It was another back and forth session for the overall market but the Dow plowed ahead with a gain of 594 points on heavy volume to a new all time high. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues to trend higher. The jobs report came in weaker than expected and stocks took off to the upside early. As quick as they went up things turned around and were quick to go back down. A final half hour rally saved the S&P 500 but not the NASDAQ as it dropped over 200 points. The S&P finished basically unchanged. It is still hanging around the near term down trend line that it hasn't been able to break through. The short term indicators for the S&P are trending sideways. So the jury is still out with regards to which way things will go here. Gold was up over fifty bucks today. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU climbed 11 3/4, while GDX was up 3 1/3. Volume was good to the upside. The short term indicators for GDX are starting to move north. Our GDX July calls are now showing a profit. The management of the trade from here will be the key to the trade as it always is. A continued rise in GDX from here would be welcome but we know that markets go where they want. There is still a down trend line in effect here however it is several points away. We'll have an extra day over the weekend to try and decide the proper course of action from here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today. The short term indicators here remain oversold and are starting to trend sideways. Not sure where it is going next. The Dow leading the way isn't the most bullish scenario. The lagging NASDAQ isn't a plus as well. I'll go over the charts this weekend and take it from there. Not a lot of economic data due out next week. Europe was higher and Asia mixed overnight. It's Thursday afternoon and time for a rest. Enjoy the 4th of July.

Back and forth today ahead of the employment report and a long weekend as the Dow dipped 14 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trending higher. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 finished lower with the NASDAQ leading the way. The S&P opened with a gap lower then made it all the way back to positive territory only to drift down for the rest of the session. The short term indicators here are beginning to stall but are not yet overbought. The S&P has for now been stopped at the near term down trend line. Not sure what to expect next. Could go either way. The reaction to the jobs report will most likely tell the story. Gold was up $15 on the futures after being much higher early on. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU was off a point and GDX shed 1/2. Volume was average. The gold shares were much higher early on and then gave everything back during the session. That is not a positive. The short term indicators for GDX are stuck in oversold territory. My GDX July calls are back to being losers after turning positive this morning. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up a bit which fits a slightly down market. The short term indicators here are oversold but not completely. Not exactly sure what is next for this indicator. I'd expect tomorrow to be busy in the beginning and then slow down as players head out early for the holiday weekend. The S&P is stalling at the daily down trend line. Getting through there would be a solid plus for the bulls. If the line holds the bears would be back in charge. Probably will find out tomorrow. Asia was generally higher and Europe mixed overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Moving higher as the Dow added 136 points on heavy volume for another closing record. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is trending higher. Once again the breadth did not match the price action. But the NASDAQ led the way up again and that's a plus. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are moving higher. It is now right up against the short term down trend line that began at the beginning of the month. What happens here will be the key to whether we move back to the record high on the S&P or roll over with another lower near term high on the daily chart. Perhaps the market reaction to the jobs report will tell the story. Gold dipped $9 on the futures to end the month. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates rose. The XAU and GDX had fractional moves one way or the other on light volume to finish off June. The short term indicators for GDX continue to trend sideways in oversold territory. My GDX July calls are now showing a small loss. If GDX doesn't start heading higher soon this trade will most likely be a loser. The potential positive RSI divergence is still in place but barely. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower as the short term indicators here continue to move down. Not yet short term oversold for the VIX but getting there. A lower VIX will support higher stock prices. Asia was mixed and Europe higher last night. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Buyers eventually took over today as the Dow gained 306 points for a new record on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is trying to trend higher. After a gap higher at the open, we sold off to negative territory and then spent the rest of the day moving higher. The NASDAQ led things heading higher and that is a plus for the bulls. However the breadth was not what you'd expect for such a positive market. We cannot argue with price though. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned up with room to go. Could this be the beginning of a summer rally? We'll see. Gold lost $67 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost 5 1/8 while GDX slipped 1 1/3. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are back to moving lower in oversold territory. My open order for the GDX July calls was filled this morning. So we are in the next trade. It closed at where I purchased them. There are 2 1/2 weeks for this idea to take shape so at this point I'll simply hold it unless the gold shares continue to drop. The short term potential positive RSI divergence is still in place but if GDX takes out the recent lows that pattern will be negated. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down today and the short term indicators here are trending lower. If the VIX continues to fall it should bode well for stocks. A short holiday trading week with the employment report out on Thursday. End of the month tomorrow. Asia was generally higher and Europe lower to start the week. We'll see how things go on Tuesday.

Not much change in price by the end of the day as the Dow was off 44 points on extremely heavy volume. Maybe players were taking care of business to have next week off. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index remains in a sideways channel but looks like it wants to break to the upside. Stocks opened with a gap lower, recovered and then went sideways for the rest of the session into the weekend. We are getting a buy signal on the S&P from one of our indicators. Perhaps we will take a look at the SPY July calls over the weekend. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are heading sideways just below the mid-range level. Still hanging around the 50 day moving average here. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P only had slight fractional losses on the day. Gold was up $39 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 4 points and GDX added around 1 1/2 on average volume. The short term indicators for GDX are starting to turn up but remain oversold. I'm still leaving my open order for the GDX July calls out there but it looks like this will be another missed trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down slightly today. The short term indicators here are still hanging around mid-range. Not sure what's next for the VIX but it does remain below the 20 level. A holiday week coming up with the jobs report out early on Thursday. End of the month and first half of the year on Tuesday. I'll be checking the charts over the weekend to decide on the game plan for next week. Asia and Europe were down to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

An interesting day on the street as the Dow rose 72 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still in a sideways direction. Todays inflation data came in about where expected. The NASDAQ had a crazy session as it gapped higher at the open only to sell off and close negative on the day. The S&P 500 had the same opening gap to the upside and finished the day basically unchanged. It is still hanging on to its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators for the S&P are moving sideways. Not exactly sure what is in store for the S&P but would not be surprised if it heads up near term. Gold was up about $30 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished unchanged. The XAU added 5 1/8, while GDX was up a little over a point. Volume was good to the upside. The short term indicators here are trying to turn up from oversold territory. The potential positive divergence for the daily RSI indicator on GDX remains intact. My open order for the GDX July calls is still out there. I still like this trade idea but not sure if my order will get filled in its present state. Might have to think about adjusting it overnight. Gold is still weak here however. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished up slightly today. The short term indicators here are now stalling at the mid-range level. So it could go either way here. One trading day left this week as coming up is another holiday shortened week combined with the end of the month and quarter. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of Hong Kong. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Another mixed bag as the Dow rose 182 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index continues sideways. We got a signal last night from the McClellan Oscillator for a big move within two days. We'll see if that pans out tomorrow. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed lower again with the NASDAQ still leading the way. But the losses were small. Tomorrows inflation data will most likely tell the story of where we're heading on Thursday. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P ae beginning to stall but they are still heading south. The 50 day moving average has been acting as support so far. No SPY option trades in mind at the moment. Gold got clobbered again as the futures fell $144. The US dollar is still heading higher and interest rates dropped. The XAU lost 13 1/3 and GDX shed around 3. Volume was good again to the downside. My open order for the GDX July calls didn't get filled but the option price got down to what I was willing to pay. Sometimes the market makers just don't cooperate but it gives me a clue that this is the right idea. I'll try again tomorrow to pick up some of the GDX calls if we see some weakness in the gold shares early. The short term indicators for GDX are still trending lower and are getting close to oversold. There is also a potential positive RSI divergence on the GDX daily chart. But we also have to be aware that gold along with the gold shares appear to be in a free fall and we don't when that will stop. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit lower today and closed below the 20 level. The short term indicators here are now mixed. I'm not sure what's coming next for the VIX. Asia was higher with the exception of Japan and Europe rose with the exception of the DAX. It appears that the after the bell MU earnings release has given the stock index futures a boost. We'll see what happens with tomorrows inflation data and take it from there.

