Most of the major stock averages made tremendous comebacks today as we opened with huge gaps lower and then spent the rest of the session moving higher. The Dow gained 417 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were barely positive. The summation index is trending lower. The NASDAQ was the laggard today as it did not make it back to positive territory. The S&P 500 retested the recent low this morning and it has held for now. There is a new short term down trend line in place there that comes in around 5750. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P are starting to turn back up. The question now is have we put in a bottom with the successful retest of the lows or will things roll over again? The summation index heading to the zero line implies that we might fall apart here. However todays sharp comeback says that perhaps we've put a double bottom in. Always plenty of questions in this game. Gold was up over forty bucks on the futures to another all time high. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on average volume. The gold shares finished well up from their lows on the session. GDX remains short term overbought as it has been for the last three weeks. Perhaps we should just chase the gold shares higher here as money continues to flow into this sector. But I'm inclined to at least wait until it falls back to the near term up trend line. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished a bit higher today and the short term indicators are still moving up. The daily candlestick chart on the VIX shows a black candle for today and it could be a near term top. That would mean lower VIX readings for the near future and higher stock prices. However we do have Trumps tariffs on Wednesday and the employment report on Friday. Plenty for the markets to digest this week. At this point I'm not sure what the next trade will be. Asia and Europe started the week on a down note. We'll see how things go in the overnight session.

Stocks got clobbered today as the Dow fell 715 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 negative. The summation index is turning down. The inflation data was slightly worse than expected. We started with a gap lower and never looked back. The NASDAQ led the way down and that is not a plus. The S&P 500 dropped over 110 points as we are headed towards a retest of the recent lows. At this rate they will not hold. The short term indicators for the S&P have rolled over, are heading down and have room to go. Getting pretty far from the 50 day moving average again here but that may not matter. If the summation index continues to the zero line it will get ugly. How do we trade it from here is the question. Gold was up over twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU fell 2 points and GDX lost 1/8. Volume was average. The gold shares opened higher and closed lower for a downside reversal. Perhaps today will lead to a pullback for GDX and maybe we'll get to try the GDX April calls. A move back to the near term up trend line might give us a chance. Mentally I'm feeling as though I'm missing out on opportunity here but the option premiums are so high that taking a chance now is expensive. Missed money is better than lost money they say. The VIX zoomed higher today and is back above 20. The short term indicators here are now moving higher with room to go. We've got Trump tariff news in the middle of next week which should provide even more volatility. Not sure exactly what to expect there. Plenty of work to do over the weekend as I try and develop some type of trading plan for next week. Europe and Asia were both down to finish the week as markets always know more than we do. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The market is trying to figure out what to do here as the Dow fell 155 points on average volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving sideways. There was a gap lower at the open and the rest of the day was spent moving back and forth from negative to positive territory. I'm not sure what will happen next so it will be the sidelines for now regarding the next trade. Inflation data out tomorrow. The short term indicators for the S&P are moving sideways or heading lower. The short term up trend line is still in place but another negative session would put and end to that. Gold was up $47 on the futures to a new all time high. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished mostly flat. The XAU was up 3 3/8, while GDX added a point. Volume was light. The potential evening star on the GDX daily candlestick chart turned out to be invalid as GDX has now closed above it. Still short term overbought on GDX and staying that way. Getting pretty far from the 50 day moving average here again. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and closed on its 50 day moving average. Still short term oversold on many of its indicators. Not sure what we'll see next here for the VIX. Europe and Asia were lower with the exception of Japan. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Sellers had the upper hand today as the Dow fell 132 points on average volume. The advance/declines were shy of 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. The NASDAQ was by far the weakest today and that is not a plus. The S&P 500 has stalled at its 200 day moving average. The short term indicators here are beginning to turn lower. Could the bounce off of the recent lows be over? Time will tell on that. The short term up trend line for the S&P is still intact. Not in a rush to do any trade here so we'll watch and wait for now. Gold dipped $3 on the futures. The US dollar was up today and interest rates were slightly higher. The XAU was down 1 7/8 and GDX lost 1/3. Volume was pretty light. The short term indicators for GDX are still overbought and now trending sideways as the gold shares try to figure out what's next. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX was higher today which fits a down market. The short term indicators are turning up from oversold territory. This implies higher volatility and lower prices to come. The VIX is still below its 50 day moving average and during up swings it can stay oversold for a while. So the jury is still out on what the VIX means here. Perhaps we'll get better clues tomorrow. Europe was mostly lower and Asia higher with the exception of India overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

