08:30am CET (07:30 UK time)  ~  Back into trading mode this morning, I shall be here at home for most of the day catching up on emails and also doing some charts watching from time to time – although I will be off for a cycle ride at some stage.

Although the People’s Bank of China has lowered their base lending rate overnight, the second time in the last 3 months, it is going to be seen as more as a reflection of a poor economic outlook rather than a reason for traders to get their buying boots on this week, so there may not be the expected dramatic rise in equity values that some commentators are predicting. Looking at my charts for last week while I was away from my screens I can see that U.S. markets hit record levels (again) midweek but then struggled to keep the momentum up and drifted mainly lower by Friday on the back of disappointing GDP and home sales figures and over in the UK, the London FTSE 100 index also reached a new high on Friday that was just short of the 7000 level at 6969 but the story was similiar with not enough bullish momentum to stay at these heights. There is plenty of economic news out this coming week to aid volatility and traders and investors will be keen to see if these new record levels are broken as this may give rise to further advances into uncharted waters.

Over on the Crude Oil market, UK Brent has been steadily rising in value but has found a resistance level at $63 over the past few weeks although the next few days will see traders testing this to see if it will hold – if broken, the next level to aim for would be $67.50. U.S. WTI Crude is at a much lower value, currently sitting at $49.13 as I write this and has been trapped in a narrow band between $47 and $54 over the past month.

Market Close Friday 27th February 2015:   Dow Jones 30  -81.72 @ 18,132.70  S&P 500  -6.24 @ 2,104.50  NASDAQ  -21.60 @ 4,440.67  FTSE 100  -3.07 @ 6,946.66  UK AIM  +1.67 @ 714.50  DAX 30  +74.47 @ 11,401.66  CAC 40  +40.86 @ 4,951.48  IBEX  +38.80 @ 11,178.30   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +28.94 @ 18,826.88  Hang Seng (currently)  +37.47 @ 24,860.76

All time below are CET (UK time +1 hr)

14:15pm  ~  I had missed the intermittent Spanish broadband but this morning has reminded me – it has been patchy all morning but I did manage to get into a ‘short’ position earlier on my Brent Crude chart – a trendFX set-up – and so far it’s doing ok and I am still in the position.  Email is problematic but I keep trying it every hour.

15:25pm  ~  Out of the trade now as I am facing pressure from Head Office to go into town and grab a late lunch.  The position ended up at +82 pips with a 31 pip stop loss originally.

18:00pm  ~  Been back a short while but no more trading for today as we are out soon for the evening

07:55am  UK time  ~  I shall be here at home for most of the day ahead of our trip out to Majorca this evening. We’ve had a change of plan as we’re now going via Barcelona and having a few days there first, so today will probably be my last day of trading for the week.

There are two potentially market-moving events today to watch for if you’re in front of your charts – firstly there is the Greek agreement with their lenders which should have been delivered yesterday and there is also Fed Chairman Janet Yellen’s testimony in front of a Senate Committee at 15:00 UK time – traders will be listening keenly to her remarks so that they can have some sort of clue as to when the forthcoming rate hike will materialise although the smart money seems to be on a rise in June, just a few months away.  The Greek debt problem is rolling along and the consensus in the city seems to be that a deal will be struck eventually this time around but we will be facing the same problems and stand-offs in 4 months time and I’ve just heard on Bloomberg Radio that their proposals have been delivered to the EU paymasters in Brussels. Both main U.S. indices finished down slightly yesterday, mainly on weak home sales data although they are still hovering around all time highs and Janet Yellen’s thoughts as the markets open there will no doubt set the direction for the rest of the session together with the CB Consumer Confidence Index numbers out at the same time.

The main news in the Crude Oil sector is an emerging worry that the U.S. is reaching full storage capacity for its oil and this is already having a dampening effect on prices with WTI Crude down yesterday below the magic $50 level – it ended the session off by $1.34 at $49:39 and during the overnight Asian session has fallen further, currently sitting at $48:95.  Gold was also under pressure yesterday due mainly to a strong dollar, it see-sawed around the significant trading level at $1200 all day and now seems to be falling further, sitting at $1199:00 as I am writing this – the next support is at $1180 so watch for a move down there in the next week or so.

