Markets continued to trade quietly on lower volume as traders focus on the FOMC announcement due tomorrow afternoon. SPX gained $4 to close at $2092, but RUT gained $13, closing at $1151. Volatility was flat with the VIX virtually unchanged at 14%. Trading volume remains below the 50 day moving averages (dma), but rose a bit today with 2.2 billion shares of the S&P 500 stocks trading. Trading volume rose 7% on the NYSE and rose 15% on NASDAQ.

Markets are holding up rather well as the uncertainty of the Fed's actions weigh on traders. That tells me the general mood remains bullish. Absent a surprise from the Fed tomorrow, we are probably headed higher once again.

Durable goods orders came in higher by 0.8% in March, a big improvement from February's 3.1% decline that spooked the markets. The Case Schiller housing price survey continues to post annualized price increases above 5%, with 5.4% for February. The real estate market may not be booming, but it isn't declining. The Conference Board's consumer confidence survey reported at 94.2 for April, down a bit from March's 96.1.

Members of my trading group sold a weekly iron condor on CMG today in advance of the earnings announcement this evening. Based on after hours trading, this trade looks like it may gain 35% or more tomorrow. Join us at our next meeting on May 5th.