More selling for the overall market today but the Dow only fell 45 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were barely positive. The summation index is heading sideways. Stocks had a huge gap south at the open and could not recover. Once again the NASDAQ led the way lower by a wide margin as it lost over 500 points. The NASDAQ leading things lower is a negative. The S&P 500 dropped over a hundred points. The short term indicators there are heading lower with plenty of room to go. Perhaps if we see a high inflation print on Thursday the S&P will take out its recent lows. I'm not sure what is going on at the moment as the advance/declines for today don't match up with such a big daily decline. Gold fell $74 on the futures. The US dollar continued to rise and interest rates were down slightly. The XAU lost almost 16 points and GDX dropped 3 3/4. Volume was above average to the downside. The downside price movement is hopefully setting us up for the purchase of the GDX July calls. The problem however is that the short term indicators for GDX are moving lower with room to go. It is possible that the potential retest of the recent lows for the gold shares won't hold. The recent strength in the US dollar is also a concern as it is usually bearish for the precious metal. That said, I still might put in an open order for the GDX calls overnight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits a down market. The short term indicators there are trending higher. The VIX did get above the 20 level during the session but closed below it. Volatility has returned to the game. We are now just waiting on the market reaction to the inflation report on Thursday. Asia and Europe were down overnight. We'll see if we get any follow through selling tomorrow.

A mixed bag to begin the week as the Dow rose 148 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is in a sideways pattern. Both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ posted losses for the day. The NASDAQ by far led the way lower and that is not a plus for the bulls. Some economic data due out this week with Thursdays inflation report taking center stage. Plus there are still headlines from the US/Iran conflict coming out despite the addtional two months of ceasefire. The short term indicators for the S&P are trending slightly lower as it tries to make up its mind which way to go here. SPY option premiums are high as we just roll into the July option cycle. Gold dipped $42 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU lost 5 1/4 and GDX shed around a point. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are trending lower and are at the mid-range level. We still like the idea of the GDX July calls but will most likely wait to see the reaction to the inflation report later this week. I'd also rather see GDX get fully oversold before getting the calls but that might not occur. The trading is never easy. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits with an overall down market. The short term indicators here are trying to move up but are basically sideways. Not sure where the VIX goes from here. Staying patient for now as there is plenty of time left in the July option period. Europe and Asia were generally higher to begin the week. I'll keep watch on the overnight developments.

Bouncing back today ahead of a long weekend as the Dow gained 72 points on expiration extremely heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. The overall market was much stronger than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way. That is a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 was up over 1%. The short term indicators there are starting to turn back up. No SPY option trades in mind at the moment. Gold dropped another $50 or so on the futures. The US dollar continues to move higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost 7 7/8, while GDX fell about two points. Volume was heavy again to the downside. The short term indicators for GDX are trending lower with room to go. Ideally a retest of last weeks lows would set us up to purchase the GDX July calls. The market rarely cooperates. I still like the idea of the July gold share calls on weakness so we'll see how it goes. I will recheck the charts this weekend and take it from there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was back down today which fits an up market. The short term indicators here have turned back lower. Not exactly sure what's next for the VIX. An extra day over this weekend to check things out after a somewhat volatile trading week. We are beginning to move into summer trading mode with players starting to take time off. The July option trading cycle has a day less in it with another holiday coming in two weeks. Europe and Asia were mixed overnight. It's Thursday afternoon and time for a break.

Sellers returned to the market in force today as the Dow fell 507 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. No change in rates as expected from the Fed but I suppose the market didn't like what it heard from the new Fed chairman. The NASDAQ led things lower again. The S&P 500 lost over ninety points as stocks unraveled in the final hour or so. Some of its short term indicators are now moving down. If the S&P keeps moving down it would negate the positive price action that we've seen recently. Gold lost $93 on the futures. The US dollar had a very strong session and interest rates were up. The XAU fell 9 1/2, while GDX shed 2 7/8. Volume was very heavy to the downside. GDX made it up to the 50 day moving average and longer turn down trend line before selling off. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to stall. We are looking for a pullback on GDX in order to purchase the July calls here. This is probably the start of it. I may place an open order overnight. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that fits with a down market. Some of the short term indicators here have turned back up. Still below the 20 level on the VIX. Not sure what's coming next here. We'll have an option expiration Thursday tomorrow due to a holiday leading into a long weekend. Not sure that we want to hold any positions ahead of that and the supposed signing of the Iran peace deal on Friday. However we'll have to see what happens tomorrow. Asia was generally higher and Europe slightly mixed last night. We'll close out the trading week on Thursday.

Hanging around today and it was a mixed picture. The Dow gained 328 points on heavy volume to close at a new all time high. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still trending upwards. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted losses. The NASDAQ led the way down which isn't a bullish picture. We did get a signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two sessions. Today would qualify for the NASDAQ. The short term indicators for the S&P are beginning to stall. I did not try the SPY June puts today. The S&P only had a small rally early on before trending lower for the rest of the day. However if you purchased the puts early on you would have had a tidy profit by the days end. But the short term trades are usually not my best efforts. The market will greet the new Fed chairman tomorrow and that should get things going one way or the other. But there are only two days left in the June option cycle so we will move on to July. Gold had only a slight gain today. The US dollar was a bit lower as were interest rates. The XAU was up 7 1/2 and GDX added a couple points. Volume was average. The gold shares continue to outperform the metal itself and that is a plus for the gold bulls. The short term indicators for GDX are still moving higher. We are waiting for some kind of pullback in GDX in order to try the July calls there. That looks to be the next trade unless we get a solid signal for the SPY options. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today which fits with and overall down market. Its short term indicators are beginning to stall. Not sure what's coming next here for the VIX. Asia was mixed and Europe higher last night. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

A big rally to start the shortened option expiration week as the Dow gained 468 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trending higher. An extended ceasefire to the Iran conflict is supposed to happen on Friday, which brought buyers to the market. The NASDAQ led the way higher by far and that is a plus for the bulls. We still have the new Fed chairman to deal with on Wednesday. The S&P 500 was up almost 125 points. The short term indicators there are moving higher with room to go. Another day like today for tomorrow would put the index back at new all time highs. Trying the SPY June puts on strength tomorrow is still an idea but I'll probably just stay on the sidelines. We'll see. Gold ralled as the futures gained over a hundred bucks today. The US dollar was slightly lower along with interest rates. The XAU jumped over twenty points, while GDX added 5 1/8. Volume was heavy to the upside. The short term indicators for GDX are also moving higher with room to go. It appears that we've missed the GDX July call trade but if we do see any pullback, I'll be trying this idea. GDX broke through its short term down trend line today. The longer term down trend line comes in at the 90 level which is also where you'll find the 50 day moving average. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX is heading lower and that is a plus for stocks. The short term indicators here are moving down and are not yet oversold. It appears that most signs are pointing towards higher stock prices going forward. The SPY put trade that I mentioned would strictly be a short term attempt. In Tuesday and out on Wednesday but the risk would be extremely high. We should probably wait for a better set up. Asia and Europe were higher as the world would welcome calmer seas. We'll see what transpires overnight.

