1. Today is basically a flat trading day. This is an options expiration trading week so we might see a little whipsaw in both directions today. Either way, the volume is very light and that continues to favor market upside in the near term. Downticking in Dow and Russell 2k. Wednesday before options ex. Exercise extreme caution. The writing is on the wall.

2. Intel is trading sharply higher today after the current CEO Bob Swan will step down effective February 15 and be replaced by VMWare's (VMW) Pat Gelsinger. I think INTC stock has been running up into this news, so it is a bit overbought at this time.  

3. Gold/Silver options-ex has affected the metals. Now they’re getting a nice bump. Backing and filling doesn’t change.

4. Will March become the new October?

1. This morning, the markets are somewhat mixed. The Russell 2000 Index (IWM, RUT) and the NASDAQ Composite are positive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the S&P 500 Index (SPY) are basically flat. So far, it's a quiet trading session, so we will need to watch the chart patterns very closely now.

2. These alternate energy stocks have been on fire since early November 2020. Today, Plug Power Inc (PLUG) signed a deal with Renault. Please understand, while many of these alternate energy stocks remain strong they are now getting parabolic and that means they will likely start to retreat very soon. 

3 Gold/Silver is in a holding pattern. Sitting on its 200 moving day average. One more down leg before we wash the pattern out. Be careful for now on PM’s.

4. Will there be a March crash? Not like last year but a lot of last year’s probelms will come home to roost this year. Trader’s market for 2021. Buy and hold coming to an end. Something is going to give. Rates are heading higher.

5. Real estate chart is hanging in there. When it hits the fan everything is going lower including RE. All real estate is regional. Open states versus closed states? ITB home builders’ etf is holding up well. Limited upside.

1. Markets are pulling back this morning after a turbulent weekend of geopolitical events. Obviously, Twitter  (TWTR) and Facebook (FB) are the two stocks under some pressure today after banning President Trump and countless conservative voices from their platforms. Amazon Web Services also removed conservative app Parler from its servers. This is really unbelievable to see things like this happen in the United States. Who will be next?

2. Options ex for January is this Friday, so let the games begin. You need to play volatility and fear. People will be looking to hedge going forward. Unprecedented geopolitical turmoil. Our tech overlords are cracking down on the right. And it’s a non-event and there goes free speech.

3. Gold/Silver took a huge hit Friday. Just part of the pattern for its eventual breakout, more backing and filling.

Full disclosure by Nick: I own put options in TWTR

1. The election looks to be over and the markets are still holding up fine so far. Yesterday, there was some chaos at the nation's Capitol building. That news caused an afternoon pullback, but markets are now rebounding back up today. Tech is leading the move higher with the NASDAQ trading higher by 1.7%. The Russell 2000 Index (IWM) is also higher and that continues to lead the major stock indexes.

2. The initial weekly claims report was released this morning. It showed 787K initial claims. As for continuing claims, they decreased to 5.072 million from a revised count of 5.198 million. Basically, this is somewhat in line with expectations.    

3. Gold/Silver look at the longer term. It’s showing great strength and resliency for the coming major advance ahead.

1. Markets started the day mixed after the Georgia run-off election results are likely favoring the Democrats. Right after the opening bell the major stock indexes started to rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA), Russell 2000 (IWM) and the S&P 500 Index (SPY) are all sharply higher now. The tech heavy NASDAQ Composite (QQQ, XLK) is still negative , but well off the lows of the day. Russell up 3%. Markets are liking what they’re seeing.

2. Volatility is heading upwards. VIX had a big move but has come back down. Be prepared for numerous spikes. We’re still in the January effect. Volume spiked on Spiders on the downside but there was no follow-through. Start watching the charts very closely. Look at the important sectors for problems, ie, tech, Fangs, hot ipo’s etc. The dash for trash.

3. Gold/silver had a great move. We’ll see where it plays out from here. Will the markets turnover and turn on gold. Patterns are tricky in January.

