First quarter GDP growth was reported this morning at an annualized rate of +2.5%. This was, to my mind, a pretty good result, and certainly much better than the fourth quarter's anemic +0.4%. But economists were expecting +2.8% and some were even expecting increases of 3 to 3.5%. SPX opened weakly and then rebounded, only to sink to its intraday low at $1578. But then it rebounded and closed at $1582, down only $3. RUT dropped $5 to close at $935. After such an unrelenting rise over the past several sessions, today's pause wasn't too surprising. Trading volume also fell off significantly, further supporting the idea that there is no reason to panic over this decline. Trading in the S&P 500 declined with 2.3 billion shares changing hands today and trading volume on the NYSE declined 11%; trading on NASDAQ declined 14%. Volatility remains unchanged with the VIX at 13.6%. All in all, it was a slow day on the street.

My May iron condor stands at a P/L of +$1,320 or +7% with position delta = +$23 and position theta = +$40. As a note to anyone new to my blog, I track the position theta of my condors because this is effectively the profit machine of the trade; it is a measurement of the gain in the position over the next 24 hours due to time decay. The position delta tells us how much risk we are incurring from a price move for the underlying index. In general, I like to see theta at levels greater than delta and ideally greater than twice delta. As position delta and theta values converge, it shows the pressure of stress placed on the position by the index moving too close to one side or the other of the condor. Thus, the current levels of delta and theta for this May position look pretty good.

Enjoy your weekend. It appears as though springtime may finally come to Chicago this weekend.