OVERNIGHT

The market is topsy-turvy, up and down, much of it based on the correlation between the price of oil and equities since around late November. Just yesterday the market digested peak-oil supply numbers only to face Wednesday an increase in gasoline demand. Couple that with fear about economic growth and you have a recipe for the topsy-turvy action of late.

The S&P 500 ended Wednesday up 2% above it session low. The DJIA was up 53.21 to close at 16,484.99. In Europe it was just the opposite as markets there faded, weighed down, some analysts said, by commodity and energy sectors. If you're looking for a range bound investment, try gold. It seems stuck in the $1200-1300 range for a while now as it rallied in Asia overnight.

The Wall Street Journal reported: Gold prices climbed in Asia trade, continuing to draw strength from its safe haven appeal. Prices of the precious metal are trading in a range that’s above the psychological mark of $1,200 per ounce but below $1,300/oz. “The sharp rally in gold prices towards $1,300/oz has lost steam in line with our expectations. Nonetheless, a dovish recalibration of expectations for the global monetary policy trajectory by investors and additional equity market turmoil will put a floor under gold prices in the coming months,” says BMI Research in a report. Spot gold rose to $1,235.09/oz, up from the previous close of $1,228.73/oz.

 A group of 20 meeting comes around this week as investors continue to take a dim view over China's lack of growth. The Shanghai Composite Index slid during Thursday morning’s trading session, last off 3.6% at 2823.06.  The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 4.76% and in Hong Kong shares were down 1.2% while Korea's KOSPI and Australia's markets remained flat. The Nikkei eked out a slight 0.6% gain. So to many investors it resembled more of the same uncertainty.