the S&P 500 was off a point or so. The Fed left rates unchanged as expected and we got the usual market gyrations after that. The short term indicators for the S&P have turned lower and are now sideways on the daily chart. Things could still break either way here. All we have left is expiration Friday as the US markets are closed tomorrow. Gold was down $23 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU was off 1 /2, while GDX shed almost 1/2. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX have turned lower. My idea for the GDX June calls this week was wrong as chasing the gold shares higher after the attack on Iran would have failed. I was lucky none of my orders for the calls were filled. That said I was still considering getting some of the GDX calls near the close today with only a day to go in the option cycle. It would have had two days of news to digest for the price of one. But we try and stick to the technicals here and I will simply roll into the July option cycle. Hopefully we will see some kind of decent signal soon. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and the short term indicators here have turned lower. This implies lower VIX readings and higher stock prices. However I'm not sure where the VIX goes from here. The market is still at the mercy of the next news event for now. Asia and Europe were mixed ovvernight. We'll take tomorrow off and see how things go on Friday.

The market is trying to make up its mind here as sellers took over again. The Dow fell 299 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is drifting lower. The NASDAQ led the way lower. It has been back and forth for just over a week now. We should know soon whether we are going to challenge the old highs or start to move lower. Retail sales were a bit weak this morning. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have rolled over but haven't even made it to the mid-range level. Perhaps the market reaction to the Fed will provide us with some clues. Only two days left in the June option cycle with a rare Thursday holiday this week. I won't be trying any SPY optons trades here. Gold was off $15 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates were lower. The XAU was lower by a half and GDX finished basically unchanged. Volume was light. The gold shares have held up well so far this week despite the drop in gold. Silver broke out to a new recent high today. I am trying my best not to buy the GDX June calls here with only two trading days to go in the week. GDX remains short term overbought but the world is in such a precarious postion at the moment that I believe that gold could burst higher at any time. However the prudent thing to do would be to stay on the sidelines and wait for a clear techncial signal one way or the other. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was back up today and that fits a down market. Back over the 20 level and touching the upper Bollinger band again on the daily chart. The short term indicators are getting to the overbought region. The VIX is still below its 50 day moving average though. I don't know what's coming next for this indicator although I could possitbly make a case for it continuing higher for another day. We've got the Fed meeting tomorrow with rates expected to remain where they are. Geo-politcal worries remain in the forefront. Europe and Asia finished lower with the exception of Japan. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Back to the upside to begin a holiday shortened week as the Dow gained 317 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. This should put the summation index back into sideways mode. The NASDAQ led the way higher and that's a plus. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned back up and are still overbought. The troubles in the Middle East have been put aside by the market for now. Only three days left in the June option cycle with a Fed meeting on tap. Retail sales data tomorrow. Probably too risky to try a SPY option trade here but you never know. We really don't have a clear signal either way. Sometimes the sidelines are where you have to stay. Gold dropped $48 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates ticked up. The XAU fell 1 1/2, while GDX was off 7/8. Volume was a bit below average. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to roll over as they remain in overbought territory. I'm still looking at the June calls here though as there is an up trend line that comes in just below 53 on GDX. A move to that level will have me thinking about making a trade there even though there is hardly any time left in the June option cycle. My belief is that the gold shares are not about to fall apart here with all the trouble going on in the world right now. I could be wrong. This would be a highly risky trade as well since those options are running out of time. Not to mention that the Fed is in no hurry to cut rates which would be a plus for gold. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX moved lower today and is back below the 20 level. Some of the short term indicators have turned down but the rest remain at mid-range. Not sure what's next for the VIX but continuing lower on it would not be a surprise. Europe and Asia were higher to start the week as the recent geo-political tensions have seemed to fade pretty fast. I did not expect that. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developmnets.

Sellers took over today as Middle East geo-political tensions erupted overnight. The Dow fell 769 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 negative. This should turn the summation index back down. We got a signal from the McClellan oscillator last night for a big move within the next two sessions and we saw that move today. The Dow led the way down. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have now rolled over with plenty of room to go. We are back to an event driven market. There's only 4 days left in the June option cycle so it looks like we won't be making any SPY option trades soon. Gold was up another fifty bucks today. The US dollar was higher and so were interest rates. We saw gold up big yesterday for no apparent reason and the reason became clear overnight. Once again markets know things that we don't. Today the XAU rose 3 1/8, while GDX added 7/8. Volume was average. Once I saw what happened I made the decision to try and chase this move in gold. I placed an overnight order for the GDX June calls but it wasn't filled. I adjusted the order twice during todays session but it wasn't hit. I might try again on Monday depending on what goes on this weekend. GDX is close to short term overbought but with the current environment gold should continue higher. GDX did break out to a new recent high today. However the volume wasn't heavy and it is pretty far from its 50 day moving average. I really wanted to own the calls before the weekend but it didn't happen. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX jumped up today and closed above the 20 level. Some of the short term indicators have already made it up past mid-range. The VIX is now at the top of the tight Bollinger bands which correctly forecast some type of big move coming. I would expect to see some more selling next week as whatever is happening in the Middle East will not be solved over one weekend. I'll be going over the charts to see if there is a trade that makes sense in the holiday shortened week ahead that includes a Fed meeting. Asia and Europe sold off to end the week as the risk off mindset took over. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Just another day of hanging around as the Dow added 101 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trending higher. The inflation data came in mild again. The S&P 500 led things higher today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. The S&P remains short term overbought and close to hugging its upper Bollinger band. Our next trading idea involves the SPY June puts next week for a very risky short term trade if things line up ahead of it. We've got the Fed next week as the main event but there's holiday on Thursday that compromises things. If we manage to drift higher going into the Fed announcement we might try the puts with only a day left. Otherwise it looks like we may have to remain on the sidelines with regards to the SPY options for now. Gold jumped $65 on the futures. The US dollar was lower again along with interest rates. The XAU gained 4 1/2 and GDX was up 1 1/2. Volume was above average. The short term indicators have turned up from the mid-range level and it appears that the gold shares are now headed higher. We can't beat ourselves up for missing this move as the gold indices never got to short term oversold. GDX is also getting to the point of medium term overbought as well so I'm not sure how much near term upside remains. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX was higher today which doesn't fit with an up market. Still short term oversold here but the indicators are trying to turn back up. Not sure what's next for the VIX. However I would not be surprised if the VIX turned lower and stocks continued their ascent to new all time highs. Europe and Asia were mostly lower overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

