After the build-up to the Fed announcement yesterday, the markets just wandered sideways and downward today with little economic data to propel them one way or the other. Buying late in the day took the markets off of their lows. SPX closed at $1134, down $6. SPX traded down to its support level at $1131, but bounced up a bit for the close. RUT also traded down $8 at $657; in a similar pattern to SPX, RUT traded down to $653, the support level formed by the consolidation pattern last week, but rebounded slightly. Trading volume was flat to declining from yesterday; Trading in the S&P 500 stocks held at the 50 dma of 3.5 billion shares. Trading volume was down 10% on the NYSE but up 4% on NASDAQ.

My October RUT iron condor is still sitting basically where it was, right at the edge of adjustment; the Nov $690 call hedges are still in place. The P/L now stands at -$1,385 with delta = -$51 and theta = +$148. Today's pullback of RUT lessened the pressure, but this position isn't out of the woods yet. This market appears to need some significant news or data to push it one way or the other. Absent that, it may just chop sideways for a while. Yesterday's reaction to the FOMC report is a good example. Early reactions went in both directions, but eventually settled largely unchanged. Today's action was downward, but held support. Of course, the beauty of delta neutral trading is not being required to predict the market's direction. I just need a well defined system of risk management to deal with what the market gives me.