A mixed Monday to begin the week as the Dow was higher and the NASDAQ lower. The most watched index gained 358 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving lower. We had one day upside reversals in some of the major averages today as the market gapped down at the open. The S&P 500 was one of the indexes that had an upside reversal. This is important for the bulls because the S&P is bouncing off of its longer term up trend line that goes back to 2023. If the S&P can hang in here I believe that we'll be moving higher medium term. We'll probably know by Wednesday when the inflation data comes in. The short term indicators for the S&P remain oversold. My SPY January calls are still losers with only four days to go. They are so far out of the money that it will take some strong gains to perhaps make it back to break even. Another downside day will wipe them out. At this point I'll most likely hold them until the CPI on Wednesday. Gold dropped $35 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost almost 3 points and GDX was down 5/8. Volume was light. Some of the short term indicators for GDX have rolled over while others have simply stalled. The down trend line from last October remains in place on GDX. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished lower today after rising above the 20 level. The short term indicators here are beginning to head sideways with some at the mid-range level. So the VIX could go either way from here. My hope would be that the VIX heads lower from here as the overall market rises. However hope is not a trading strategy. My timing on getting the SPY January calls was not good. The summation index is dancing around the zero line so there is still a chance of a major drop. It is options expiration week so anything goes. Europe and Asia opened the week lower. We'll see how things go tomorrow.