We had a one day downside reversal as stocks opened higher and closed lower. The Dow only lost a point on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving up. The NASDAQ led the way lower and that's a negative. The inflation data was mild. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are still overbought. The negative RSI divergence remains intact after todays price action. Today may have been the time to purchase the SPY June puts but we'll have to see where things go from here. We wanted to see strength going into tomorrow for a decent short term sell signal but the market did not cooperate. Might have to stay on the sidelines but we'll see. Gold was up $25 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 1 1/8 and GDX rose 3/8. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up at the mid-range level. Volume has slowed down this week so far for the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was a bit higher today which fits with an overall down market. Remaining short term oversold as it has been. More inflation data out tomorrow. The US/China trade talks yielded nothing substantial. I'm still considering whether or not the S&P will reach a new all time high before option expiration Friday. If so we can forget about trying the SPY puts. Never an easy trade in this game. Asia higher and Europe generally lower overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Continuing higher as the Dow rose 105 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. Another up and down session with whatever selling that occurred quickly replaced with buying. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought and up against the upper Bollinger band on the daily chart. One more positive session will negate the potential negative RSI divergence. Inflation data due tomorrow. Still waitng on the results of the US/China trade talks. New all time highs could be in the picture at some point ahead of option expiration. However if we remain to the plus side heading into Thursday I'll be considering the SPY June puts for a short term trade. Gold was off five bucks on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost 3 1/4, while GDX shed 3/4. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are back to moving lower and are at the mid-range level. There is a short term up trend line for GDX at 48 and a longer term one at 46. These will be levels that we'll keep in mind if GDX gets oversold in the near term. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term oversold. Not sure how long it will stay oversold but it's usually longer than you think. The contracting Bollinger band lines imply that something is brewing. However there is no signal for when that will take place. With the VIX already oversold the logical assumption will be that it will move higher and stocks lower at some point. This is something that I am trying to determine. Europe was mixed and Asia generally lower with the exception of Japan overnight. We'll see how the market reacts to the CPI tomorrow.

This is a market that is just hanging around today as the Dow lost a point on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move up. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small gains. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. The Bollinger bands here have now contracted and the S&P is up against the upper band. Something has to give here. The negative RSI divergence on the daily chart persists. We've got inflation data out on Wednesday and Thursday. That should provide some excuses for movement. I would like to try the SPY June puts with less than 2 weeks left in the option cycle but the entry timing would have to be spot on. Gold finished flat on teh session. The US dollar was a bit lower as were interest rates. The XAU was up 1 7/8 and GDX added 1/2. Volume was light. There still seems to be interest in owning the gold shares. The short term indicators on GDX are beginning to stall after they recently rolled over. Not sure where it goes from here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which doesn't fit with the majority of stocks higher on the day. Remaining short term oversold here. The question here is do I want to try the SPY puts ahead of the inflation data? Something to ponder overnight. Asia up and Europe down to begin the week. Still waiting on the outcome of the US/China trade talks that began today. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Markets took off to the upside after a better than expected jobs report as the Dow gained 443 points on average volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. This will move the summation index back up. The NASDAQ was the leader and that's a positive for the bulls. There was a gap higher at the open and stocks moved sideways from there for the rest of the session. The S&P 500 made it past 6000 today and closed at that level. New all time highs on the horizon? We'll see. The S&P remains short term overbought and that potential negative RSI divergence on the daily chart is still in place for now. I did place another order for the SPY June puts overnight but canceled it this morning before it got filled. The short term sell signal that we got was extremely short term. It only lasted for yesterday. We are going to have to look things over this weekend to decide on a plan for next week. Gold dropped $40 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 4 1/2 and GDX was off 1 1/2. Volume was good to the downside. The short term indicators for GDX have started to roll over. No GDX trade for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today after it looked like it wanted to start to go higher yesterday. It is now at its lowest level in the past 3 months. It also remains short term oversold. Well below the 20 level and it now seems as though the VIX is implying that the rally will live on. We've got inflation on tap next week along with a US/China trade meeting on Monday. So there will be excuses for the markets to move. I'll go over the charts this weekend to try and figure out the next move. Asia and Europe were generally higher to complete the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Some selling today ahead of tomorrows jobs report as the Dow fell 108 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were even. The summation index is tracking sideways. The NASDAQ led the way lower and that's a negative. I did place an order for the SPY June puts overnight but it was not filled. Today was a volatile session moving up and down throughout the day. I probably should have adjusted the order for it to get filled but I did not. Too late for this trade now unless we see some buying early tomorrow morning. It was to be a short term trade, getting out on Monday at the latest. But we probably missed it. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are now trying to roll over. The potential negative RSI divergence on the daily chart remains intact. I suppose we'll see what happens tomorrow morning and go from there. Gold lost $18 on the futures. The US dollar finished unchanged and interest rates were a bit higher. The XAU was up almost 3 points while GDX finished basically flat. Volume was good for the gold shares. GDX remains short term overbought. No GDX trades for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which fits with a down market. The short term indicators here are starting to turn up but it remains oversold. The converging Bollinger bands imply a big move coming. However we don't know when or which way. My thinking here is that if we do see a near term decline it won't last long. I could be wrong. Plenty to ponder overnight. Europe and Asia were generally higher overnight. We'll see how the market reacts to the employment report tomorrow.

