For those of you who have been following the Volatility Index short trade with me, the VIX opened at 21.89 this morning and we took our profits and ran. It has been quite a see-saw ride for this trade but it finally paid off.

We have had 6 up days on the indices and are up against previous resistance on the SP500 at 1117.51 on a closing basis. We hit 1120.95 this morning before retreating and it may take a few attempts or even a little pullback to break through. After that there is no resistance until we reach the 100 day moving average at around 1129.

As of Tuesday, July 27th:

The blended earnings growth rate (estimated & reported) for the S&P 500 for Q2 2010 is 34.2% versus an estimated earnings growth rate of 24.9% for Q3 2010. As of April 1st, the earnings growth rate was at 22.7%. Of the 204 (41%) S&P 500 companies who have reported Q2 results, 78% beat estimates, 10% were in-line, and 12% were below estimates. (Data provided by Thomson Reuters)