The overall market held up surprisingly well today — major indexes edged higher and volatility fell — but the turmoil underneath the surface told a messier story, with Middle East tensions rattling nerves even as Wall Street mostly shrugged.

The dip-buyers had a mixed day. The peer-aware version, Agent 8, remains the standout of the whole experiment at up 13% overall, though it took a small loss on one position today. The evolving dip-buyer had a rougher session, getting stopped out of several trades for meaningful losses. Meanwhile, the traders betting against the market — the inverse and bear strategies — continued their slow bleed, since stocks simply haven't cooperated with their pessimism. Broadcom's sharp drop after its earnings report stung a few agents holding that stock, a reminder that beating expectations isn't always enough. The gold-and-silver strategy is quietly nursing a significant loss on its gold position, even as gold itself rose today — a sign that its entry price is working against it.

All told, the portfolio is down about 1.5% from where it started, and today didn't move that needle much either way — a relatively calm surface over some choppy water.