SPX has now traded higher for three consecutive days following the severe downdraft last Wednesday. SPX closed today at $1904, up $17. RUT also traded higher, gaining $13 to close at $1095. VIX is now back down to 18.6%, losing over three points today. But I remain nervous. This market has been trading nervously for the past two years. Look back at the number of sudden drops over a week of trading sessions, only to be followed by a recovery straight up over just a few days. At least we had the fiscal cliff concerns in January of last year. I'm not sure what is causing this market to be so nervous. But the fact of the matter is that it doesn't take much to start a selling spree. So I am cautious.

Trading volume fell off from expiration Friday, but that decline is also evidence of some calming after last week's panic. Trading in the S&P 500 stocks dropped to 2.1 billion shares. Trading declined 26% on the NYSE and dropped 24% on NASDAQ.

My November iron condor on SPX is back to break-even and will continue to move into the black as volatility contracts. Those puts are now $80 OTM, but I still worry. One of the things that concerns me is a retest of support. Normally, when a stock or index declines and then appears to bounce back higher, it trades back down and tests that support level before trading higher. But it is true that the SPX hasn't displayed that behavior with the rapid pull backs of the past couple of years. So maybe it will just trade higher and not look back. One thing's for sure - this isn't a time to take my eye off the ball.