The markets largely chopped sideways today, albeit slightly in positive territory. SPX closed at $1404, up $2 while RUT lost $1 to close at $830. This was a new 2012 high for SPX but RUT is still mired down in the February trading range and has yet to match its 2011 highs. As you might expect for quadruple witching, volume spiked up with 3.7 billion shares of the S&P 500 trading. Volume jumped 58% on the NYSE and rose 21% on NASDAQ. VIX closed at 14.5%, so it remains at pretty low levels. One advantage of the low volatility is that you can buy protection for your stock portfolio at relatively inexpensive prices. Given this strong run by the bulls since mid-December, that may be prudent.

The consumer price index rose 0.4% in February, although most of the rise was due to energy costs. Capacity utilization remained essentially flat at 78.7% and the consumer sentiment survey from the University of Michigan dropped a bit to 74.3. So the latest economic news supports the message of the past few months: the economy is not roaring upward, but it isn't sinking either.

RUT settled at $833.17 for March, so the remaining 730/740 put spreads in my March iron condor will expire worthless tomorrow. This completes the March position with a 20% gain and brings the Flying With The Condor™ results to a year to date gain of 17%. The S&P 500 has been on fire this year, but it is only up 12%. My Apr iron condor on RUT stands at a P/L of +$1,680 with delta = -$10 and theta = +$60. The largest risk to this market at this time, in my opinion, is the prospect of a correction. Fortunately, this Apr position has its put spreads down at 700/710, so I feel reasonably safe. But that doesn't mean I relax - except on weekends.

Have a great weekend.