Market Close Friday 20th February 2015:   Dow Jones 30  -23.60 @ 18,116.84  S&P 500  -0.64 @ 2,109.66  NASDAQ  +6.44 @ 4,449.49  FTSE 100  -3.04 @ 6,912.16  UK AIM  +1.85 @ 713.05  DAX 30  +80.28 @ 11,130.92  CAC 40  +31.40 @ 4,862.30  IBEX  +110.80 @ 10,990.10   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +136.56 @ 18,603.48  Hang Seng (currently)  -102.58 @ 24,734.18

08:25am  ~  Just scrolling through my normal bunch of favourite charts and there’s a ‘short’ trendFX trade on Gold that has already triggered but the price is hovering around the entry price still so I’ll get in within in the next minute or so.

08:30am  ~  I am now in the above mentioned position with a 28 pip stop loss. It’s a strategy one set-up from the trendFX manual.

09:45am ~  My trade has just hit it’s first target at +28 pips but I’m going to stay in to see if it goes a bit further down towards the next interim support level – look at the 4hr chart and you’ll see it quite clearly.

10:30am ~  Possible ‘short’ UTB on my U.S. Crude chart and similiar on my UK Brent Crude as is quite normal.

10:35am  ~  Just spotted a ‘long’ trade on my Dax 30 chart so I am in the position with a 26 pip stop loss – another trendFX strategy one pattern.

10:55am  ~  The Gold price has shot up so I’ve closed the trade off at break even – and the potential UTB trade on my WTI Crude chart has not come off as the price has also risen.

12:05pm  ~  My Dax trade is still going and there could be a ‘short’ UTB trade on the U.S. WTI Crude chart (again)

12:20pm  ~  In the WTI position now with a 24 pip stop loss.

14:10pm  ~  Out of both my positions – the WTI Crude trade was stopped out at -24 pips and the Dax trade managed +26 pips.

15:25pm  ~  Busy charts today !  I am now in a ‘long’ position on the WTI chart with a 30 pip stop loss. It’s a trendFX strategy one set-up again, the same as my earlier ones.

16:55pm  ~  My WTI trade is active but not really doing much so I will have to close it off soon as we are off imminently.

17:50pm  ~  We’ve been delayed so I stayed in the position a bit longer to see if it would produce something worthwhile – I am now eventually out with a +27 profit, just short of my 30 pip target – so all in all I have finished the day +29 pips ahead.

That’s it now for my trading until maybe Friday, probably Monday – keep your eyes on this diary.

09:05am  ~   A late start and a nice easy day at home today ahead of a trip back to Majorca tomorrow. I will report back during the day if I have any trades.

London’s FTSE 100 index has opened slightly down this morning despite the stock markets all over the world surging ahead on Friday following the agreement on Friday for the EU and other lenders to extend Greece’s loans for 4 months. Obviously the problem has not gone away, it’s merely been shifted to the summer and the details that were thrashed out now have to be agreed with the various parliaments and while both sides are claiming victory we are nowhere near a proper resolution of the underlying problem – Greece’s unemployment is too high, they don’t produce enough to have a decent GDP figure and there’s still too many people working in the public sector which is a burden on the few Greeks that actually pay tax.  The Syriza party were elected on a promise that they just cannot keep but the Greek people liked the sound of their manifesto so there’s only more problems ahead as everyone slowly realises that they have a near impossible chance of completing on their promises to the people who voted for them.

The Dow Jones 30 and S&P 500 rose up to new highs at the end of the week and the S&P is now well above the previous support at 1975 and there now looks to be new support around 2085 but this week will confirm this.  WTI Crude has established a bullish trend now with support around $49 and recent resistance at $54 and this week we will see if there’s a move above or below these levels after news of the large stockpiles of U.S. Crude currently – it is sitting at $50:33 as I write this.