Still moving higher going into the weekend as the Dow gained 353 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is starting to move back up. The Dow led things higher today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. The S&P 500 was up 1/2%. The short term indicators there are trending higher with some back to mid-range. I'm thinking that if we see strength into Tuesday of next week perhaps we'll try the SPY June puts ahead of the Fed. It is a holiday shortened option expiration week though, with US markets closed on Friday. So any June option trade would be filled with a lot of risk at this point. I'll consider things over the weekend. Gold was up $114 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates a bit higher. The XAU rose 9 1/2 and GDX was up 2 1/3. Volume was above average. The short term indicators for GDX are moving up with plenty of room to go. The weekly candlestick chart here has a potential bullish star or hammer on it. I canceled my open order for the GDX July calls as I've missed the chance at the moment. However I still like the idea of this trade and will be looking to buy some GDX calls on any forthcoming weakness. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits the upside market for today. The short term indicators here are moving down. The VIX is back below 20 and the daily chart looks like it wants to go lower which would bode well for stocks. But I can't say that I have a good feel for where the VIX is heading next after the volatility of this week. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend. Asia and Europe were both higher to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Moving back to the upside as the Dow climbed 930 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is now trying to turn back up. The inflation data was higher than expected but the market rallied anyway. That tells us something because when the market ignores bad news it is probably ready to move higher. There might be some backing and filling but our guess would be that this decline has run its course. Unless we see some kind of big 1000 point decline in the Dow tomorrow but I doubt it. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned up. It also closed above the short term down trend line that was in effect. No SPY option trades in mind right now with only five days left in the June option cycle but that could change. Gold was up $96 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and so were interest rates. The XAU was up around 16 3/4 and GDX added about 4. Volume was heavy to the upside. I did place an open order for the GDX July calls overnight but it wasn't filled. I am leaving it out there but it may be too late already. The short term indicators for GDX are turning back up but remain oversold. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with the rally. Back below the 20 level and the short term indicators here are heading lower. If the VIX can stay below 20 we'll know that the decline is over. If it can't our thinking here will be wrong. So it is something to keep an eye on. Another factor to consider is todays big rally out of nowhere. Sometimes in longer declines this is what you see before quickly turning back down. So market action tomorrow is something to be closely watched as well. Europe was higher and Asia generally lower overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Continuing lower today as the Dow fell 953 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still trending lower. The NASDAQ led the way down again. The inflation data came in where expected. Support for the S&P 500 comes in at 7150, with better support at 7000. Depending on the reaction to tomorrows inflation news we could get to the first area of support soon. The short term indicators for the S&P are now heading lower but not yet completely oversold. I'm still interested in the SPY June puts again if perhaps we snap back to the short term down trend line. That comes in around 7350. There is a possible double bottom on the S&P hourly chart though. Plenty to ponder at the moment. Gold got clobbered again as the futures fell 186 points. The US dollar was slightly higher and so were interest rates. The XAU lost 14 3/4, while GDX fell 3 3/4. Volume was above average. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold. I will be checking the charts again tonight but I may place an open order for the GDX July calls overnight. The gold shares are in a bear market but they are blown out to the downside and due for at least a bounce. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up today and that fits a down market. Back above the 20 level. The short term indicators on the VIX have turned up and are just about completely overbought. Another day like today would do it. With the VIX over 20, volatility will be the rule. Most of Europe and Asia were down overnight. I'll keep an eye out for any new developments this evening.

Volatilty was the name of the game today along with one day downside reversals as most indices opened higher and closed lower. The Dow however did manage a gain of 86 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trending lower. The NASDAQ led the way down and that is still the underlying theme. We had a big gap at the open and markets powered higher but it was short lived. Stocks then turned around and went into free fall for a couple of hours only to turn back around and recoup almost all of the losses. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are all over the place. Some are moving lower, some higher and the rest sideways. During the brief morning rally I was stopped out of my SPY June put position only to see things turn back down during the session. The trade had around a 30% gain but should have been much more. I've been stopped out before only to see things turn around on a trade and that is one of the reasons why I sometimes don't use them. There are also many times where the stop has saved me from bigger losses. The entry on this trade was OK even though not the best but the exit was terrible. That said we simply move on from here because that position is over. I am still considering the SPY June puts if we see some rally the rest of this week. Gold fell $81 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower along with interest rates. The XAU dropped 4 1/3, while GDX slid about a point. Volume was above average. The short term indicators for GDX are still oversold. We are now thinking about the GDX July calls but not exactly sure if that will be the next trade. Mentally I'm feeling frustrated as to getting stopped out of what could have been a huge gain. But the market doesn't care and you've got to keep moving forward in this game. The VIX was higher today but off of its best levels. Some of the short term indicators here are heading sideways and some are still heading higher. The VIX closed just below the 20 level. I'm still not sure where the VIX is headed but anything above 20 spells more selling for stocks. It is another reason to still consider the SPY June puts going forward. Seven days left for the June option cycle. Inflation data due out tomorrow should get things moving once again. Asia was generally higher and Europe generally lower overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Bouncing back today for the overall market but not the Dow as it fell 80 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is starting to drift lower. We had a big gap up at the open and rallied for the first hour and a half. The rest of the day was spent in a slow decline. The NASDAQ led the way higher and that is a plus for the bulls. Also the fact that we didn't see any downside follow through to Fridays debacle is a positive sign. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned sideways. It looks like Friday could have just been a one day wonder. We've got inflation data due out on Wednesday and Thursday. I don't know how much longer I can afford to hold on the my SPY June puts. I do have a stop loss order in place and they are still showing a profit. However the gains are less than what they were on Friday. I'll once again consider what to do with them tonight. Gold was off $14 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on lighter volume. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower today and that fits with an overall positive day for stocks. It is back below the 20 level. Some of the short term indicators here have turned back down. I'm not sure what comes next for the VIX. Asia and Europe were lower to begin the week. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

We often say that the market goes where it wants and todays price action certainly underscores that truth. Stocks got clobbered but the Dow only fell 695 points which wasn't as bad as some of the other stock indices. Volume was heavy. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is starting to drop out of the sideways channel that it's in. The jobs report came in better than expected. The NASDAQ led the way down and fell over a thousand points. That was better than a 4% drop. The S&P 500 lost 200 points for a better than 2 1/2% dip. It was a rush to the exits but the TRAN posted a gain on the day probably due to the drop in the price of oil. The S&P 500 broke through the short term up trend line that had been in effect since the beginning of April. The short term indicators here are now steeply heading south and at this rate will be oversold on Monday. It looks like the sell signal we got last week was valid although it took some time to come to fruition. The negative RSI divergence on the S&P daily chart worked this time around as well. Not sure how low things will go here but we'll check the charts over the weekend. The advance/declines today were not as bad as the price declines that we saw. Gold got clocked as well with the futures down $166. The XAU lost 31 1/2 and GDX dropped around 7 1/2. Volume was heavy to the downside. GDX has now dropped well below its 200 day moving average as it did not hold. The short term indicators here are pointing down in oversold territory. 80 was the next level of support here and it closed below that. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX had a huge jump today and closed above the 20 level. That was certainly a surprise to me. Could spell more trouble for stocks. The short term indicators here zoomed up and some still have room to go before being overbought. Things here for the VIX have changed in a hurry. Not sure what comes next. The SPY June puts that I hold went from solid losers to solid winners in a day. Not sure how much longer that I'll hold them but will try and figure that out over the weekend. Plenty of work to do in the next two days. Asia and Europe were lower to finish the trading week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The Dow powered higher today as it gained 874 points to a new all time high on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is now in a sideways channel. We had a huge gap lower at the open for most of the major indices but they moved back up for the rest of the session. The NASDAQ only posted a small loss after being down much more early on. The S&P 500 had a one day upside reversal as it opened lower and closed higher. The short term indicators there remain overbought and some are moving back up. My SPY June put position was at break even on the open but then deteriorated for the rest of the day. It is now back to being solidly in the red and will most likely finish as a loser. We needed to see some follow through selling to yesterdays decline but we quickly only got it this morning before turning around. My management of this trade hasn't been that good but we do have two weeks left in the June option cycle. Gold was up $41 on the futures. The US dolllar was a bit lower as were interest rates. The XAU was up 5 1/4, while GDX added 1 3/8. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up as it also tries to hold on to its 200 day moving average. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an upside day for most stocks. It remains short term oversold and remains that way during rallies like the one that we're in now. The employment data is due out tomorrow which can be a market mover if there are any surprises. We are still at the mercy of the next headline out of the Middle East. Asia was lower and Europe higher overnight. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

A bit of selling today as the Dow fell 620 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to turn lower. The Dow led things lower which isn't the most bearish scenario. Let's face it, stocks were overdue for some kind of downside reaction. The market doesn't go up every day in a row. The question is whether or not this is the beginning of some sustained move to the downside or just a breather. The short term indicators on the S&P 500 have turned lower but remain overbought. The negative RSI divergence on the daily chart is there. It's possible that today is all we get out of that signal. We'll see if there's more but the market goes where it wants. My SPY June puts are showing less of a loss. Not sure how much longer I want to hold this trade. We'll check things out again tonight. Gold was down $52 today. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU lost over 12 1/2 and GDX dropped around 3 points. Volume was lighter than average. The short term indicators for GDX are still moving sideways in oversold territory. GDX did close below its 200 day moving average. No GDX trades in mind at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was higher today but not by much considerng the drop in stocks. The short term indicators here remain oversold. Not sure what to expect next with regards to the VIX. The jobs report on Friday should be the next market mover unless we get some headlines out of the Middle East. Europe was lower and Asia mixed again last night. I'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