Another day of hanging around as the Dow fell 92 points on good volume. The advance/declines were about even. The summation index is tracking sideways. The NASDAQ posted a gain and continues to lead the way. The S&P 500 finished basically unchanged. It remains short term overbought. I will be looking to buy the SPY June puts if we see some strength tomorrow. I am still in favor of this idea for a short term trade. However it may be too late if we start to drop from the open tomorrow. Gold was up $20 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU added 1 3/4, while GDX tacked on 1/8. Volume was light. GDX continues to be short term overbought. Still on the sidelines when it comes to the GDX options for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a touch lower today. The Bollinger bands here are beginning to converge. The VIX is short term oversold. We have an overbought S&P along with an oversold VIX. A plus day for stocks tomorrow would trigger a sell signal on one of our timing indicators. We have what could be a potential negative RSI divergence on the S&P daily chart. So we could have what appears to be a set up for the SPY puts. But we do know markets can go where they want. Things can get and stay more overbought or oversold than you think. That said I will probably put in an order overnight depending on what the futures are doing this evening. Of course we are still at the mercy of the next tariff headline. Asia and Europe were both up in Wednesdays trade. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Drifting higher as the Dow gained 214 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. This should stop the summation index from moving lower. The NASDAQ is the leader and that's plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 is still short term overbought. If we continue higher into the close on Thursday, I'm probably going to try the SPY June puts ahead of the jobs report. Not sure if the market will cooperate. Also could change my mind depending on the market movement prior to Friday. But that could be the next trade. Gold was off twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on above average volume. Still short term overbought on GDX. I will not chase it here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. Still short term oversold and comfortably below the 20 level. It still looks to me that the VIX implies higher prices in the near term. For me that would mean up days for Wednesday and Thursday followed by a reversal on Friday. However markets rarely move as planned. I'll review the data overnight. Asia was mixed and Europe higher in foreign trading last night. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

It was a one day upside reversal for most markets as they opened lower and closed higher. The Dow was up 35 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still trending lower. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 sported gains on the day with the NASDAQ leading the way. That's a positive. The S&P has the feel here of wanting to break out higher from the 2 week sideways congestion that it's been in. Buyers have been stepping in on any sort of decline. The S&P 500 is short term overbought but not at extremes. A run to 6000 in the near term seems likely after todays price action. Gold rallied as geo-political tensions heated up over the weekend. The yellow metal climbed $90 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates ticked up. The XAU gained 11 3/4 and GDX was up 3 1/8. Volume was heavy as the gold share indices are breaking out to new recent highs. The gold shares had been out performing gold recently and that was a big plus for them. GDX remains short term overbought and we did not chase this move higher. That was just another missed trade. Money continues to find a home in this sector so if it does make it back to short term oversold we'll hopefully buy the GDX calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today. Still short term oversold here but not completely. My guess is that the VIX will trend lower and the market higher over the next few days. I could be wrong as I haven't had a good handle on this indicator recently. Perhaps we saw some beginning of the month money flows help the market today. Liquidity doesn't seem to be a problem for stocks at the moment. The jobs report on Friday could be the next big mover. Europe and Asia were lower to start the trading week. We'll see if they bounce back tomorrow.