Market Close Friday 20th February 2015:   Dow Jones 30  +154.57 @ 18,140.44  S&P 500  +12.85 @ 2,110.30  NASDAQ  +31.19 @ 4,443.05  FTSE 100  +26.30 @ 6,915.20  UK AIM  +1.71 @ 711.20  DAX 30  +48.70 @ 11,050.64  CAC 40  -2.38 @ 4,830.90  IBEX  -31.10 @ 10,879.30   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +134.62 @ 18,466.92  Hang Seng (currently)  +7.50 @ 24,839.58

09:40am  ~  I was getting ready for a cycle ride but I’ve just spotted a possible ‘short’ trade setting up on my Brent Crude chart.

09:55am  ~  Postponing my ride for a short while just to see how this trade progresses, I am in a ‘short’ position now using strategy 1 from my trendFX system with a 19 pip stop loss.

10:30am  ~  Friend has now arrived for cycle ride so I have brought my stop loss upto break even and going to leave the trade to run for the hour I’ll be out (12 mile ride) — it’s currently sitting at +18 pips.

12:15pm  ~  Trade is still trundling along, it’s at +78 pips so far.

14:05pm  ~  Just come out of the trade as it’s time for a quick lunch at the Harbour Inn – it has come in at +139 pips

16:00pm  ~  Back home now after an extended lunch, I’ve got a few jobs to do around the house but I will be watching my S&P 500 chart a bit later during the ‘Trade With A Day Job’ session.

19:10pm  ~  Out now for the evening and no trades to report since 5pm.

07:45am (UK time)  ~  I am here watching charts and catching up on emails this morning and then clay pigeon shooting this afternoon.

European equities are generally bullish despite the fact that there is still no agreement between the EU and Greece over their repayment of debts. It seems as though there is still a stalemate with just a week left before the deadline although leaked comments seem to suggest that a deal will be done with markets also believing this outcome, the two sides are meeting again today in Brussels. There was good news across the Atlantic yesterday as U.S. employment figures released showed that more people were in employment but this still failed to keep their equity markets up as the Fed’s bearish outlook for the economy trumped the jobs numbers.

Crude oil had a surprising jump in price despite the fact that U.S. stocks of crude have risen against expectations, they now have over 425 million barrels in stock, a rise of nearly 8 million barrels on last week. These figures should dampen any price rise but WTI Crude ended up over $2 at $52.18 with UK Brent Crude up a similiar amount.

Gold was in a bullish mood for the first part of yesterday’s session on news that the Fed was keeping rates lower for longer than expected but some profit taking came in later and it finished the session down nearly $6 at $1206.5 although it seems as though the $1200 support level is holding at the moment – it’s slightly up after the overnight Asian session at $1207.7

Market Close Thursday 19th February 2015:   Dow Jones 30  -44.08 @ 17,985.77  S&P 500  -2.23 @ 2,097.45  NASDAQ  +20.95 @ 4,411.86  FTSE 100  -9.18 @ 6,888.90  UK AIM  +0.93 @ 709.49  DAX 30  +40.94 @ 11,001.94  CAC 40  +34.25 @ 4,833.28  IBEX  +105.10 @ 10,910.40   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +67.51 @ 18,332.30  Hang Seng (currently)  +47.20 @ 24,832.30

08:10am  ~  All quiet on my charts at the moment so I’m going to take this opportunity to have a quick cycle ride along the beach path.

10:25am ~  Back now and I can see a possible ‘short’ trendFX trade setting up on my WTI Crude chart.

10:40am  ~  I am now in a ‘short’ position with a “whopping” 18 pip stop loss.

11:55am  ~  I am now out of the trade, the price has stalled for the last 30 minutes around the $51.50 support level so I came out at +20 pips. Going up the road to the farm now to see if the wind/rain is too bad for shooting this afternoon so charts off for a while.

15:00pm  ~  Back home now, problems are preventing clay pigeon shooting today so I shall be here in the study this afternoon doing emails and some chart watching.

18:55pm  ~  Not done any chart watching so far this afternoon as friends arrived unexpectedly but I am going to switch on my S&P 500 chart now while I cook everyone supper and see if there’s any ‘Trade With A Day Job” opportunities.

19:50pm  ~  In a ‘long’ TWADJ position with a 15 pip stop loss.