The Dow led the way today as it gained 228 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. New all time highs were registered again for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500. The sell signal that we received from one of our indicators last week did not work again. It is the second time in a row that it failed. Can't say that I've seen that happen recently. The short term indicators for the S&P simply remain overbought as the market drifts higher. The potential negative RSI divergence on the S&P daily chart still barely exists. My SPY June put trade is a loser and we may already be in a cut the loss mode for it. All declines are still being bought. Gold was up ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were a touch lower. The XAU rose around 5 3/4, while GDX added about 1 3/8. Volume was a little below average. The short term indicators are still trying to turn higher from oversold for GDX. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. It's short term indicators remain in oversold territory. The daily candlestick chart here looks like it wants to go lower which would bode well for stocks. There seems to be ample money flowing around that wants to find a home in equities. If the market doesn't head lower tomorrow I will have to seriously think about getting out of the SPY put trade. We'll see. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of Japan. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Continuing higher to start the week as the Dow rose 46 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. The NASDAQ was the leader to the upside and that's a plus for the bulls. New all time highs for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 again. It looks like the sell signal that we got last week isn't going to work again but we'll give it a couple of more days this week. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 remain overbought and staying that way. The potential negative RSI divergence on the S&P daily chart remains barely intact. My SPY June puts are now showing a loss as it looks like today was the perhaps the proper time to buy them. Still plenty of time for this trade to work out but not if the rally continues. Gold lost $82 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU shed 7 1/2, while GDX lost around 2 3/4. Volume was a bit above average. The gold shares did finish up from their lows on the day. The short term indicators for GDX are choppy on the oversold side. The 200 day moving average remains as near term support. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which doesn't fit with a positive day for stocks. The short term indicators are turning higher but remain in oversold territory. Not sure what comes next for the VIX. Light on the economic data due out this week. Fridays jobs report is the one that will be closely watched. Asia was mixed and Europe lower to start the week. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

The Dow led things higher today as it climbed 363 points on end of the month extremely heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still trying to move higher. New all time closing highs once again for the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 remain overbought with the potential negative RSI divergence there barely still in place. More upside on Monday would put an end to that. My open order for the SPY June puts was not going to get filled so I adjusted it higher a couple of times during the session. It finally did get filled in the final hour. It is about where I purchased it when the market closed. We are still getting a sell signal from one of our indicators, however the last time that happened with this particular signal the market simply kept going up. So we'll see how this trade ends up as the management of it will be the key. I do expect weakness at the beginning of next week but markets go where they want. Gold was up $42 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU was up 7 1/2 and GDX added 2 1/4. Volume was average. Some of the short term indicators for GDX have started to move higher. There is a short term down trend line still in effect there though. It comes in around the 93 level. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with an up market. The short term indicators here are now very oversold. That is another reason to give the SPY June puts here a try for a short term trade. The caveat being that during rallies the VIX stays oversold for an extended period of time. But this is a trade that we wanted to take so we'll see how it goes. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend. Asia and Europe were mixed to finish the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Moving higher for the overall market but the Dow only managed a gain of 24 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to move higher. New all time highs again for the Big 3 of the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500. Inflation data came in a touch lighter than expected. Stocks are still being held hostage for the latest sound bite from the Iran conflict. The NASDAQ led the way up and that's a plus for the bulls. There is no overhead resistance. We did get a signal from the McClellan oscillator last night for a big move within the next two trading sessions. The NASDAQ would probably qualify for that today but not the other indices. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 remain overbought. Some of the potential negative divergences that we saw there have been invalidated. That hasn't happened yet for the RSI but it could if we keep moving higher. My open order for the SPY June puts remains out there and another positive day like today would likely get it filled. I would like to own the puts going into this weekend but only at the price that we are willing to pay. Option premiums remain high. Gold was up $46 on the futres. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU climbed 8 1/2, while GDX added 1 3/4. Volume was average. Once again the 200 day moving average held for GDX. The short term indicators there are trying to move up from oversold territory. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with an up market. The short term indicators are oversold and staying there. The VIX seems to imply that higher stock prices are in the near future. But I am in the camp that a decline is coming and sooner rather than later. I could be wrong. If the negative RSI divergence for the S&P 500 gets wiped out then the SPY June put idea that we are looking at right now would be incorrect. Asia and Europe were lower overnight. We'll close out the trading month of May tomorrow.

Hanging around today as the Dow gained 182 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still trying to turn back up. It was a sideways session ahead of the inflation data out tomorrow. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 all closed at new all time highs but the gains were slight. We are getting a sell signal from one of our indicators after todays price action. The short term indicators for the S&P remain overbought and there is now a potential negative divergence on some. I would not be surprised if we head lower after the inflation data is reported. My open order for the SPY June puts was not filled and I'm leaving it out there. Might be too late now though, we'll see. I still like the idea of having some index puts heading into the weekend however the premiums remain elevated. Gold dropped over fifty bucks today. The US dollar finished flat as did interest rates. Waiting on tomorrows data. The XAU fell around 10 3/4, while GDX lost almost 3. Volume was a bit below average. The short term indicators for GDX are still oversold but it is holding above its 200 day moving average. Not sure where the gold shares are heading next so we are back to watching and waiting here. Yesterday we though that a rally might be starting for GDX but there was no follow through upside today. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today. The short term indicators here remain oversold. The VIX remains comfortably below the 20 level which gives the all clear for stocks going forward. But we still remain in the bearish camp for the near term as we look for an entry point to try the SPY June puts. Asia was lower and Europe mixed overnight. We'll keep watch on the evenings developments.

Back from a long weekend and the Dow was the laggard today as it fell 118 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. The overall market did much better with the NASDAQ and S&P 500 reaching new all time closing highs. The short term indicators for the S&P are overbought. They are at lower readings than the recent previous high. If they continue higher the potential negative divergance that we were looking for will be wiped clean. I did place an open order for the SPY June puts overnight. It wasn't filled today but I am leaving it out there. The only important economic data due this week is Thursdays inflation report. Iran conflict headlines remain in the near term picture. Gold was off $16 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly lower and interest rates dropped. The XAU was up 13 3/8, while GDX added 3 1/2. Volume was average. Gold down and the gold shares up is a positive for this area. The short term indicators for GDX are turning up and it appears that the 200 day moving average has held the near term decline. I still don't have any GDX option trades in mind here but we may have to rethink that. It also might already be too late for the June calls here but we'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which doesn't fit with a positive market. The short term indicators here are trying to move up from the oversold side. Not sure what comes next for the VIX. The S&P set a new all time high and there is no overhead resistance. We are sticking with the view that the June puts are the way to go here and will try and purchase them at some point this week. Asia and Europe were lower overnight with the exception of the FTSE. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

It was a rally that faded today but the Dow still managed a gain of 294 points on good volume to close at a new all time high. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is beginning to stall. The Dow led things higher again today which isn't the most bullish picture. However considering there was a gain going into a long weekend the bulls will take it. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small gains. The short term indicators for the S&P are still moving higher but are not yet completely overbought. A couple more days of gains here and we might have our scenario of a new all time high for the S&P with lower indicators readings. I still favor the SPY June puts for now. Gold dropped $33 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat, while interest rates were mixed. The XAU fell 4 1/8 and GDX lost about a point. Volume was light. GDX is still holding on at its 200 day moving average while the short term indicators remain oversold. Perhaps the gold shares are putting in some kind of short term bottom here. We'll take a closer look over the long weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was unchanged today. Some of the short term indicators here are starting to move sideways. Not sure what's next for the VIX. A holiday weekend on tap gives us an extra day to check over the charts. We are still at the mercy of the next Iran conflict headline. However if things line up for us we will try the SPY June puts in the middle of next week. Europe and Asia were higher to close out the week overseas. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

We had a one day upside reversal today as stocks opened lower and closed higher. The Dow gained 276 points on heavy volume to close at a new all time high. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still trending lower. The Dow led the way up today and that isn't the most bullish scenario. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small gains. The short term indicators for the S&P are beginning to move sideways. Still considering the SPY June puts and perhaps will purchase them next week. Gold rose $6 on the futures. The US dollar had a small gain and interest rates finished generally flat. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional moves either way on light volume. GDX continues to hold on its 200 day moving average. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold and trending sideways. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that is in line with a positive stock market. The short term indicators here are moving down and are not yet oversold. I'm remaining patient here as we have a Friday before a holiday weekend on tap tomorrow. The market is still at the mercy of the next Iran conflict headline as we saw in a mid-day rally today. Not sure that traders will want to hang on to stocks ahead of the weekend but we'll see. Waiting on a good technical set up for the next trade. Might see something of that nature next week. Asia and Europe were generally lower overnight. We'll see how the week closes out tomorrow.