It was a day of consolidating yesterdays gains as the market simply treaded water and moved sideways on the session. The Dow rose 4 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trending higher. The NASDAQ continues to be the outperformer. The S&P 500 had a slight gain as the short term indicators continue to move up. I'm waiting on a some kind of techincal signal to attempt the next trade. Not sure how long that will take. No hurry as the option premiums are high since we just rolled into the April cycle. Gold was up $9 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly lower as were interest rates. The XAU was up 2 7/8, while GDX added 3/4. Volume was light. The gold shares finished off of their best levels on the day. The daily candlestick chart for GDX has a potential shooting star top in place after today but we'll have to wait and see where things go from here for that to be valid. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down and closed below its 200 day moving average. The short term indicators here are oversold but can stay that way during rallies. Not sure what's next here for the VIX but there is an up trend line that comes in around 16 which is a point away. I'm leaning towards trying the SPY April puts if it gets above 580 and the short term indicators are overbought. Hasn't happened yet. Europe and Asia trended higher with the exception of the Hang Seng. We'll see where things go tomorrow.

A huge gap up at the open and the market never looked back as the Dow gained 598 points on good volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to get some upside momentum. The NASDAQ was the leader and that is always a plus. We had plenty of medium term buy signals and today verifies that. The S&P 500 finally broke through the short term down trend line that was in control since mid-February when the decline began. Interesting that stocks waited until after option expiration to get things going. The short term indicators on the S&P are moving higher with room to go. It closed above the 200 day moving average with the 50 day as the next resistance. We never did get a retest of the lows. I'll wait for the next decent technical signal before entering the next trade. Can we just keep moving up here and on to new all time highs? Anything is possible in the marketplace but I'm not counting on that scenario. Gold was off $8 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU was flat and GDX dropped 1/4. Volume was light. GDX remains short term overbought with the indicators trending sideways. No trades here for now. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower today and now is firmly below the 20 level. The short term indicators are oversold. The VIX closed below its 50 day moving average with the 200 day in sight. I'd be surprised if the VIX turns around and heads back over 20 right away but anything goes in this game. Asia was generally higher and Europe slightly lower to begin the trading week. We'll keep an eye on tonight headlines.

We had a pretty dramatic one day reversal today with a huge gap lower at the open only to claw our way back for the rest of the session to eventually eek out a small gain. The Dow added 32 points on expiration heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is tracking sideways to higher. Once again volatility ruled the day. The NASDAQ led the way back. The Dow was off 500 points in the morning. The S&P 500 managed a minor gain as the short term indicators are moving up. The opening gap down killed my SPY March call options. Having a stop limit order in place didn't matter as the opening premium for the options was well below the limit price. It turned into a 95% loss overnight. I really don't do well on the short term trades. The only saving grace was that there wasn't a lot of money involved since I never have much success on the short term deals. The short term down trend line is still in effect for the S&P but I'm pretty sure that won't last much longer. Some of our medium term indicators are flashing buy signals so some kind of rally should be at hand. Gold was off $18 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU fell 2 1/4, while GDX lost 2/3. Volume was about average. The gold shares finished up from their worst levels on teh day. Mentally I'm feeling disappointed as you would expect with a losing trade booked. The market certainly doesn't care and you've got to move on from it. The VIX again finished lower from the best levels of the day and is below the 20 level. Some of its short term indicators are oversold. I'm not getting a good idea of where the VIX is heading next. Still above both the 50 and 200 day moving averages there. Plenty of work to do over the weekend as we roll into the April option cycle. Europe and Asia finished Friday lower with the exception of India. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Volatility took over today as we opened with a huge gap down, came all the way back to show a nice gain only to fall back again and then drift in the final hour. The Dow lost 11 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is tracking sideways. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small losses. The S&P 500 is finding stiff resistance at the short term down trend line that comes in around 5700. It has tried and failed three times there this week. This is something that I did not expect as perhaps things are weaker than they seem to me. The short term indicators are moving sideways on the S&P. I'm still holding on to the March SPY calls but with only a Friday trading session left this trade is now looking like it won't work. It's now showing a loss. We'll see how things go tomorrow. Gold was up a dozen on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU and GDX were both little changed on very light volume. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX bounced around but ended the day barely lower. Some of its short term indicators have reached oversold territory. I'm not sure what's next for the VIX. Not sure what's next for the market but with that down trend line holding on perhaps we're in for a retest of the recent lows. That would kill my SPY call trade tomorrow. However markets go where they want so we'll have to wait and see. Europe and Asia finished lower with the exception of India. Expiration Friday on tap.