20:35pm  ~  Just come out of the trade with a +51 pip profit – a nice end to a profitable week.

07:25am  ~  An early start for me today as I am taking two of my cars for MOT’s but I will then be back here in the study catching up on emails and doing some chart watching.

I am going to start my market update today with Brent Crude as it’s the first chart I’ve looked at when turning on my MT4 charts just now. It’s price suffered a near $3 fall yesterday on the back of a WTI Crude drop due to slight concerns about the strength of the U.S. economy but on the daily chart there is some support around the $58 level (currently $59:35) and it is also showing signs of being oversold at the moment as well, which does hint at a price rise soon.  U.S. Crude was down $2:87 to end the session at $51:17 with similiar support at $50.

Equities suffered a late fall due to slightly pessimistic concerns at the latest FOMC meeting, the Fed sees problems ahead due to a strong Dollar together with the ongoing problems in Greece and the Ukraine, so has hinted at a later than expected rate rise. The Greek finance minister is due to ask the EU and other creditors for a debt extension today on the back of news that the European Central Bank’s Governing Council is going to increase Emergency Liquidity Assistance to just over 68 billion euros for the next fortnight. As traders turned bearish, the value of Gold was given a boost as a safe haven investment after Fed comments last night and with ongoing troubles in Ukraine regarding the failed ceasefire the support level that seems to have developed at $1200 may well hold for a while.

Market Close Wednesday 18th February 2015:   Dow Jones 30  -17.73 @ 18,029.85  S&P 500  -0.66 @ 2,099.68  NASDAQ  +5.57 @ 4,390.91  FTSE 100  -0.05 @ 6,898.08  UK AIM  +1.85 @ 708.56  DAX 30  +65.38 @ 10,961.00  CAC 40  +45.04 @ 4,799.03  IBEX  +107.30 @ 10,805.30   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +65.62 @ 18,264.79  Hang Seng (currently)  +47.20 @ 24,832.08

10:15am  ~  I am back home so going to watch some charts and get on with emails.

10:35am  ~  Possible ‘short’ trendFX set-up on my U.S. Crude chart.

11:10am  ~  The WTI Crude has dropped far enough to trigger my ‘short’ trade so I am in the market with a 42 pip stop loss.

11:15am  ~  There’s nothing much else happening on my charts so I’m going to grab this opportunity to go on a cycle ride along the beach path towards Dunwich power station. Stop and target in place for my WTI trade.

12:45pm  ~  Back home now and my U.S. Crude position is still trundling along, currently at +21 pips.

14:25pm  ~   Crude oil values have dropped quite dramatically in the past hour or so and WTI Crude has just hit a short term support level at $49 so I am now out of my position with +101 pips.  A quick lunch at The Crown with a friend now.

15:55pm  ~  There’s a possible ‘long’ UTB pattern setting up on my WTI Crude chart ahead of the Crude Oil Inventories announcement and as there is a reasonable 42 pip stop loss I shall take the trade if it does trigger – this is not an opportunity I would suggest new traders take if they’re still worried about losing trades.

16:10pm  ~  Just noticed my order has been filled – and the price is rising rapidly even though there is a significant rise of crude stock.

16:45pm  ~  I have to go out now to pick up one of the cars so I have closed off the U.S. Crude UTB position, it’s come in at +170 pips.

21:55pm  ~  Just got back home after an evening out so no trading to report.

08:25am  ~  Today is definitely going to be spent at home catching up on emails as I was unexpectedly out all of yesterday, so I will report back here later with any trade details. Bit of a late start though as I did not get in until 3am…..

Equity markets were generally bullish yesterday despite the looming Greek problem, the main U.S. index (S&P 500) hit the 2100 level for the first time with the Dow Jones 30 also staying above 18,000. Their new Prime Minister as well as the head of finance seem eternally optimistic that a cancellation of their debts are on the cards and so far the markets have believed them although the next few days should give us concrete evidence as to what’s really going to happen. There has already been a growing flight of cash from the Greek national banks this week in readiness for some bad news even though the new government have said that an extension to the bailout agreement with its lenders is merely a formality now, despite the country fast running out of cash to live day to day.  In the U.S. Housing Data at lunchtime and the latest FOMC meeting minutes this evening will provide some added direction to equities but this morning all eyes will be on announcements from Europe as there is also the crumbling Ukrainian ceasefire to watch out for – exciting times in the markets.

