The markets have been under pressure recently due to concerns about European sovereign debt and some debate over the effectiveness of further quantitative easing by the Fed. But the Korean conflict and continuing tensions added fuel to the fire. Stocks opened down and stayed down throughout the day. SPX traded as low as $1177 before bouncing weakly to close at $1181, down $17. RUT traded down to $720, off $7. Third quarter GDP grew 2.5%, up from the second quarter's 1.7%. But this good news was largely ignored. The FOMC minutes caused minimal reaction in the markets; the Fed cited broad-based evidence of recovery, but it is very modest, and they foresee minimal improvement in the unemployment picture in the short term. Trading volume was flat to down with a modest increase in trading in the S&P 500 stocks to 3.4 billion shares, below the 50 dma at 3.6 billion shares. Trading on the NYSE was down 13% and flat on NASDAQ. The low trading volume suggests the large institutional traders have not yet pushed the exit button in response to the Korean situation, but that could change quickly. The volatility index, VIX, jumped to 21% today, but closed off of its highs.

The Dec condor sits at a P/L of +$580, delta = +$45 and theta = +$107.  The theta/delta ratio is still strong and the delta of the $670 puts is at 16, so this position is in good shape thus far in this correction. Now we watch Korea to see what happens next; of course, Ireland, Portugal or Greece could steal the spotlight at any moment as well. In short, there are several potential events that could spark a sell-off - a little disconcerting.