Buyers returned today as the Dow gained 645 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is still trending lower. The NASDAQ led the way back up and that's a plus for the bulls. The market is back to waiting for the next Iran conflict headline. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 have turned back up. Perhaps we'll get our preferred scenario of a higher high with lower indicator readings. Too early to tell on that. Also waiting on the after the bell NVDA earnings. Gold was up $38 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up over 11 3/4, while GDX added 2 1/2. Volume was about average. The short term indicators for GDX are turning back up but remain in oversold territory. GDX held at its 200 day moving average today. We are still not taking on any gold share trades here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. The short term indicators here have turned down with room to go. Two trading days left this week before a long holiday weekend. It appears that we will let this week go by and take it from there. That is the plan for now. Europe was higher overnight and Asia lower with the exception of India. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

The market cannot seem to gain any upside traction here as the Dow fell 322 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is heading lower. We will take our cues from that. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way down and as long as that's the case things will be trending lower. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are now moving down and are no longer overbought. There is plenty of room for them to move lower. We still like the idea for the SPY June puts here but are waiting for some kind of bounce back in order to purchase. If this is some sort of sustained decline we should see some kind of rally attempt before heading lower again. But markets go where they want and perhaps stocks will just continue to be sold. Gold dropped $69. The US dollar was higher and so were interest rates. The XAU fell almost 13 points and GDX slid 3 1/3. Volume was average. Some of the short term indicators on GDX are now oversold. The longer term up trend line from January 2025 has been broken. The next area of support for GDX comes in at the recent lows around the 80 level. No GDX option trades in mind at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was only slightly higher today. The short term indicators here are around mid-range and pointing up. It seems to me that the VIX could go either way from here. However the feel of things right now is that the market has rolled over and we are in the beginning of a sustained decline. As long as the summation index is moving down we will stick with that thesis. Asia and Europe were mixed overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Overall selling continued today but not for the Dow which rose 160 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still moving down. The NASDAQ led the way lower and the S&P posted a slight loss. The short term indicators for the S&P remain overbought but not completely. We do feel that the stock market is overdue for a rest. Our best case scenario would be for the S&P to make a new high with lower short term indicator values to form a negative divergence. That would be the time to try the SPY June puts. Markets rarely cooperate though. Gold rose $3 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU dropped 3 1/4, while GDX shed around 1/4. Volume was light. Some of the short term indicators for GDX have begun to stall. GDX is hugging the long term up trend line that began around a year and a half ago. If you think that line will hold this is the spot to try the GDX calls. However I am not in that camp but of course I could be wrong. I am looking at the SPY June puts as the next trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which doesn't really fit with an overall down market. Its short term indicators are trying to move lower. Can't say that I know where the VIX is going at the moment. Option premiums are high as we roll into the June option cycle. I'll try and stay patient for now. Not a lot of economic data out this week and we are getting near the end of earnings season. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher to begin the week. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Some selling for a change on expiration Friday as the Dow lost 537 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving lower. There was a huge gap lower at the open. From there we moved sideways before closing near the lows of the session. A broad sell off as most of the major averages were down over 1%. The NASDAQ led the way lower. Not sure if this is the beginning of a downturn or something option expiration related. One day doesn't make a trend. The steep up trend line for the S&P 500 has been violated but that angle of ascent could not last forever. The short term indicators for the S&P have turned down but they remain overbought. Still considering the SPY June puts. Gold got clobbered as the futures were off $135. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell over 27 and GDX lost 6 3/4. Volume was heavy to the downside. The short term indicators for GDX have rolled over with room to go. The weekly candlestick chart here had a bullish engulfing pattern after last week but now shows a dark cloud cover after this week. GDX is now on the verge of breaking the longer term up trend line that began in January 2025. Unless there is a dramatic turnaround for the gold shares next week it looks like that line will fail. The market will let us know sooner rather than later. I am no longer looking at the GDX June calls as the next trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today but off of the highest point of the session. The short term indicators here have turned back up with room to go. If the VIX gets back above 20 we will expect more volatility and lower prices considering that the summation index is already moving lower. Not sure if that is going to happen but we'll know in the coming days. Plenty of work to do over the weekend as we try and figure out where things are going next. The June options have an extra week in them which makes the premiums pricey. Asia and Europe sold off to end the week as well. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Continuing higher as the beat goes on. The Dow gained 370 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trending lower. Retail sales came in where expected. No big news positive or negative from the US/China summit. The NASDAQ is still leading things higher and as long as that's the case the bulls will have the upper hand. New all time closing highs for the NASDAQ and S&P 500 again. The technical picture remains the same for the S&P 500. Overbought and staying that way for much longer than normal. I'm still considering the SPY June puts for now. Gold was off $44 on the futures. The US dollar was up and interest rates finished flat again. The XAU dropped almost 10 points and GDX lost 2 1/3. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to roll over. We will try and wait for GDX to get short term oversold in order to attempt the June calls there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits an up market. Its short term technical indicators are trying to turn back down from about the mid-range level. It looks like the VIX wants to go lower which would bode well for stocks going forward. But the market can't stay overbought forever can it? Option expiration Friday on tap so we will see if volatility picks up. Asia was mostly lower and Europe higher last night. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

All aboard as the market train keeps chugging along. The Dow continues to lag though as it fell 67 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trying to move lower. The NASDAQ led the overall market higher once again and that is a plus. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at records again. There is no overhead resistance. The thesis of stocks moving higher into the Friday option expiration appears to have been correct. The inflation data came in much worse than expected. After a brief decline in the first half hour buyers took over and stock markets moved up. Markets that ignore bad news are going to go higher. We don't know why but markets always know more than we do. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought as it has been for over a month. This isn't business as usual as the angle of ascent remains very steep. Breadth hasn't been good lately and the rise will end at some point but we are not going to try to guess when that occurs. All ideas for the SPY May puts are off. We will look out to June and the option premiums there have an extra week on them. Gold was up $8 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost 1 2/3, while GDX shed 7/8. Volume was light. Some of the short term indicators for GDX are now overbought. I am still considering the GDX June calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a touch lower today. The short term indicators here are continuing to rise despite the rally in stocks today. Not sure what's going on here with the VIX. I haven't had a good handle on this indicator lately. We'll get retail sales tomorrow and probably some news out of the US/China meetings. It looks like I won't be making any trades during the May option cycle. Asia and Europe were higher overnight. I'll keep an eye tonights headlines.