A mixed bag by the close today as the Dow gained 54 points on end of the month heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trending lower but without conviction for now. The NASDAQ posted a loss while the S&P 500 was basically unchanged. The inflation data came in where expected. The US tariffs are now in the hands of the courts. There are plenty of questions without any answers at the moment. The technical picture for the S&P hasn't changed. Short term overbought but not completely. There is still a short term up trend line intact here so that is a plus for the bulls. But any drop from here would violate that line. I'm remaining on the sidelines with regards to the SPY options for now. Gold dropped $30 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished slightly lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. Once again the gold shares did better than gold itself and that's a plus. I'm still considering the GDX calls for the next trade. However GDX does remain short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains below 20. Still short term oversold but there is room to go lower on the indicators. Not sure what's in store next for the VIX. Moving into June with plenty of time left for the option cycle. I'll be checking the charts as usual this weekend to try and come up with a decent idea. Asia was lower and Europe generally higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

We had a huge upside gap to start the day, bounced around for much of the session and closed with modest gains. The Dow rose 117 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. US courts have now deemed the tariffs illegal and they must stop within 10 days. We'll see if that happens or not. It's just another wrench thrown into the mix of things that the markets have to digest. The current headline risk is extreme. The NASDAQ led the way up today and that's a plus. But markets did fall off from the highs on the session as the price action was sloppy considering what was seen as positive news. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought but not completely. End of the month tomorrow and inflation data on tap. Still no SPY trades for now. Gold was up twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. Volume has tapered off on the gold shares and that isn't a positve. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was bit lower today which fits the up move in stocks. The short term indicators here are trending lower but not yet completely oversold. Below the 20 level and that's a plus. We are going to let tomorrow go by and look to make the next trade at some point in June. Asia higher and Europe lower overnight. We'll close out the week and the month tomorrow.

No upside follow through to yesterdays good gains as stocks opened higher and closed lower for a one day downside reversal. The Dow fell 245 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. This should send the summation index trending lower again. The Dow barely led things lower and that isn't the worst scenario. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are tracking sideways. I'm not sure where we're headed next as you could make a case either way. No solid trading signal at the moment. Waiting on inflation data Friday that should be benign. NVDA earnings after the bell today. Gold was off six bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU was up 1 3/4 and GDX added 1/2. Volume was light. The gold shares are outperforming here and that is a positive. GDX is short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today and that fits with a down market. The short term indicators here are beginning to stall after yesterdays drop. Not sure what's next for the VIX. It is a waiting game for now with regards to the next trade as we'll have to wait for a valid signal to develop. Asia and Europe were lower in last nights trade. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Positive tariff news over the weekend led to a gap higher at the open and the market never looked back. The Dow gained 740 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 6 to 1 positive. This should have the summation index moving sideways. The NASDAQ led the way and that's a plus. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned back up. Are we on our way to new all time highs in the June option cycle? Time will tell. One day doesn't make a rally but it sure feels like things are going to go higher. Some earnings due this week including NVDA. Inflation data out on Friday which is also the end of the month. We are still at the mercy of the next headline but for now things look positive. Gold dropped $62 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates were generally lower. The XAU dipped 1 1/4, while GDX slipped 3/4. Volume was average. GDX remains short term overbought on some of its indicators. Considering the drop in gold the gold shares held up rather well. I'm still considering the GDX June calls as the next trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and closed below both its 200 day moving average and the level of 20. The short term indicators here are now heading back down. It's another reason to be positive on stocks at the moment. But like we've been saying, things can turn on a dime in this kind of trading environment. However we don't think that they will in the near term. Asia was mixed and Europe higher overnight. We'll see if we get any upside follow through tomorrow.

A huge gap lower at the open and the market never recovered from it. The Dow fell 256 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is now moving down but not with any conviction yet. The NASDAQ was the leader heading lower and that is not a plus. It wasn't a major head to the exits ahead of a long weekend though. The S&P 500 closed on the near term up trend line and its 200 day moving average. The short term indicators here are moving lower with room to go. My guess is that the S&P will hold up here but that will depend on what goes on over the weekend. There could be news that affects markets either way. On the sidelines with regards to the SPY options for now. Gold was up $64 on the futures and had a very strong week to the upside. The US dollar was lower as were interest rates. The XAU gained 4 1/3 and GDX was up around 1 1/3. Volume was a bit above average. The short term indicators for GDX are still moving up and are not yet short term overbought. This was yet another GDX call trade missed by me but I'm not sure chasing it here is the right thing to do. I could be wrong. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today but did finish well off of its highs for the session. The short term indicators here are moving up and are now at mid-range. I thought that the VIX would be moving lower here and that was wrong. Not sure what to expect next but the VIX is above the 20 level and more volatility would not be out of the question. I'll be going over the charts this weekend to try and come up with some type of game plan going forward. Plenty of time left in the June option cycle. Asia higher and Europe lower to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Buyers returned today as we did not see follow through selling to yesterdays debacle. It was a tug of war though without any progress one way or the other. The Dow dipped a point on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slighty negative. The summation index is stalling here. Whatever gains we had today were wiped out in the last hour of selling. The NASDAQ did post a gain though and that's a plus. The S&P 500 had a very slight loss. Some of the short term indicators here are trying to turn back up. Still in the short term overbought area for the S&P. No SPY trades for now. Gold dropped twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates were lower. The XAU dropped 1 1/2, while GDX shed 1/4. Volume was light. Some of the short term indicators for GDX are beginning to stall. I'm still looking at the calls here if we see some selling in the gold shares. Perhaps next week as I don't think traders will be dumping gold ahead of a long weekend in the US. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX bounced around today and closed above the 20 level. The indicators here are trying to roll over before getting to mid-range. My guess is that they will head back down as the market moves higher in the near term. The VIX is hard to predict though. We will let Friday pass on by and get ready for next week. Europe and Asia were lower overnight. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