It was an upside day from the start as the Dow gained 383 points on good volume. The advance/declines were shy of 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. The Fed came and went with no surprises. It could have been a better day but we sold off in the last hour. The NASDAQ led the way and that's a plus. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are trying to turn back up but not there yet. I did leave an order out there for the SPY March calls overnight but it wasn't filled this morning. I once again adjusted it and it got filled. The entry timing is obviously off as yesterday would have been a better entry. Only 2 days left in the March option cycle so this idea is full of risk. It is showing a small profit but the premium is way below its best level on the session. I plan on holding it into Friday as of right now. Gold was up $16 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates ended a bit lower. The XAU was up 1 1/4 and GDX rose 1/3. Volume was light. Still short term overbought for GDX on the daily indicators. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower today and closed just below 20. The short term indicators are reaching the oversold territory but not completely. I'm still not sure what to expect next for the VIX. I'm in the next trade now and that will require all of my attention. Might put in a limit order to sell and see if it gets hit tomorrow. However holding out until Friday seems like the better plan at the moment. More than the usual amount of risk though. Asia and Europe ended mixed. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Back to the downside as the Dow fell 260 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is beginning to trend sideways. The NASDAQ led the way lower and that is not a plus. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are trying to turn lower. We had a gap lower at the open today and then spent the rest of the session in a sideways pattern. I did place an overnight order for the SPY March calls but it wasn't filled. I adjusted it higher during the session but still no fill. I'm leaving it out there overnight. We'll get the Fed tomorrow and that should get things moving one way or the other. I'm still a believer in the short term March call trade. Gold was up $37 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower as were interest rates. The XAU was up 1 1/8 and GDX added 1/4. Volume was average. The gold shares did finish off of their best levels on the day. GDX has gotten pretty far from its 50 day moving average and remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and remains above the 20 level. The short term indicators here are trying to turn back up. Not sure what's next on the VIX. Only 3 days remain in the March option cycle. The trading here will be risky and the premiums are still high. Europe and Asia were higher in last nights trading. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

More buying today as the Dow gained 353 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is attempting to turn around here at the zero line. I think that it will be successful. I did place an order for some SPY March calls overnight but it wasn't filled. Weakness can be bought now in my view. Stocks got blown out to the downside and this expiration week should be positive. The short term indicators for the S&P have turned back up although still on the oversold side of things. A retest of the recent lows should be successful. If not then we would expect a complete unraveling of things. However I don't expect that this time around. The short term down trend line here comes in at 575 which is also about where the 200 day moving averge is. I'm pretty sure that getting some index calls this week should be profitable. We'll see. Gold was up $7 as the futures are above $3000. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU was up 4 3/4, while GDX climbed almost a point. Volume was light. GDX is short term overbought and staying there. Gold and the gold shares continue to attract capital and that cannot be ignored. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower again today but is still above the level of 20. The short term indicators here are heading lower. My goal for the week is to buy some SPY March calls on weakness within the next couple of sessions. It will be a short term trade which isn't my strong suit. The Fed on Wednesday is the main event for now. Europe and Asia were higher to start the week. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

