Yesterday's rally didn't quite seem there was a great deal of conviction behind it.

Perhaps with the Fed set to release its FOMC Statement today, we'll get the market to provide us with a decent size move. Over the past four trading sessions, the market has been rather quiet. 

But by decreasing my portfolio just a bit , it actually gives me some additional flexibility to add more positions to the portfolio on the confirmation that this market wants to keep trending higher should we get that today. 

Don't get me wrong, the market hasn't done anything to sound the alarms, but it has also made a decent size run so far this month, and the last four day means that it is either resting before the next leg up, or it has simply run out of steam. Based on what we all have seen over the past nine months, there is a good chance that the market is simply resting again. If that is the case, we have enough long positions to capitalize on such a move, but if it is actually going to pullback at some point here, then I have the flexibility to get quickly short. Either way, I like the position I find myself in right now. 

As already stated, the FOMC statement comes out today. I don't expect it to be filled with fireworks, but they could provide additional clues about whether they will or will not raise rates again at the September meeting. 

The Volatility Index (VIX) - at this point, who really cares!? It falls if the market has a godo day or bad day - it just doens't care. The best thing you can do for now, is to view sharp one-day spikes higher with skepticism, and simply follow the trend of the VIX and not necessarily the price point it is currently at. 

As always - manage the risk and you'll do just fine.

S&P 500 Technical Analysis

(Click on image to enlarge)

Current Stock Trading Portfolio Balance: 

• 4 Long Positions

Recent Stock Trade Notables:

• IBB: Long at $313.18, closed at $324.25 for a 3.5% profit. 
• SPXU: Long at $14.82, closed at $14.58 for a 1.6% loss. 
• Alibaba Group (BABA): Long at $143.65, closed at $150.40 for a 4.7% profit. 
• American Airlines (AAL): Long at $49.26, closed at $51.84 for a 5.2% profit
• Intel (INTC) Short at $35.21, covered at $34.46 for a 2.1% profit. 
• Nvdia (NVDA): Long at $155.57, closed at $157.53 for a 1.3% profit. 
• IBB: Long at $298.24, closed at $303.74 for a 1.8% profit. 
• SPXU: Long at $15.68, closed at $15.25 for a 2.7% loss. 
• Whirlpool (WHR): Long at $190.46, closed at $195.19 for a 2.5% profit. 
• Ferrari (RACE): Long at $84.60, closed at $89.93 for a 6.3% profit. 
• Amazon (AMZN): Long at $964.70, closed at $1001.23 for a 3.8% profit. 
• American Airlines (AAL): Long at $49.18, closed at $50.62 for a 2.9% profit
• Alibaba Group (BABA): Long at $124.95, closed at $137.51 for a 10.1% profit. 
• Starbucks (SBUX): Long at $61.78, closed at $63.68 for a 3.1% profit.
• Western Digital (WDC): Long at $91.24, closed at $89.29 for a 2.1% loss. 
• Broadcom (AVGO): Long at $236.65, closed at $241.15 for a 2% profit.
• SPXU: Long at 16.60, closed at $16.98 for a 2.3% profit.
• JP Morgan Chase (JPM): Long at $87.84, closed at $85.98 for a 2.1% loss.
• Micron Technology (MU): Long at $29.00, closed at $28.04 for a 3.3% loss.
• Alibaba Group (BABA): Long at $116.25, closed at $124.09 for a 6.7% profit. 
• Southwest Airlines (LUV): Long at $58.35, closed at 57.23 for a 1.9% loss.  
• Broadcom (AVGO): Long at $223.63, closed at $228.65 for a 2.2% profit. 
• Workday (WDAY): Long at 86.00, closed at 90.32 for a 5% profit. 
• Univar (UNVR): Long at $30.96, closed at $32.20 for a 4% profit.
• Alibaba Group (BABA): Long at $111.91, closed at $115.48 for a 3.2% profit. 
• Redhat (RHT): Long at $85.21, closed at $87.21 foor a 2.4% profit. 
• Darling Ingredients (DAR): Long at $15.19, closed at $14.90 for a 1.9% loss. 
• Apple (AAPL): Long at $143.82, closed at $147.11 for a 2.3% profit.
• Teradyne (TER): Long at $31.16, closed at $33.03 for a 6.0% profit.
• UPRO: Long at $92.75, closed at $94.78 for a 2.2% profit.