We saw some actual selling today as the Dow fell 816 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 9 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. Things were moving along smoothly until near the end of lunch hour when the market started to tank. The Dow led the way down so I'm not inclined to think that a sustained move lower is coming. If the NASDAQ takes the lead that would change my view. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have started to roll over but it remains overbought. The S&P remains above both the 50 and 200 day moving averages. Gold added another $37 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were higher. The XAU was up over 2 points while GDX rose 2/3. Volume was a bit above average. GDX made it past its short term down trend line. The indicators here are moving higher with room to go before hitting overbought. I'm still in the camp of getting the June calls here if we see some pullback but it is probably too late. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which fits a down market. It is now back above the 20 level and its 200 day moving average. The short term indicators are finally moving up from the oversold region. Tomorrow will be important to see if today was just a one day wonder or maybe something that will last a bit longer. The VIX did break above the near term down trend line today. Today was the first decent sign of selling in about a month. The short term up trend line for the S&P 500 comes in around 5800 and another day like today would take us through there. So much for a quiet week ahead of the holiday weekend. Asia and Europe were generally higher overnight. Tomorrow will probably tell us a lot about where we are going. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

A pause in the party today as the Dow fell 114 points on average volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving up. Not a huge decline or broad based as it looks like some profit taking for now. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. This could be a week of hanging around before a holiday weekend in the US but we'll have to wait and see how it plays out. No SPY trades in mind at the moment. Gold rallied again with the futures up $63. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat with the exception of the 30 year. The XAU was up 5 1/3, while GDX tacked on 1 3/8. Volume was above average for the gold shares. It appears that I've missed the call trade here again. I canceled my open order for the GDX June calls as it was not going to get close to getting filled. GDX is now at the short term down trend line on the daily chart. The longer term up trend line currently lies at 44.5. Some of the short term indicators here are mid-range and pointing up. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished basically flat and is still short term oversold. Below the 20 level and its 200 day moving average. Don't know what to expect next here but more sideways movement would not be a surprise. That would be a plus for stocks in the near term. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of India. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

It was a one day upside reversal for most of the major indices including the Dow. The most watched index gained 137 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving up. We had a huge gap lower to begin the day but then climbed back out of it over the rest of the session. Buyers and liquidity don't seem to be a problem at the moment. The S&P 500 had a sharp turn around as well. It remains short term overbought. Not sure how much longer the overbought condtion can go on. It has been over-extended for a while already. We cannot argue with price though. Gold was up $47 dollars on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU was up 3 1/2, while GDX gained a point. Volume was average. I did place an order overnight for the GDX June calls. GDX would have to see a drop down to the 44 level for this order to have a chance at being filled. I'm leaving the order out there but it's possible that I'm too late here as the short term indicators for GDX have already started to turn higher. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today but off of the best levels for the session. It still remains short term oversold. I don't have a good idea of what's next for this indicator. Earnings season is winding down and there's not a lot of econmic data due out this week. Could be a time for watching and waiting. Europe was generally higher and Asia lower to start the trading week. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Still moving higher today as the Dow gained 331 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation indx is moving up. The Dow was the leader today and that isn't the most positive aspect but you can't argue with higher prices. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought and that condition has lasted longer than usual. Overdue for a rest. Moving into the June option cycle next week. Gold dropped $33 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional losses on light volume. They both came up off of the lows for the session. The gold shares did better than gold itself and that's a plus. I'm considering the GDX June calls as the next trade attempt if it can get down to the up trend line at 44. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn up from oversold territory. I'll take another look here over the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continued lower which fits an up market. It is now below the up trend line from the end of last year on the daily chart. Still short term oversold as it has been for almost a month. The bulls are firmly in charge and it is now a matter of whether or not we soon reach new all time highs for the S&P. I wouldn't think so but the market goes where it wants. I'll be going over the charts this weekend as usual. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