U.S. Crude values had a bumpy ride yesterday but ended slightly up on the day after the Kuwaiti oil minister said that the global oil oversupply was not as bad as everyone suspected (values rallied) but U.S. oil production is at its highest for 30 years (values tumbled) so it ended 79 cents up at $53.55 but after the overnight Asian session it has dropped back to $52.88 currently with an overbought situation on my daily chart.

Market Close Tuesday 17th February 2015:   Dow Jones 30  +28.23 @ 18,047.58  S&P 500  +3.35 @ 2,100.34  NASDAQ  +1.31 @ 4,385.34  FTSE 100  +41.18 @ 6,898.13  UK AIM  +3.52 @ 706.71  DAX 30  -27.61 @ 10,895.62  CAC 40  +2.04 @ 4,753.99  IBEX  +8.50 @ 10,698.00   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +212.08 @ 18,199.17  Hang Seng (currently)  +47.20 @ 24,832.08

08:40am  ~  Not much happening on my charts at the moment except a possible ‘short’ UTB pattern setting up on my FTSE 100 chart.

09:45am  ~  It’s taken a while but the FTSE 100 price has eventually come down far enough to trigger a ‘short’ UTB trade – my stop loss is 14 pips.

09:55am  ~  Going out for a quick cycle ride so I’ve set up orders for the FTSE trade – profit at 1:1 (+14 pips)

10:50am  ~  Back now and my FTSE trade is still going but has not really moved too far, currently sitting at +8 pips. I’ve just moved the stop loss to break even and left the profit target open now as there are a few clues for a good down move soon.

14:20pm  ~  The FTSE price has stalled for the moment so I am out of my trade while the U.S. session opens, I’ve managed a +29 pip profit.  Time for a quick lunch at the Lord Nelson.

23;40pm  ~  There’s been no further trades to report as we’ve been out for birthday celebrations for most of the afternoon/evening

07:10am UK time  ~  After 4 days away I am up early and going to have a lazy day at home catching up on emails and Skype calls plus some chart watching as well.

Looking at my charts just now I can see that equity markets have been up near record levels and traders took the opportunity to get some profits off the table over the past few days. The U.S. S&P 500 index just failed to hit the 2100 level in the last minutes of Friday’s session and yesterday there was not enough momentum to get back there. Here in Europe there was a breakdown in talks regarding the Greek debt restructuring problem yesterday and both the German Dax 30 and the FTSE 100 failed to make any headway, coming off their highs to end down on the day and this has extended to the overnight Asian session as well with latest Chinese home values not helping as they’ve fallen again for the fifth month in a row – they now show that prices have fallen over 5% since last January. The shaking ceasefire in Ukraine seems to be on the cusp of breaking down this morning so that will put further pressure on European equities, traders will be watching developments closely during today to see if Russian forces start to eventually withdraw troops and heavy artillery from Eastern Ukraine.

Crude oil values are continuing their bullish trend with another fairly positive day for WTI Crude yesterday following profit taking early last week by traders on an oversold daily chart. The next resistance area for U.S. Crude is up around $54 which it should reach today given the strong momentum during the overnight Asian session.  Gold has resumed it’s bearish trend after a few days of gains and is definitely out of favour with traders at the moment as they prefer to put money into equities although all that may change with upcoming Greek and Ukrainian problems waiting in the wings.

Market Close Monday 16th February 2015:   Dow Jones 30  +46.97 @ 18,019.35  S&P 500  +8.51 @ 2,096.99  NASDAQ  +36.06 @ 4,384.03  FTSE 100  -16.47 @ 6,857.05  UK AIM  +3.01 @ 703.19  DAX 30  -40.17 @ 10,923.23  CAC 40  -7.41 @ 4,751.95  IBEX  -50.00 @ 10,689.50   Nikkei 225 (Today)  -17.68 @ 17,987.09  Hang Seng (currently)  +46.68 @ 24,773.21

10:05am  ~  So much for a nice lazy day at home, just been invited to clay pigeon shoot so I’m off very shortly. No trades to report so far.