We got a huge bounce today as the Dow climbed 674 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 5 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving down. There was a gap up at the open and the market never looked back. The NASDAQ was the leader and that's a plus. However every up day that we've seen in this recent decline has been met by selling in the following session. So we'll see what happens on Monday. It would not be a surprise for the market to put in some kind of bottom here as it tries to hold on at the zero line of the summation index. The S&P 500 remains short term oversold but the indicators have turned up. Options expiration week will be upon us along with a Fed meeting. Something that could factor into where things go is the open interest in the SPY puts which happens to be very heavy. Are the market makers prepared to book all those losses? It is an argument to try the SPY March calls next week. I'll consider this idea over the weekend. Short term trades are not usually an area that I do well in and that has to be taken into consideration too. Gold finished flat on the session. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates a bit higher. The XAU was up 1 1/2 and GDX added 3/8. Volume was a bit above average. The gold shares followed the overall market higher. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continued lower today and the short term indicators are moving down. Will the VIX continue to fall and make it back below the important level of 20? Or will it turn back up as the market continues to fall? This is something that we'll have to watch closely next week. I'll be checking the charts over the next two days to try and come up with some type of game plan for next week. Europe and Asia finished higher with the exception of India. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Still moving lower as there is no bounce to be found. The Dow fell 537 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index continues lower as the zero line approaches. The inflation data was mild and it didn't matter. Oversold, staying that way and the S&P chart looks like a straight line down. We've reached and exceeded the dwonside technical objective for the S&P 500 based on the daily chart. So we are in dangerous territory at a chance of even more collapse than we've already seen. Not your normal trading environment so I'll have to sit on the sidelines for now with regards to the S&P. If we ever do get a snapback to the down trend line, I'll consider a trade there. Gold hit a new all time high on the futures as it was up $50. The US dollar was higher and interest rates were lower. The XAU gained 4 1/3, while GDX ws up 1 1/4. Volume was good to the upside. GDX is now short term overbought but not completely so. Perhaps I'll try the calls there in the next six days as money is continuing to flow into this sector. But the ideal time for the GDX call trade has long passed. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was barely higher today. Not sure what that means. The short term indicators have stalled but remain on the overbought side. We are in the kind of game now where money does not want to be in US stocks. I'm not sure how much longer this will last. The technicals are blown out to the downside and we can't even get more than a one day advance. If the zero line on the summation index is breached we will have some type of collapse. So we've got to be extra careful with what we do right now. Europe and Asia were generally lower overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

A little bit calmer price action than we've seen lately as the Dow fell 82 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving down. The overall market fared better than the Dow with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posting gains for the day. We got a signal from the McClellan oscillator last night for a big move within the next two trading sessions. However we've had some pretty big moves without this signal lately so I don't know how much validity we can place with it this time around. The inflation data came in lighter than expected but we didn't get a huge market reaction. The S&P remains short term oversold here. PPI data tomorrow. I'm still in the camp of waiting for a move back to the short term down trend line in the S&P to try the SPY March puts. We are certainly overdue for some kind of rally attempt but markets go where they want. Gold was up twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates ticked up. The XAU was up 1 1/3 and GDX added 1/8. Volume was light. I'm back on the sidelines regarding GDX for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits with the overall market advance. The short term indicators here have turned back down but that hasn't meant much lately. Running out of time now in the March option cycle but we do have the Fed next week which should get things moving one way or the other. It looks like a short term bottom may be in on some of the major indices daily candlestick charts. But unless we move higher tomorrow it will just be another fake out in the decline. So the price action on Thursday will be telling. Europe was higher and Asia generally lower overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

The market tried to gain some traction today but failed again as the Dow fell 478 points on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues lower. The Dow led the way down and that's not the worst scenario. The NASDAQ fell the least and if you're bullish you could point to that. The S&P 500 remains short term oversold and pretty far from its 50 day moving average. I'm not sure just how much longer this will go on. Inflation data tomorrow will be a mover one way or the other. The short term down trend line for the S&P now comes in at 5800. I still like the idea of trying some puts if it ever bounces back to that line. The mood on the street is so bearish that some kind of snap back rally is inevitable. However we are getting closer to the zero line in the summation index and crossing that would spell even more trouble. Interesting times. Gold was up $24 as it made back what it lost yesterday. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were higher. The XAU gained 5 7/8, while GDX was up 1 1/4. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX have turned back up. My open order for the GDX March calls wasn't filled and I canceled it. I still like the gold share calls here but will not pay up for them as the option premiums remain high with 8 days to go in the March option cycle. Needless to say this trade was missed as was the SPY put idea. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today despite a drop in stocks which doesn't fit. Perhaps it is telegraphing a bounce tomorrow for the market. The short term indicators remain overbought for the VIX. The volume in the market continues to be robust as traders head for the exits. Usually these types of declines have some sort of heavy volume washout as the selling gets exhausted. We'll be keeping an eye out for that. Europe and Asia were lower overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines as we await the reaction to tomorrows inflation data.

