After such a huge run last week, it wasn't too surprising to see the markets tread water a bit today. SPX lost $3 to close at $1962, and RUT declined $1 to close at $1117. SPX opened weakly this morning and traded as low as $1951 before recovering to close near its high for the day. That trading action tells me the bulls are still in charge of this market. Volatility was unchanged today, with the VIX closing at 16.0%. Trading volume was mixed with an 8% rise on the NYSE, but an 11% decline on NASDAQ. The trading volume on the S&P 500 stocks was not yet available as I write this a bit earlier than usual (I have an appointment shortly).

The only economic data today was pending home sales, up 0.3% in September, an improvement over the one percent decline in August. Durable goods orders and the Case Schiller housing price reports will be issued tomorrow, and we get the FOMC announcement Wednesday afternoon.

My November iron condor on SPX stands at a net gain of 7% with the Nov 1810/1820 put spreads remaining open. I closed the call spraeds when the market hit its lows week before last. Our maximum return on the November condor is 13%, and that looks pretty safe at this point. I took that opportunity of a low market to open the SPX Dec 1810/1820 put spreads; that position stands at a net gain of 4%. I will be entering the call spreads to complete the December position soon.

We may see another slow day in the markets tomorrow as traders wait to hear from the Fed. Presumably, QE ends this month. But maybe the FOMC will surprise us with something. Or traders will spook themselves based on a minor word change in the announcement. Stay tuned.