We were told the sequester was going to be a huge disaster and it seems we are being told the same story once again. But the markets are basically saying, "Ho hum. It's business as usual".  SPX dropped a whole dollar to close at $1694 while RUT dropped $5, closing at $1083. This is the first in several sessions where RUT closed down more than SPX. Of course, as the debt ceiling deadline approaches, the market may not be as benign. SPX opened at $1692 and traded down to the 50 dma at $1680 before bouncing back up to close at its high of the day. If you look at the SPX chart, the last three sessions have reinforced the strength of that 50 dma support line.

Trading volume was basically flat with two billion shares of the S&P 500 trading. Trading on the NYSE was flat and volume declined 3% on NASDAQ. We probably won't have a jobs report Friday, so many traders were focused on the ADP private jobs report today; it came in at 166k and that disappointed analysts who were expecting 170-180k.

It doesn't look like we are going to see an end to this mess in Washington anytime soon, so I bought some VIX calls today. That is a speculative trade, so don't jump into it unaware. I made 25% today, but could lose it all tomorrow if a surprise compromise were reached overnight. But Obama's interview with CNBC after the market closed communicated his continued refusal to negotiate on anything. My way or the highway...

But my trades are doing well, so I can at least take some comfort in that as Rome burns.