Quite an interesting session today where stocks sold off hard early and then tried but failed to come all the way back. The Dow managed a gain of 56 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving sideways. The inflation data came in about where expected but sellers took control early on. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted losses for the day with the NASDAQ leading the way lower. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 remain overbought. At one point the S&P clearly broke the steep up trend line that has been in effect since the beginning of April. However by the close you can make the case for that line still being in control just not as steep. I am still considering the SPY May puts with only three days to go in the May option cycle but the market will have to cooperate for me to try this idea again. We'll see. Gold was off $7 on the futures but came up from the lows for the day. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU had a slight fractional gain and GDX a fractional loss on average volume. The gold shares came back from decent losses early in the day. GDX is getting to short term overbought but not there completely yet. I am looking at the GDX June calls now. There is a positive bullish engulfing pattern on the weekly chart for GDX here. Money seems to be coming back into this space. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which doesn't fit with an overall down market. Its short term indicators are trying to turn back down. The indicators are closer to mid-range than overbought or oversold. I'm still not sure where the VIX is heading next. More inflation data tomorrow followed by retail sales due Thursday. The US/China summit will be getting underway as well. Plenty of excuses for market movement. If we see some upside tomorrow we might try the SPY puts or perhaps on Thursday morning. Running out of time and plenty of risk in that scenario. Europe and Asia were lower with the exception of Japan. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Hanging around on a Monday as the Dow rose 95 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving sideways. Basically waiting around for the inflation data tomorrow. New all time highs for the NASDAQ and S&P 500 but not by much. The short term indicators remain stuck in overbought territory for the S&P. I did place an open order for the SPY May puts overnight but it wasn't filled and I canceled it during the session. Might try again tomorrow if the market moves higher early on. It also might be too late. Plenty of noise in the background this week with economic data, the ongoing Iran conflict and a US/China summit beginning on Wednesday. The technical picture for the S&P is still overbought and that cannot last forever. Gold was up $13 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates rose. The XAU gained 15 3/4 and GDX added 3. Volume was a bit above average. The gold shares did much better than the metal itself and that's bullish. GDX also broke above its short term down trend line. The short term technical indicators here are still moving up and are not yet completely overbought. Money is moving into this space. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which does not fit with an up market. The short term indicators here are now moving higher. I still do not have a good handle on what the VIX is doing here. With only four days left in the May option cycle any trade taken on now has more risk than usual. Not sure if I will attempt anything this week. Asia and Europe began the week on a mixed note. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Once again the overall market powered higher and the Dow lagged behind. The most watched index rose 12 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still in a sideways channel. The jobs report came in better than expected. The NASDAQ was the clear leader once again. It closed at a new all time high along with the S&P 500. The S&P simply remains short term overbought with no overhead resistance. The bulls are clearly in charge. This could persist into option expiration next Friday which would make our idea of getting some SPY May puts wrong. We'll go over all the details this weekend and decide what action if any to take. Gold was up $22 on the futures. The US dollar was lower as were interest rates. The XAU was up 11 1/2, while GDX added 2 3/4. Volume was a bit below average. The short term indicators for GDX are back to moving higher with room to go. The short term down trend line remains in place here but another positive session will break through it. It looks like I've missed the GDX call trade here so it is probably a better idea to look elsewhere with only a week left in the May option cycle. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was slightly higher today which does not fit with an upside market. The short term indicators here are moving sideways in oversold territory. I am still not sure where this indicator is heading next. A lot of work to do over the weekend to try and come up with a game plan for next week. Plenty of economic numbers due out including a couple of inflation reports. Europe and Asia were lower to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

It looked like some profit taking ahead of tomorrows jobs report as the Dow fell 313 points on pretty heavy volume once again. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still moving sideways. The Dow led things lower and that isn't the most bearish scenario. Stocks did finish well off of the morning highs though. The NASDAQ posted a slight loss and the S&P 500 had a small one. Some of the short term indicators on the S&P have turned back lower but it remains in overbought territory. The short term up trend line for the S&P, which is pretty steep, remains intact. We are now looking at the SPY May puts. Gold was up $30 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher as were interest rates. The XAU was off around 2 1/4, while GDX shed about 1/3. Volume was above average. The gold shares finished well off of the highs for the session and closed near the lows. They also underperformed the precious metal itself. GDX was stopped at its short term down trend line and pulled back. Some of the short term indicators here are beginning to move sideways. It is possible that my idea here for the GDX calls is not going to work and that the bounce off of the longer term trend line is over. I'll reconsider things tonight. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which does not fit with a down market. The short term technical indicators here have turned lower and remain in oversold territory. I do not have a good idea of where the VIX is heading next. The employment report should be the main focus tomorrow morning and we'll see how the market reacts to that. News on the Iran conflict continues to go back and forth. Looking for an entry point to try the SPY May puts. Europe closed down and Asia was higher with the exception of India. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Up, up and away as the bulls are on a stampede. The Dow gained 612 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to move higher. Once again the NASDAQ led the way, finishing up over 2%. There is no overhead resistance. The NASDAQ along with the S&P 500 closed at new records again and the Dow is trying to join them. The short term technical overbought condition for the S&P hasn't changed in a month. It has lasted much longer than I thought it would. It is on the brink of becoming parabolic and we all know how that ends. We'll enjoy the ride while it lasts. Gold climbed $134 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU soared 26 2/3, while GDX jumped 6 2/3. Volume was good to the upside. Another missed trade on the calls here but we will be looking to get some on any near term pullback. Mondays lack of decline in the gold shares when gold sank was a clue. GDX has held the longer term up trend line for now as that support proved to be valid. The short term indicators for GDX have now turned up with room to go. The open interest on the GDX 90 calls has shrank and now is not the deterrent that I thought it would be just a couple of days ago. We don't enjoy missing out on opportunities. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished flat after being lower early on. That certainly doesn't fit with a big positive day for stocks. The short term indicators here also simply tracked sideways. Not sure what's next for the VIX. Were todays huge gains a speculative blow off top with heavy volume? Not sure but we can't rule it out. But we also know that things can still run up into the option expiration next week. It appears that the Iran conflict has now taken a back seat. News from there does not have the same effect that it did earlier. I'll be watching the gold shares as that looks like it still could be my next trade. Asia and Europe were higher as money is pouring back into stocks around the globe. We will keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

Buyers returned as the Dow gained 356 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index continues sideways. Gains would have been even better but there was a late last ten minute slide. The NASDAQ is still leading the way up so that's a plus. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs again. The short term indicators for the S&P have turned back up as they remain in overbought territory. There still seems to be plenty of money to throw at stocks for now. Gold bounced back $32 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates slightly lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. GDX remains short term oversold and still hanging on to the longer term up trend line. I'm still looking at the GDX June calls as a potential next trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and some of the short term indicators here have turned back lower. Still on the oversold side of the ledger here. I'm not sure where the VIX is heading next. Waiting on the jobs report due Friday. Until then we'll probably just sit on our hands. No need to force anything until we get some type of valid technical signal. Europe was generally higher and what was open in Asia generally lower last night. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Some weakness to begin the week as the Dow led the way lower with a loss of 557 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is heading sideways. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted small losses. The short term indicators for the S&P remain overbought but are trying to roll over. Earnings are still in the picture for this week but the main event will be the employment report due out on Friday. I'm not considering any SPY options trades at the moment. Gold got slammed and dropped $114 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 5 3/8, while GDX slid 1 1/2. Volume was light. Considering the drop in gold itself, the gold shares held up rather well. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold and staying there. I'm now looking out to the GDX June calls. Considering the above average open interest in the GDX May calls it doesn't look like GDX will get much above the 90 level by option expiration next week if it even gets that far at all. GDX is also in the process of testing the longer term up trend line in the 85 area. If it doesn't hold that will be another negative for the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits a down market. Some of the short term indicators here are now heading higher. Not sure what's coming next on the VIX. The market was fighting higher oil prices today and is still at the mercy of the next Iran conflict headline. It is also still short term overbought and that condition has gone on for too long already. Asia was higher and Europe lower to start the week. We'll see how things shape up tomorrow.

We started the day with a gap higher only to move sideways for the rest of the session. The Dow though ended in the red as it lost 152 points on good volume. The advance/declines were about even. The overall market fared much better with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closing at records. The NASDAQ led the way and that's a plus for the bulls. The S&P 500 closed down from its best levels on the session and remains short term overbought. The daily candlestick chart here has a shooting star for today which would imply lower prices on Monday. We'll see. Gold was off five bucks on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost over 4 3/4 and GDX shed around 1 1/4. Volume was light. The short term indicators on GDX remain in the oversold zone. I am considering the GDX May calls but there is a short term down trend line still in place here. Not to mention the gold shares had a poor day when gold itself didn't do much and the overall market was higher. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished little changed and is still short term oversold. I'm not sure what's next for this indicator. We made it through the week with some of the major averages closing at new all time highs. There is no overhead resistance and the bulls are in charge. That said we are entering an unfavorable seasonal period in general for stocks. But we certainly don't know if that will hold true this time around or when any sustained selling would begin. I'll continue to focus on the short term trading ideas. We'll go over the charts in the next couple of days to try and figure something out for the May options cycle. Asia was mixed and much of Europe closed on holiday to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Back to the upside as buyers took over after some early volatility. The Dow roared ahead by 790 points on pretty heavy volume. It was the leader of the pack today. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is trying to turn back up. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. The inflation data came in where expected. Tech earnings were positive for the most part with the exception of META. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 continue to remain overbought. No overhead resistance for the S&P as we begin to wonder just how high things will go. Gold was up $68 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU gained 8 1/8, while GDX rose 2 points. Volume was a touch above average. The short term indicators for GDX remain oversold. I did place an order for the GDX May calls last night but it wasn't filled. GDX opened with a big gap higher and then traded sideways for the rest of the day. I canceled my order as it did not have a chance of getting filled. We will now have to decide if this idea is still worth pursuing. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with the positive move in stocks. The short term indicators have turned back down and some are already short term oversold again. The daily candlestick chart here now looks like it is going to go lower. Perhaps stocks will simply stay elevated into the May option expiration but that's a guess. Not exactly sure what our next trade attempt will be. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher last night. We'll begin the month of May and close out the trading week tomorrow.