We had somewhat of a mixed bag today as most of the major indices posted gains except for the NASDAQ. There were mostly one day upside reversals as stocks opened lower and closed higher. The Dow gained 271 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving higher. Retail sales came in where expected and the inflation data was mixed. The NASDAQ was the laggard today as it had a small loss. The S&P 500 had a small gap lower at the open but then turned around and had a positive close. My idea of the SPY puts with only two days to go would probably not of worked as I would have had to exit the position in the first half hour of trading to show a small profit. I most likely would have had to book another loser. That was luckily avoided this time around. The S&P remains short term overbought and has been for the past few weeks on some of the indicators. This condition will not go on much longer in my view. Rolling into the June option cycle now that has an extra week baked into it. Premiums are high. Gold jumped $45 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 3 1/8, while GDX added 7/8. Volume was a bit above average. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up from oversold territory. I'm still in the camp of waiting for GDX to return to the up trend line that started in the beginning of the year before attempting the calls here again. That would be in the 44 area. Mentally I'm feeling a bit mixed as the latest SPY trade idea did not pan out. At the rate things are going the market may reach up to new all time highs soon. I certainly did not see that coming. Hasn't happened yet. The VIX was lower today and is about to crack the up trend line that started at the end of last year. Short term oversold and staying that way. Not sure how much longer that condition can go on but it is obviously more than I considered. Option expiration on tap for Friday. Asia mostly lower and Europe higher overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Another day of sideways trading as the Dow fell 89 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index continues higher. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way with another gain today. The S&P 500 was barely higher. We got a signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two trading sessions. We'll see if that comes to fruition tomorrow. I did place a couple of orders for the SPY May puts but they weren't filled. The S&P remains short term overbought. The risk of taking on a trade here with two days left in the May option cycle is pretty high. Considering that the short term trades are not my best endeavors it is probably better that my orders didn't get filled. I set the price that I was willing to pay but the market never got there. Sure I'll be disappointed if the market falls tomorrow but we'll just move on the the June option cycle and go from there. Gold was off $64 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates rose. The XAU fell four points and GDX was down a point. Volume was above average. Remaining short term oversold for GDX and heading to the up trend line at 44. Perhaps try the GDX June calls there? We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today which doesn't fit the overall market being flat to higher. Still short term oversold here. The up trend line on the VIX daily chart that began late last year remains intact. Retail sales and inflation data out tomorrow morning. Also the Fed chairman will be making a speech. So we should see some market movement and my expexctation is that we'll see selling. I could be wrong. Asia was generally higher and Europe lower in last nights trade. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

A mixed bag today as the overall market was higher but the Dow lower. The most watched index fell 269 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. The inflation data came in where expected. The NASDAQ led the way higher again and that's a plus. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 had decent gains. The S&P remains short term overbought. With only 3 days to go in the May option cycle and trade taken on here has expanded risk. That said, I'm still considering some SPY May puts if we see some strength tomorrow. One of our indicators will be giving a short term sell signal if tomorrow is up again. However both the entry and the exit would have to be pretty good since the time constraint will be a huge factor for success. I'll consider this idea overnight. Gold was up $27 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates ended the day flat. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves one way or the other on average volume. GDX is at its 50 day moving average and the short term indicators appear to be trying to turn back up. We will still wait and see if it can make it down to the up trend line that comes in at 44. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was just a bit lower today. It is right at an up trend line from the end of last year and remains short term oversold. We could be at the moment of truth for this indicator to bounce back up and volatility make a short term comeback. Or not. Perhaps the VIX will continue to drift lower and remain oversold as the market continues higher. What happens here will influence any short term trade that is taken on. Asia finished mixed and Europe was higher overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

The market exploded to the upside on the heels of a weekend trade agreement between the US and China. Headline risk works both ways. The Dow gained 1160 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly better than 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ led the way and that's a plus. The S&P 500 jumped over 180 points. It remains short term overbought and staying that way. Inflation data due out tomorrow but the bulls have taken charge. If we continue higher into Wednesday I could make a technical case to try the SPY puts there. But the risk with only a couple of days left in the May option cycle may not be worth it. Gold got clobbered as a trade deal and lower geo-political risk took hold. The precious metal futures dropped $105. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU tanked 13 1/3, while GDX sank 3 3/4. Volume was heavy to the downside. There's an up trend line on GDX at 44 and it looks like we are headed there. The short term indicators for GDX have rolled back down. The weekly indicators for GDX have plenty of room to move lower. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX had a gap lower and closed below the important level of 20. The near term up trend line was broken and the next up trend line is about to be breached as well. My idea to try the SPY puts at the up trend line was off. The VIX now lies on its lower Bollinger band and its 200 day moving average. The short term indicators remain oversold. Not sure what comes next here on the VIX. Markets were up around the globe in a sigh of relief. We'll see if there is any reaction to the inflation data tomorrow.