Stocks got pounded lower today as the Dow lost 890 points on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving down. Traders are heading for the exits. It could have been worse but we got a last hour bounce. The Dow was off over 1000 and the S&P was down 200 points. The NASDAQ continues to lead things lower and that is a negative. We met the 5600 level for the S&P today which was what we were looking for. Does that mean that the decline is over? Perhaps but the S&P 500 remains short term oversold and staying that way. If we have a double top on the Dow its measuring objective woould be 3000 points lower at 39000. The S&P broke therough its 200 day moving average today. There is a lot of negative price action for stocks right now. Inflation data on tap for Wednesday and Thursday. We never got a snap back in the S&P to the short term down trend line to try the SPY puts. That could still happen but the question is whether or not we'd like to try it. The summation index is heading to the zero line and we've got to hope that holds or things could get really crazy. Gold lost $24 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates dipped. The XAU fell 5 1/3 and GDX lost 1 1/8. Volume was average. I put in an overnight order for the GDX March calls but it wasn't filled. I adjusted it and am leaving it out there. The short term indicators for GDX have rolled over with room to go. I'm not exactly sure this is the right idea here but we'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher and almost hit 30 today. The short term indicators remain overbought. I'm not sure how much longer the uptrend here can last but it has been impressive so far. Volatility rules for now with lower stock prices the result. Not sure what to expect next because we've only been able to have one day rallies for the past 2 1/2 weeks. The sidelines hasn't been a bad place to be but owning puts would have been better. Europe and Asia were down with the exception of Japan. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Bouncing around today and perhaps trying to put in a short term bottom? The Dow gained 222 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is heading lower. The jobs report was a bit weaker than expected but it did not seem to matter to the market. We hit the lows for the session about halfway through and rallied back the rest of the day. The NASDAQ led the way back and that's a plus. The S&P 500 is still short term oversold and staying there. It did manage to hold at the 200 day moving average again and that's why I think a bounce here is due. Ideally if it could make it back to the short term down trend line I'd like to try the SPY puts there. Markets rarely cooperate. That line now comes in at 5875. It was a tough week to be long stocks. Gold was off $8 on the futures. The US dollar finished a little lower and interest rates were a bit higher. The XAU was up about a point and GDX added 1/4. Volume was light. I did place an order for the GDX March calls overnight but it wasn't filled and I canceled it. The short term indicators for GDX are still heading higher with room to go before reaching overbought. I'll reconsider this idea over the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term overbought. Still above the 20 level and pretty far from its 50 day moving average. Not sure what happens next with this indicator. Two weeks to go in the March option cycle and I anticipate making some kind of trade within that timespan. Volatility is the key here and the trading has to be nimble for success. We'll see if I'm up to the challenge. I'll be going over the charts this weekend as usual. Asia and Europe were lower on the last trading day of the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The selling continues as the Dow fell 427 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving down. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way lower and that remains a negative for stocks. The S&P 500 lost over 100 points again as it trys to hang on at the 200 day moving average. The short term indicators here are still oversold. Not sure what's next with the employment numbers due tomorrow. Still hoping that the S&P can make it back to the down trend line that now comes in at 5900 so that we can try the SPY March puts. The market is not cooperating though and it appears that the 5600 target will be reached first. Getting pretty far from the 50 day moving average on the S&P. Gold was off $8 on the futures. The US dollar was just a bit lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU fell 1 2/3, while GDX shed around 1/3. Volume was light. GDX remains in an uptrend and I might place an order in for the March calls overnight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up and is well above the 20 level which means increased volatility. We are certainly seeing that. The short term indicators remain overbought as they have been for about a couple of weeks. This is a rare occurrence for the VIX lately as it usually stays extended on the oversold side. But this can happen in stock market declines which is where we find ourselves. The NASDAQ is also pretty far from its 50 day moving average and already below its 200 day moving average. It has been almost a straight line down here and some kind of snapback is overdue. The long term uptrend line here comes in at 17400. If for some reason that level didn't hold we would be in bigger trouble than we are now for the bulls. Asia and Europe were higher overnight with the exception of the FTSE. We'll see how the market reacts to the jobs numbers tomorrow.

