We traders have become jaundiced over the past few years. The markets have been extremely volatile. We jump on the run upward and it turns and runs us over the next day; and then while we are still licking our wounds, it turns back upward. So it isn't too surprising that the current topic of discussion is whether this rally is sustainable, or simply: Is it safe to get on board? Today's market just chopped sideways without much net progress in either direction. SPX gained $1 to close at $1403 while RUT gained $3 to close at $803. Trading volume fell off to 2.2 billion shares of the S&P 500; trading volume dropped 11% on the NYSE and dropped 10% on NASDAQ. VIX was unchanged at 15.3%.

SPX appears to be trapped just below the resistance set in early May around $1405. By contrast, RUT is not even close to its May highs at $826. I find it hard to rationalize further moves higher, but you can't argue with the tape. That is why I closed the call spreads of my August condor even though we still had a $50 cushion to the upside. In a similar vein, I entered a contingent stop order to protect the profits in a GOOG put spread that is up about 30%.

Initial unemployment claims came in about six thousand lower at 361k, while continuing unemployment claims actually increased by 53k to 3.3 million. One more mediocre economic data report to put on the pile; it truly is the slowest economic recovery on record... and the market is trading higher.

My September iron condor on RUT stands at a P/L of -$160 with delta = -$87 and theta = +$87. The 850/860 call spreads are about one standard deviation OTM with a delta of 15, so it is tight but not yet close to an adjustment.