"Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) earnings disappointment clearly hurt the tech sector today, but the overall market was quite resilient after experiencing three consecutive down days," said Schaeffer's Senior Equities Analyst Joe Bell. In fact, at its session peak, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was in the green by more than 115 points.

Keep reading to see what else was on our radar today:

• Go long! Now could be a prime time to capitalize on SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) volatility.
• Outside the Box: Is the VIX Still a Leading Indicator?
• Plus, earnings-induced options activity reaches fever pitch.

After the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI – 12,676.05) tagged its intraday peak of 12,732.77 just before entering the final hour of trading, the blue-chip barometer faltered slightly and ended with a 58.7-point, or 0.5%, win. Eighteen of the Dow's 30 components closed higher, as The Boeing Company's (NYSE:BA) 2.8% earning-related rise paced outperforming issues. Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) led the 10 laggards with a 1.1% drop. Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) remained unchanged.

On the other hand, the S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,337.89) and Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,854.24) were hit by pessimism surrounding APPL's quarterly miss. By the closing bell, the SPX was fractionally below breakeven, while the tech-rich COMP tuned in a 8.8-point, or 0.3%, loss.

The CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX – 19.34) also drifted lower today, slipping 5.5% and landing atop its session low of 18.99.

Today's highlight: "There seems to be more and more talk about another round of quantitative easing arriving sooner rather than later, and the 1,333 level on the SPX held as support," stated Bell. "This area marks the site of the July low and also coincides with double the March 2009 low."

In other news, Joe gave a friendly shout out to colleague Ryan Detrick -- senior technical strategist here at Schaeffer's. "Ryan talked about the VIX on Yahoo! Breakout recently and host Matt Nesto gave him a new nickname. Congratulations, 'Big Daddy,'" laughed Bell. "It doesn't get much better than that."

Turning to today's major market stories...

• Schaeffer's Equities Analyst Bryan Sapp explained why you shouldn't miss out on a SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) volatility trade.
• A lesson in restraint: buying premium ahead of earnings on Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK).
• Options strategists implemented a weekly bull put spread on Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN), as well as ratio spreads on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST).
• Short-term put buying soared as Arch Coal Inc (NYSE:ACI) traded in new-low territory.
• After earnings, International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) and Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (NYSE:LL) were among the standouts reaching notable technical milestones.
• Domino's Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) and Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM) were targeted by analysts following their quarterly reports.
• The latest Investors Intelligence (II) sentiment survey revealed a week-over-week drop in optimism.

For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head to page 2.