1. Once again, the markets are a little mixed this morning. The Russell 2000 Index (IWM) and the NASDAQ Composite (QQQ) are showing good strength to start the day. The DJIA (DIA) and the S&P 500 Index (SPY) are a little weak. Overall, there is nothing great or terrible. This is a holiday shortened trading week, so barring any major geopolitical events the volume is expected to be light and that should keep the markets buoyant. 

2. Yesterday Dow was down 200 but Russell 2k was up 1 percent. Just follow the Russell. Nasdaq was up as well.

3. Gold/Silver This is the pattern we’ve been waiting for. Gold rebounding up 8 on the futures. GLD and GDX both heading higher. It’s doing the Cha-Cha. Silver futures up .21. SLV up 1.5%. Silver chart is better.

1. Once again, the markets are a little mixed this morning. The Russell 2000 Index (IWM) and the NASDAQ Composite (QQQ) are showing good strength to start the day. The DJIA (DIA) and the S&P 500 Index (SPY) are a little weak. Overall, there is nothing great or terrible. This is a holiday shortened trading week, so barring any major geopolitical events the volume is expected to be light and that should keep the markets buoyant. 

2. Had a very good comeback yesterday. Financials were on fire, while the broad market declined but then we had a very strong comeback rally.

3. Gold/Silver today gold futures down 5+. Silver down .41 on SLV. Silver futures down .43. Right now they’re trading sideway. They could diverge in a future stock market crash.

1. The markets are down big this morning. The catalyst for the decline is a new virus strain discovered in the UK.At this time, the markets were overbought and the sell off matches up with the Winter Solstice. Often, markets will change trend around equinoxes and solstices. We shall see if this is just short term or maybe more meaningful. Seasonality is usually favorable for more upside, but this is not a normal year.  Volume is weak. Not overly concerned long term.

2. Financial stocks are on fire today. Last Friday, the Federal Reserve said that the bank stress tests were good enough that the banks could start to repurchase their own stock again. They can also start to increase dividends. So despite all the dire news this is very positive for the financial stocks today. JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS) and others are all trading sharply higher today. Thinking always gets in the way.

3. Market took a hit on Friday with the quadruple witching hour. It’s almost like somebody knew.

4. Gold/silver gold futures down $6.7. Gold was over $1900 in overnight trading. Silver was well over $27 . Gold is struggling to stay over $1900. Silver is having a decent day. Up 1.2%. Silver has been stronger gold for a while now. Just waiting for the bigger pattern

1. The major stock indexes are selling off slightly. This Is a quadruple witching options expiration. So we would look for a tame session into the final hour. Then there will be some rebalancing in some of the indexes. Russell 2000 is up 1/2 percent. The Russell has re-emerged. It’s getting extended. In March melt down it was trading less than half what it is right now. Due to the exercise of options volume will likely be heavier by the close today.

2. FedEx (FDX) is the big mover today after reporting earnings. The stock is trading lower by $15.00 to $277.00 a share. Support at $272. The dip comes after the company reported earnings last night. The earnings were actually good, but the stock has simply run too far in the near term and was due for a pullback from an overbought condition. This is a great example of why you want to learn how to read charts.

3. Gold/Silver not doing much. Silver had a great move this week. A minor pause, nothing of concern.

4. 2021, we need to see who will be the president. No definitive winner yet. Traders need to exercise caution. Lots of damage done in America, due largely to Blue State shutdowns. Expanded volatility, great for traders. Great opportunity for traders on the VIX. Get Nick’s member road map at his site.

1. The Weekly Initial claims for the week ending December 12 increased by 23,000 to 885,000. This was higher than expected for the second week in a row. Continuing claims for the week ending December 5 decreased by 273,000 to 5.508 million, which was the lowest level since March. 

2. Right now, the markets seem to be really eyeing the next stimulus deal. That is expected to happen this weekend. 

3. Gold/Silver Gld up 2.60. Fed is keeping rates at zero till at least 2023. Gold futures hit 1900 and may not go further. Lot’s of resistance at this level. Silver is a power move today. SLV up .54 and futures are up 1.19 to over 26. Bigger resistance is at 27. The trend is up and it’s a better play than gold. Be careful of big surges. Ultimately silver goes way higher in the next 3-4 years.