Closing out the week on a positive note as the Dow rose 183 points on expiration heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way here and that is a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 posted another good gain. The short term indicators on the S&P have turned up. I'm inclined to believe that we've put in some type of at least a short term bottom here. Stocks are moving into a positive seasonal period with the Christmas holiday week coming up. At this point we are looking at the beginning of next year to trade the options again. But we'll see how things shape up. Gold was up six bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU soared 9 3/8, while GDX was up by 2 1/8. Volume was slightly above average. The short term indicators for GDX are getting back to overbought but not completely there yet. The gold shares followed the overall stock market today. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower today and its short term indicators are turning down. Some have already reached oversold territory. I'm still not sure what's next for this indicator. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend but am prepared to stay on the sidelines next week as we roll into the January option cycle. Asia and Europe finished higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.