A waiting game took place today as the Dow fell 119 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. After a bounce around in the first hour it was sideways for the rest of the day. The market is currently being held hostage by the US/China trade talks over the weekend. Monday morning should prove interesting on the reaction to whatever that brings. The other major indices basically finished flat. The S&P 500 is still short term overbought. One week to go in the May option cycle. Not sure If I'm going to attempt a short term trade but we'll see what happens on Monday. The problem here is that we are more at risk of headline events than in the normal course of business. It can work for or against you but there is no way to make a rational prediction of just what will occur. Trading is tough enough without that angle thrown in. Gold was up $27 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU rose 6 3/8, while GDX added 1 1/2. Volume was average. The gold shares finally outperformed gold and that is a plus for them. The short term indicators for GDX have turned back up. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower today and remains short term oversold. If it does get down to the 20 level next week I may try the SPY May puts for a short term trade. That is my current idea for next week. However I'll be going over all the charts this weekend and perhaps I'll come up with something else. There is also the choice of simply remaining on the sidelines. Europe was higher and Asia mixed again to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Stocks moved higher today on the back of a US trade deal with England and the Dow rose 254 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving higher. Stocks did back off from their best levels on the session with a drop in the final hour. The Dow was up 650 at one point. This has been the trend lately with late selling in the market day. It is not a positive. The S&P 500 got turned away from its 200 day moving average. It still remains short term overbought. I'm considering trying the SPY May puts again before option expiration next week but the entry timing would have to be spot on. The NASDAQ did lead the way today and that's a plus for the bulls. But it feels like this rally from the lows in April is beginning to stall. Gold dropped $79 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 3 1/4, while GDX lost around a point. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX are rolling over. Not sure what comes next here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. It remains short term oversold. Still above the 20 level with an up trend line in place that comes in at that point. If the VIX can make it down there before option expiration that would be the technical basis to try the SPY puts again. Not sure if that will happen but it would be one of the next set ups we're looking for. Europe was generally higher and Asia mixed overnight. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Volatility returned after the Fed announcement today as the market bounced back and forth. The Dow finihed with a gain of 284 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. The Dow once again was the leader. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posted gains but not a much as the Dow. The S&P remains short term overbought. I sold my SPY May puts for a 70% loss as I dumped them at the worst possible time when the market jumped in the final hour. I basically got the low price on the day. This trade would expire worthless if I continued to hang on to it. A lousy entry and worst possible exit add up to a losing trade. Seven days now left in the May option cycle, not sure if I'll try another trade in it. The S&P remains overbought but I'm not sure if I can get the timing right for a short term trade. Probably will have to remain on the sidelines. Gold dropped $44 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates a bit lower. The XAU lost 2 3/8 and GDX shed around a point. Volume was average. The gold shares held up pretty well considering the drop in gold. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to stall though. Mentally I'm frustrated as another losing trade is booked. The market doesn't care. You've got to keep on going in this game and that is what I'll try to do. The ideas haven't been that bad recently but the execution on the trading is lacking. I suppose I'll just have to wait for the next signal and see what I can do with it. The VIX was lower today and is still short term oversold. It looks like the VIX wants to move sideways here but we'll see. Perhaps remaining oversold as the market trends higher will be the case here. But we are still at the mercy of the next headline. Asia was mostly higher and Europe lower in last nights trade. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Todays price action was a repeat of yesterday. We opened with a gap down, made it all the way back to fill the gap and then rolled over again with weakness in the final half hour. The Dow fell 389 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving higher. The Dow led things lower and that isn't the most bearish thing. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought on some of its indicators. The short term up trend line in effect comes in at 5500. I would expect that to hold if we even do make it down there. If for some reason it wouldn't hold then we are heading lower. My SPY May puts are still solid losers and I will seriously have to consider taking the loss tomorrow with the Fed meeting on board. We should get some market movement from that tomorrow. Gold was up over a hundred again today on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU jumped 7 1/3, while GDX was up two points. Volume was good to the upside. The short term indicators for GDX are now moving up. I cannot believe that I missed this trade again. GDX got to short term oversold a couple of days ago and I did not buy the calls. I just didn't think this trade was going to work again but it did. In the meantime I was taking on a bad entry to the SPY put trade that I'm in now. I guess gold knows something that we don't. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up today which fits a down market. It does remain short term oversold though. Still below the 50 day moving average here. We are either on the cusp of the short term indicators moving higher on the VIX and volatility picking up or the indicators will roll back down and the market move higher. Asia was generally higher and Europe lower overnight. All eyes and ears on the Fed tomorrow and the market reaction to it.

A slight pause in the recent rally today as the Dow dipped 98 points on average volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The NASDAQ led the way lower but it certainly wasn't anything dramatic. We opened with a gap lower, turned around and made it all the way back only to drop again in the final hour and a half. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought but the nine day winning streak was snapped. My SPY May puts are still solid losers but I suppose I'll wait to see what happens with the Fed on Wednesday before taking the loss. Probably should have just dumped them on the drop this morning but hope springs eternal. Unfortunately hope is not a trading strategy. I can make a case for some weakness here but it probably won't be enough to save this trade. Gold jumped $100 today as geo-political tensions and bombings occurred over the weekend. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU was up five points and GDX climbed 1 2/3. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX are starting to turn higher and the very short term down trend line has been broken. Could I have missed the call trade here again? We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up just a bit today and remains short term oversold. Not sure exactly what to expect here from the VIX. My guess is that tomorrow will be a waiting game on the Fed. Most of the foreign markets were closed for holiday but what was open finished mixed. I'll keep an eye on any overnight developments.

