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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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