More of the same as sideways price movement has been the theme of the past couple of sessions. The Dow did lose 280 points though, on heavy volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 negative. The summation index has stalled. The Fed left rates unchanged as expected. Next up are after the bell tech earnings followed by an inflation report tomorrow morning. The NASDAQ posted a small gain and the S&P 500 had a small loss. The short term indicators on the S&P remain overbought. The daily candlestick chart here has a consolidation in progress after the recent huge run up. It is either building some kind of top or simply a pause before going higher. I'm not sure which it is but the S&P cannot stay overbought forever. Gold was off $47 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU lost 9 3/8 and GDX dropped 2 1/3. Volume was average. GDX is short term oversold and in a down trend. The up trend line for GDX that began at the beginning of 2025 comes in around the 85 area and it is almost there. I would like to try the GDX May calls there but everything seems to be against taking a position on the plus side for gold right now. That said, I'll be taking a closer look overnight and might put in an open order for those May calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which fits with the Dow but not the overall market. The short term indicators here are now moving up. The daily candlestick chart here now looks like it wants to go higher which would not bode well for stocks. I'm not sure where the VIX is heading next. Markets are still at the mercy of the Iran conflict as oil prices soared today. That had an influence on what took place today. The news can drive things in either direction. Tough trading environment to be sure. However we cannot stay on the sidelines all the time. Asia was mixed and Europe down overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Lower today as the Dow dipped 25 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is now barely moving higher. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow with the NASDAQ losing over two hundred points. The S&P had a gap down at the open and then trended sideways. The short term indicatros for the S&P remain overbought. We've got the Fed tomorrow and no change in rates is expected. We still favor the SPY puts now with the market overbought but that doesn't mean that it can't go higher. Still on the sidelines with regards to the SPY options for now. Gold fell $84 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates rose slightly. The XAU fell 16 2/3, while GDX lost 4. Volume was above average. The short term indicators for GDX are almost completely oversold. I'm now looking at the GDX May calls as we missed the put trade here. There is a longer term up trend line for GDX that comes in at 85. That would be the spot to try the calls. If it doesn't hold the gold shares will be in trouble. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower today and that does not fit with a down market. The short term indicators here remain oversold in a sideways trend. Not sure what's next for the VIX despite the daily chart implying lower VIX values in the near term. As usual more questions than answers in this game. I'll see how the market reacts to the Fed and take it from there. Asia and Europe were down overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

A meandering Monday as stocks drifted sideways to slightly higher. The Dow however fell 62 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is moving up at a slower pace. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs again. We did get a signal from the McClellan oscillator on Friday for a big move within the next couple of sessions. We'll find out if that signal works tomorrow. The short term signals for the S&P remain overbought and staying that way. We've got the Fed, an inflation report and plenty of economic data on tap for this week. So there will be lots of excuses for markets to move. Not sure exactly how much longer the S&P can remain overbought and we are looking at the SPY May puts. Options premiums remain high. Gold was off $46 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates rose. The XAU dropped 6 1/2 and GDX lost 1 3/4. Volmue was light. The short term indicators for GDX are oversold but not completely. They've been trending sideways for almost a week. The gold shares appear to be trying to make up their mind where to go next. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower to begin the week. The short term indicators here remain oversold and trending sideways. The daily cnadlestick chart for the VIX looks like it wants to head down. That would be a boost for stocks if it happens. I am still waiting for some kind of clear technical signal before putting on the next trade. Still plenty of time in the May option cycle. Asia was generally higher and Europe slightly lower to begin the trading week. We'll keep watch for the overnight developments.

The Dow was the laggard once again as it fell 79 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index continues higher. The NASDAQ by far was the leader today and that is a plus for the bulls. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 ended the week at new all time highs. No overhead resistance. The short term indicators for the S&P remain in overbought territory. The rally for stocks continues after moving sideways for most of the week. Still at the mercy of the next Iran conflict sound bite but it doesn't seem to mean as much to the market anymore. Technically the S&P is overbought, staying that way and we are not going to fight that right now. Gold was up nine bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU rose almost 6 points and GDX was up over 2. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up. I'm still not a fan of the gold shares now but we should wait for them to get back to short term overbought before attempting the GDX puts again. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and the short term indicators here continue in a sideways pattern. The daily chart here still looks like it wants to go lower and the indicators are not completely oversold. Remaining below the 20 level and that is a positive. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend to try and form a game plan for next week. Stocks are in rally mode but we are soon heading into a period of underperformance on a seasonality basis. Asia was mixed and Europe lower to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Volatility was the name of the game today and the Dow finished with a loss of 179 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still moving higher. The NASDAQ led the way lower. The S&P 500 hit a new intra-day high early on and then fell 100 points. It made its way back to more than cut the losses in half by the close. The short term indicators there are still overbought but may be trying to roll over here. We'll have to see how the week closes. Gold dropped $40 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU lost 11 and GDX shed 2 1/4. Volume was good to the downside for the gold shares again. The short term indicators for GDX are back to heading down. I canceled my open order for the GDX May puts as it is already heading down and the ideal time for purchase has passed. This idea might still work but we are going to have to see some upside first for the gold shares before trying it. For now it appears to be another missed opportunity. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX was a bit higher today which fits a down market. It did move above the 20 level today but made its way back below that level by the close. The short term indicators here are still oversold but not completely so and moving sideways. Not sure where the VIX is headed next but the daily candlestick chart looks like it wants to go lower. I am now looking at the SPY May puts but the premiums are still high with just over three weeks to go in the May option cycle. We will probably let tomorrow got by and take it from there. Asia was lower and Europe mixed last night. I'll keep an eye on this evenings headlines.

Back to the upside as the Dow climbed 340 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is moving higher. The NASDAQ led the way today and that's a plus. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. There is no overhead resistance. The short term indicators for the S&P are stuck in overbought territory. It appears that we had a two day pause in the rally and it has now resumed. But today the TRAN got killed with a huge move lower and that is something to keep an eye on. Gold was up $40 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates up just a touch. The XAU rose 6 1/2 and GDX was up around 1 1/2. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to stall and have not reached oversold territory yet. I did place an open order for the GDX May puts overnight and I'm leaving it out there. However if the indicators start to move up I will cancel that order. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down today and that fits with the overall higher market. The short term indicators continue to hang around the oversold area. As long as the VIX remains below the 20 level we can conclude that the rally still has legs. News out of Iran doesn't move the markets as much now as it did before. We'll see if that trend continues. Asia finished mixed and Europe was down again overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Sellers took over today as the Dow fell 293 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is still moving up. It was a one day downside reversal as stocks opened higher and closed lower. Retail sales came in better than expected. Markets are still being held hostage to whatever comes out of the Iran conflict. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are still overbought but are beginning to roll over. We will see if there is any follow through selling tomorrow. Gold got whacked as the futures fell $130. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU lost 24 1/4 and GDX shed 6 1/8. Volume was good to the downside. The short term indicators on GDX are moving down in a hurry. It looks like I've missed the GDX May put trade. It is frustrating but the market doesn't care about our frustrations. The put trade idea still might have some merit but we'll have to see where the rest of the week goes. However after todays price action it looks like this ship has sailed. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was a bit higher today but down from its best levels on the session. The short term indicators here are trying to move up from oversold territory. A move above the 20 level would be a cause for concern for the bulls but that hasn't happened yet. For now it seems that earnings are still taking a back seat to the daily developments out of Iran. We wonder how long this will go on and can only guess when it stops. Tougher than usual trading environment. Asia higher and Europe lower again. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

We had some minor selling to begin the week as the Dow dipped 4 points on good volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is moving up. Stocks stayed in negative territory for much of the day but it was mainly a sideways session with small losses booked for most major averages. The short term indicators are still overbought for the S&P 500. Waiting to see if the Iran cease-fire gets extended on Wednesday. Stocks remain at the mercy of the next war sound bite but it doesn't seem to have the same effect as it did earlier. I'm still in the camp of waiting for things to return to some kind of normal before making the next trade. Gold dropped $46 on the futures. The US dollar was a touch lower and interest rates finished a touch higher. The XAU was off 5 1/3, while GDX lost 1 1/8. Volume for GDX was pretty light. The short term indicators here are still overbought but not extremely so. I'm still considering the GDX May puts for the next trade. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX was higher today but remains short term oversold. It got up to the 20 level during the session but backed off. Not sure exactly what's next for the VIX but I would not be surprised if it simply remains oversold as stocks trend higher in the near term. Plenty of earnings reports out this week. Not much on the economic calendar with the exception of retail sales tomorrow. Asia higher and Europe lower to start the trading week overseas. The market is waiting on the cease-fire deadline for now.

