An explosive rally took place today as the Dow took off halfway through the session when it was announced that tariffs would be put on hold for some countries for ninety days. So we can all do this again in three months? The most watched index gained an unprecedented 2962 points on extremely heavy volume. The advance/declines were 15 to 1 positive. The summation index is still heading lower. The NASDAQ gained 12% in one day. The S&P 500 was up almost 10%. Plenty of buying and short covering to be sure. The short term indicators for the S&P turned back up and made it to mid-range in a day. It looks like the longer term up trend line that came in at 5000 is going to hold for now. Medium term indicators on the market had gotten blown out to the downside, so some kind of turnaround was due. But all in one day? It is a volatile environment so don't be surprised if the S&P is down a couple hundred points again in the near future. The down trend line for the S&P is at 5600 and if we get there I'd certainly think about trying the SPY puts. Gold blasted off as well as the futures were up $120. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates ticked up. The XAU was up 14 points, while GDX climbed 3 3/8. Volume was heavy to the upside. It looks like I've missed the GDX call trade again but I'm leaving my order for the May calls out there. The price swings for stocks and commodities are so huge right now that you really have to be nimble and just take quick profits or losses. It goes without saying that the risks right now are much higher than usual. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX collapsed and dropped over 18 points. The short term indicators are heading down with room to go. So it appears that 60 will be the top for this extended move higher on the VIX. A huge rally in the market out of nowhere is a characteristic of a falling market. We certainly saw that today. However since the medium term technical indicators were so extended to the downside it doesn't mean that we are going to turn around and make lower lows right away. Those indicators will have to rise before they can fall again. I certainly don't think we are going back to new all time highs anytime soon but what do I know? Asia was mixed and Europe down overnight. I'd expect foreign markets to rally tonight. We'll keep an eye on overnight headlines.