The rally continues as it was fueled today by a report last night that the US and China are starting to talk about tariff relief. The Dow gained 564 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The jobs report came in better than expected. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 led the charge today. The S&P remains short term overbought and has been higher for nine days in a row. I can't recall the last time that happened. Needless to say my SPY May puts got crushed today. I probably should have just dumped them today as this trade is going to be a loser barring some type of market catastrophe. But I figured I'd hold them over the weekend and sell them most likely on Monday. I could technically make the argument for purchasing them yesterday but technical analysis doesn't always work out as an overnight headline caused the stock price movement today. Headline risk goes both ways. I'll regroup over the weekend and go from there. Gold was up twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were higher. The XAU lost 1 1/3 and GDX dipped 1/8. Volume was light. Gold up and the gold shares down isn't bullish. GDX is not yet completely short term oversold. Waiting for it to get to the 50 day moving average at 45 or the up trend line at 43 before looking at the calls there. However with stocks moving higher and a thaw in the US/China tariff turmoil the appeal of gold loses some luster. Mentally I'm feeling a bit frustrated as another losing trade is on the menu. The VIX was lower and remains short term oversold. Its 200 day moving average is on its way to lining up with the important level of 20 which is also where an up trend line exists on the daily chart. If it makes it there that would be the next time to possibly attempt the SPY puts. I'll be checking the charts over the weekend as usual. We've got the Fed next week and that should provide excuses for market movement although no surprises are expected. Asia and Europe were higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Another day, another gain as the Dow rose 83 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving higher. The NASDAQ led the way up and that's a plus for the bulls. We had a gap at the open and the gain would have been a lot more if not for a last ten minute bout of selling. The S&P 500 managed to close above its 50 day moving average. It remains short term overbought. I adjusted my order for the SPY May puts overnight but it still did not get filled. I did however decide that I would buy them so I did. My entry was not that good. I should have been more patient and the lousy entry will mean either more of a loss or less profit on this outcome. Technically this trade seems to make sense in the short term. We'll see. Gold got clobbered and slid $81 on the futures. As previously stated, when things go straight up the ending isn't pretty. However if the gold shares get short term oversold I'm willing to try the calls. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU lost 6 3/4, while GDX fell 1 7/8. Volume was above average. The short term indicators for GDX are getting to oversold but not completely there yet. The 50 day moving average lies at 45 which could be an entry point for the calls there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished flat on the session. It remains short term oversold and above the 20 level. Not sure what comes next for the VIX. In the next trade now and not sure for how long. Might hold it over the weekend or not. Depends on the price movement tomorrow. Asia finished mixed and most of Europe was on a holiday. All eyes on tomorrows jobs report and the market reaction to it.

Volatility returned today as the market made an incredible one day upside reversal. The Dow gained 141 points after being down almost 800 early on. The advance/declines were negative and volume was heavy. The summation index is moving up. GDP came in less than expected but the inflation data was on target. The Dow led the way with the NASDAQ being the laggard posting a small loss. The S&P 500 had a huge gap lower at the open and made it all the way back and then some. It remains short term overbought. My order for the SPY May puts remains out there however it really seems like this market wants to go higher. However technically we have reasons to be looking at the puts here for a short term trade. Perhaps I'll have to adjust my open order again but we'll see what happens overnight. Employment data out on Friday. Gold was off $28 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates dipped slightly. The XAU was up 2 1/8, while GDX added 1/2. Volume was light again. The gold shares did outperform the metal itself and that's a plus. The short term indicators for GDX have gotten to mid-range but we'd still like to see them get all the way to oversold before trying the calls there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX had only a slight gain and finished well below its best levels on the day. It remains short term oversold. The daily candlestick chart looks like it wants to go lower which would be supportive for the stock market. We still have earnings to contend with. Beginning of the month of May tomorrow. Plenty to think about tonight. Asia and Europe were generally higher overnight. I'll keep watch for any overnight developments.

Moving higher ahead of tomorrows economic data as the Dow gained 300 points on good volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The Dow led the way today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought and can stay that way during rallies as we are in at the moment. I adjusted my open order for the SPY May puts but it still has not been filled. I'm looking for the S&P to get back to the 50 day moving average just above the 5600 level for this order to have a chance. If the market doesn't stop there then we'll know that this idea isn't going to work. Plenty of important earnings reports in the next couple of days so things should get moving one way or the other. Gold dipped $18 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates a bit lower. The XAU dropped 2 1/3 and GDX shed 7/8. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to roll over. Patience on buying the calls there for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits an up market. Below the 50 day moving average here now and still short term oversold. The VIX does stay short term oversold during rallies but that condition doesn't last forever. Ideally I'll get filled on the SPY May puts tomorrow and things will then start to head back down. Markets rarely cooperate. With the summation index moving higher any put trade has to be short in time length because you are bucking the overall trend. Europe and Asia were generally higher overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

An interesting session today as the market opened higher, sold off then managed to make it all the way back. The Dow gained 114 points on average volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. It was a mixed bag as the NASDAQ posted a small loss and the S&P 500 was little changed. Short term overbought now on the S&P and this is the spot to try the SPY May puts. My open order remains out there but it may have to be adjusted in order to get a fill. Inflation data, the employment report and plenty of earnings due out this week. It will also be the end of the month and the start of May. I think that any strength tomorrow can be sold and I will try to buy the SPY May puts at some point. However it is possible that I'm early on this idea and that has to be factored in as well. Gold jumped $64 on the futures today. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 1 3/4, while GDX added 1/2. Volume was light. The gold shares didn't move up as much as the price of gold would imply. It seems like traders have backed off of this idea for now. The short term indicators for GDX are trending sideways. I'll still try and wait for GDX to reach short term oversold before trying the calls there. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up slightly today. It is hanging around its 50 day moving average and remains short term oversold. It can stay oversold during rallies and you could make that case now. I'll consider what action to take tonight with regards to the SPY May put idea. Europe was slightly higher and Asia generally positive to start the week. I'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.