Volatility returned early on today and the Dow fell 66 points on pretty heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index continues higher. The NASDAQ had a slight loss and the S&P 500 was unchanged. The employment report came in better than expected and that got things moving up and down. There was a gap higher at the open which immediately turned around into a modest loss. The rest of the day was spent in a sideways drift. The short term indicators for the S&P have begun to stall. Next up will be the inflation report on Friday to contend with. I still think that the S&P will be hitting a new all time high soon. Gold was up $81 on the futures. The US dollar finished slighly higher and interest rates were up. The XAU gained over 10 points, while GDX added 3. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX are moving up with room to go. My open order for the GDX February calls was filled. It is showing a modest loss. It now looks like this idea was past its time as the technical picture for GDX appears now to be positive. Perhaps it was one of those ideas that I fell in love with and didn't let go. I would like to give it until Friday before bailing out but we'll have to see how tomorrow goes first. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was just a bit lower today. The short term indicators here are moving sideways. Appears as though it could go either way here. The overall technical picture for the stock market is not as clear as I'd like it to be. Six days remain in the February option cycle. Asia was generally higher and Europe generally lower overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.