The rally continues unabated as the Dow gained 868 points on pretty heavy volume. It was up over a thousand points during the day. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is rising. The Dow was the leader today which isn't the most bullish scenario but we'll take it. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 had big gains as well to close at new all time highs. There is no overhead resistance. The extreme short term overbought condition for the S&P remains. It has been a straight line up since the start of April. Not sure when or how it ends but it has lasted much longer than we expected. We're certainly not going to try and fight it. Remaining on the sidelines with regards to the SPY options for now as the usual technical indicators just are not working here. Gold was up $67 on the futures. The US dollar was just a touch lower and interest rates dropped. The XAU was up 12 1/2 and GDX added over 2 3/4. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX remain overbought. I'm still looking at the GDX May puts but am in no hurry to purchase them as we are just rolling into the May option cycle. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX is still moving lower and the market is still moving higher. That fits. The short term indicators here are still very oversold which occurs during strong rallies like the one we are currently in. This techncial condition can persist for a few weeks at times. It is another reason why we have to remain more cautious than usual with any trades for now. Stocks are having a huge bull run that can last longer than you think or end in a hurry. We'll simply wait until market conditions are better for trading in my view. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend. Europe was higher and Asia lower with the exception of India to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

It was pretty much a sideways affair today with most of the major averages posting small gains. The Dow rose 115 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were just about even. The summation index continues higher. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs again. The short term indicators for the S&P remain extremely overbought. Expiration Friday on tap tomorrow. We remain on the sidelines with regards to the SPY options for now. Gold was off about ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar finished higher and interest rates ticked up. The XAU was off about 1 2/3, while GDX dipped 1/8. Volume is still light here. The short term indicators for GDX have started to push sideways. I am now looking at the GDX May puts here. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX is still moving down and is still short term oversold. Everything here seems to say that the rally will have staying power. The market is at the tail end of the positive seasonal period. So perhaps it will continue to push up into May and then we'll have to see what happens. Headline risk has seemed to diminish recently and that is a plus for the trading. I'll remain patient for now as that appears to be the best path to take at this time. Asia and Europe were generally higher. We'll see how expiration Friday fares tomorrow.

The overall market continued higher but the Dow fell 72 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ is still leading the way higher and that's bullish. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. They are both moving up in a straight line and now there is no overhead resistance. The short term indicators here on the S&P are still extremely overbought and staying that way. I'm not sure what to say except that the rally from the beginning of the month has been extraordinary. It is quite unusual to have so many days in a row to the upside. Not sure how much longer this can go on. Gold dropped $28 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower and interest rates a bit higher. The XAU fell 9 1/3 and GDX lost 3. Volume remains light here. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to roll over. We'll see if we get any follow through selling tomorrow. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX was a touch lower. It remains short term oversold. It can stay this way for an extended period of time during rallies like the one we are seeing right now. I'm remaining on the sidelines to wait for the next technical set up. It is the prudent thing to do with only two days left in the April option cycle. We've moved on after booking yesterdays loss as you always have to keep moving forward in this game. Asia was higher and Europe generally lower overnight. I'll keep watch for the tonights developments.

Another day, another gain as stock indexes continue to rise. The Dow gained 317 points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index continues higher. The inflation data came in much lighter than expected. We had a gap higher at the open and never looked back. The NASDAQ is still leading this bull run. As long as that is the case the rally should move forward. Indices are as overbought as they can get or so it seems. When the technical indicators don't work anymore it is time to step aside. The S&P 500 posted another decent gain. The short term indicators are stuck in overbought territory. It is knocking on the door of reaching a new all time high. Stocks markets have been moving straight up for two weeks. I don't know how much longer that can continue. Gold was up almost a hundred bucks today on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU gained 6 1/3, while GDX added 2 points. Volume remains light here. GDX like the overall market is short term overbought and staying that way. I dumped the GDX April puts that I had for a 90% loss. This trade was mismanaged by me about as bad as it gets. It did show a small profit early on but quickly moved the other way. I did not have a stop loss order on it which was another mistake. When the gold shares were acting better than gold itself I still held on to the losing position despite the signs that it was time to hit the exit. The trade should have been closed yesterday when gold came back from its early sell off overnight. There were plenty of chances to get out with a smaller loss but I didn't take them. The only minor saving grace is that I was initially going to take a bigger position and chose a smaller one. Mentally I'm feeling a bit distracted. The VIX is still heading lower and remains short term oversold. Sometimes it can stay oversold for weeks and this looks like it could be one of those times. Three days left in the April option cycle and if my brain still works I'll be sitting on the sidelines. As much as I think the puts will work at some point this week, the technical signals that we are getting just are not working right now. We should have seen at least some kind of decent sell off by now if only for a day. But as always the market goes where it wants and knows much more than me. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of India. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Stocks start the week off on a positive note as the Dow gained 301 points on good volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. Even the geo-political news about the war in Iran didn't phase things. However the market is extremely overbought on both a short and midium term basis at this point. It cannot stay that way forever. The NASDAQ led the way again and that's a plus. The S&P 500 had a solid gain and at this rate will be reaching new all time highs before the end of the month. The short term indicators for the S&P continue to remain overbought. Do we consider a short term trade with the SPY April puts? I'll think about it overnight. Gold was off twenty bucks on the futures but came up from the lows on the session. The US dollar was lower and so were interest rates. The XAU dipped 2 1/8, while GDX slipped 1/2. Volume was very light. The short term indicators for GDX remain overbought. My GDX April put trade is on life support. Unless we see some kind of decent decline in the gold shares tomorrow this trade will be a loser. The short term up trend line for GDX was broken today. But it is probably too late to save this trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX opened above the 20 level today but reversed and closed backdown to be lower on the day. Its short term indicators remain oversold. The VIX can remain oversold for some time during rallies like the one we find ourselves in right now. We'll get inflation data tomorrow and the Iran conflict remains center stage. Europe and Asia were lower to begin the week. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Just hanging around today for the most part although the Dow did drop 269 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving up. It was a mixed bag with the NASDAQ posting a gain and the S&P 500 having a small loss. The inflation data came in high but a touch less than expected. But the market is still being held hostage by the war in Iran. Whatever happens with the peace talks over the weekend will determine how we open on Monday. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought on the daily indicators. It is overdue now for some kind of drop but in rallies it stays overbought as it has this week. We have option expiration week on tap as well. The SPY April options remain pricey with only a week to go. Gold was off $34 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly lower and interest rates slightly higher. The XAU was up about 5 1/2 and GDX rose 7/8. Volume was light. Some of the short term indicators for GDX are still overbought. Gold down and the gold shares up is bullish for the gold shares. My GDX April puts are now showing a modest loss. I'm stuck holding them for now over the weekend. This trade has now turned into a cut the loss proposition depending on the open Monday. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term oversold. Despite being oversold this indicator implies higher stock prices yet to come. Still below thw 20 level which is bullish for stocks going forward. We'll be going over the charts this weekend as usual. However the news from the peace talks will be center stage as far as where things go from here are concerned. It's anybodies guess what comes out of that. Asia was higher and Europe little changed to finish off the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.