A mixed bag today as the Dow gained 218 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move higher. The NASDAQ posted a small loss and the S&P 500 finished flat. It was a sideways trading day for the most part. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P are beginning to stall. We will get some inflation data on Friday to trade on despite the continued US government shut down. Option premiums remain high. Gold got clobbered today after yesterdays stellar gains. The precious metal futures lost $238. The US dollar was higher and interest rates a touch lower. The XAU fell thirty points and GDX shed 7 3/4. Volume was extremely heavy to the down side again. The gold shares dropped 9 1/2% in a day. The short term indicators for GDX are heading lower. Traders are heading to the exits here. This is most likely the end of the rally for gold and the gold shares for now. Violent moves in both directions usually occur at tops or bottoms. The short term up trend line for gold is still intact but not for the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today. The short term indicators here are still moving down. Below the 20 level on the VIX but still above the 50 day moving average. No imminent trades in mind right now. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.