Some upside for a change as the Dow gained 485 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index continues lower. The NASDAQ led the way and that's a plus. The short term indicators for the S$P 500 remain oversold. The game plan for now is to see if the S&P can make it back to the down trend line at around 5925. That would be the spot to try the SPY March puts if we still want to go that way. The 200 day moving average on the S&P has held the decline so far. There is also the possibility that the decline has ended because a lot of the indicators are blown out to the downside. The trading is never easy. We'll see what things look like if and when we make it back to short term down trend line. Gold was up $11 on the futures. The US dollar had a huge drop and interest rates were higher. The gold shares outperformed the metal as the XAU jumped 6 2/3, while GDX was up 1 3/8. Volume was slightly below average. The short term indicators for GDX are moving higher. Another missed trade here as I placed the orders for the GDX March calls recently but none were filled. My lack of making the proper adjustments was the main factor. Mentally I'm feeling frustrated as markets are moving and we are not taking advantage of it. The ideas have been relevant but the lack of correct trading tactics has kept us from meeting trading objectives. The VIX was lower today and the short term indicators have turned down. This implies that we should see higher stock prices but in this market, who knows? The daily candlestick chart also appears to have put in a short term top at the least. Still above the 20 level though. We'll see. Jobs data on Friday is looming. Asia and Europe were higher overnight. I'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

It was almost a one day upside reversal as the market sold off hard early on, moved higher for much of the rest of the session to get back into positive territory only to collapse again in the final hour. The Dow lost 708 points on very heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving lower. The NASDAQ held up the best today and that should be a positive going forward. But we are on shaky ground. The S&P 500 made it down to its 200 day moving average and bounced from that level. It is important for it to hold on here but our measuring objective from the double top is still 5600. The short term indicators for the S&P remain oversold. There is a down trend line in place now on the daily chart. If we could somehow make it back to that line it would give us a chance for the SPY March puts. But it looks like that ship has sailed and I missed it. High option premiums have kept me on the sidelines. Gold was up $27 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU gained 1 1/4 and GDX was up 5/8. Volume was lighter than average. I did place an overnight order for the GDX March calls but it wasn't filled and I canceled it. The short term indicators for GDX have turned back up and it looks like I've missed this trade as well. Still plenty of time in the March option cycle but you've got to nimble in fast markets which is where we find ourselves. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished higher but off from the highest levels on the day. The short term indicators remain overbought which isn't how the VIX usually operates. It is another indicator pointing out the trading environment that we're in. Not sure what to expect tomorrow. Perhaps I'll be able to take some kind of position ahead of Fridays employment report. Europe and Asia were lower too as it's a worldwide wave of selling at the moment. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Volatility with a vengeance today as the Dow fell 649 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is trending lower again. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way down and that's a negative. The S&P 500 opened higher and closed lower for a one day negative reversal. It dropped over 100 points. The short term indicators are oversold and staying there. The premiums on the SPY March puts were very high and I did not purchase any. It is probably too late for that idea now as the bounce only lasted for a day. I'm still looking for 5600 as a downside target on the S&P. Gold was up fifty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates continue to drop. The gold shares started out positive but then followed the overall market lower. The XAU dipped 7/8 and GDX finished flat. Volume was light. GDX remains short term oversold but not completely. I will probably put in an order tonight for the GDX March calls again. This may be the way to try something in the March option cycle where the option premiums aren't overpriced because of the volatility in the overall market. But we'll see. It's fluid situation as usual. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and closed above the 20 level. Still short term overbought with a little room left to go higher. The VIX rarely stay overbought for long. That tells you that we are not in the usual market conditions and that the decline has legs. If the summation index starts to really turn down, the zero line will be upon us. If that happens the drop will be greater than the 5600 level that I'm looking at. I'm not sure what's next but we will be paying attention. Europe was up and Asia genrally higher to begin the trading week. We'll see how things go tomorrow.