Leadership of this bull market passed to small caps and the NASDAQ last week, and that trend was still evident today. SPX gained $2 to close at $1951, but RUT gained $11, closing at $1176. Trading volume remains anemic with 1.7 billion shares of the S&P 500 trading today; trading volume on the S&P 500 has only touched the 50 dma twice since the first of May. Trading volume declined 2% on the NYSE, but rose 9% on NASDAQ. Volatility increased a bit, with the VIX closing up four tenths of a point at 11.2%.

No significant economic data were reported today; retail sales, the PPI,  CPI, consumer sentiment, and unemployment claims report later this week. The FOMC meets next week.

My June iron condor on RUT, positioned at 1040/1050 and 1220/1230, has been enjoying strong profitability during this bull run since the 1220 strikes are so far OTM. But the relentless drive of RUT higher caused me to close those call spreads today - better to lock in a 22% gain rather than risk losing much of those gains later. It seems reasonable and rational to assume this market will level out or pull back, but reasonable and rational aren't words we should use when discussing market price movement.

I noted that SPX, RUT and the NASDAQ composite all surged higher today, but pulled back a bit as the day wore on, leaving longer upper shadows on the candlesticks. This wasn't pronounced enough to call it a signal, but it may be an early sign of a slowing of the bulls' charge. It certainly wasn't enough to cause me to hold my June RUT call spreads any longer.