08:10am (UK time)  ~  A late start for me today and no trading either – I have a few errands to run and then we’re off on a long weekend break until Tuesday.

The U.S. S&P500 index came within a whisker of its all time high last night after optimism for a resolution in both Greece and Ukraine seemed to get closer. There was a ceasefire announced between Pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian army which is due to begin on Monday and it would seem that a deal between Greece and their EU bankers is looking to be more on the cards than this time last week, although there are now new worries about Italy, Portugal and Spain causing anti-austerity problems depending on the outcome this month.

News that Russia and Ukraine had signed a ceasefire agreement helped Crude Oil values and U.S. WTI Crude rallied almost $2 by the end of yesterday to $51:33 per barrel and this morning is nudging the $52 level and is now heading towards the top of the narrow channel  at $54 its been in travelling in for the past month or so.

Market Close Thursday 12th February 2015:   Dow Jones 30  +110.24 @ 17,972.38  S&P 500  +19.95 @ 2,068.53  NASDAQ  +51.55 @ 4,347.97  FTSE 100  +9.94 @ 6,828.11  UK AIM  +1.12 @ 698.05  DAX 30  +167.42 @ 10,919.65  CAC 40  +46.82 @ 4,726.20  IBEX  +197.40 @ 10,562.20   Nikkei 225 (Today)  -66.36 @ 17,913.36  Hang Seng (currently)  +217.89 @ 24,640.04

07:45am  (UK time)  ~  A nice quiet day here at home for me today so I will report back later if I have any trades.

Equity markets were fairly bullish yesterday after generally optimistic sentiment concerning the crisis in Ukraine and the Greek problems – the U.S. Dow Jones 30 index rallied over 70 points by the close to edge closer to the 18,000 level as the Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis announced that a compromise deal would be on the table by Monday although reports out overnight have put Asian traders on the back foot concerning this situation and the Dow has retreated back to 17850 in overnight futures trading.

Crude oil was in the news once again as the U.S. stockpile situation grew to a larger extent than first estimated which inevitably bought the price tumbling down. There was a build of nearly 5 million barrels at Cushing according the to weekly report and this news sent WTI Crude down $1.62 to end the session at $49.43 although it has made up some ground overnight and is now sitting at $49.87 and a move above $51 this week will signal further bullish sentiment towards the $54 resistance level.

Gold is in the doldrums and well out of favour as a safe haven hedge, it lost another $16 yesterday to end at $1218 and it seems as though the next support is at $1200. The prospect of higher U.S. interest rates and falling Asian demand at this time of year is keeping traders focused on other assets at the moment.

Market Close Wednesday 11th February 2015:   Dow Jones 30  -6.62 @ 17,862.14  S&P 500  -0.06 @ 2,068.53  NASDAQ  +16.13 @ 4,297.28  FTSE 100  -10.95 @ 6,818.17  UK AIM  -3.02 @ 696.93  DAX 30  -1.72 @ 10,752.11  CAC 40  -16.27 @ 4,679.38  IBEX  -135.30 @ 10,364.80   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +327.04 @ 17,6979.72  Hang Seng (currently)  +87.84 @ 24,402.76

08:05am  ~  Not much happening on my collection of charts so I am going to take an opportunity to get out on my bike and go south along the beach path towards the power station.

12:10pm  ~  Been back a few hours but all has been quiet on my charts, however there is the start of  a UTB pattern on my S&P500 chart.

13:35pm  ~  No UTB but I have just got into a ‘short’ position with a 27 pip stop loss on the same chart with my ‘Magic-Line’ strategy.   Always risky taking a trade right on the market open in the U.S. but I do have my stop is in place on the MT4 platform in readiness.

13:55pm  ~  Out of the trade with a quick +29 pip profit.  Late lunchtime up the road …

18:40pm  ~ Going to switch on my MT4 platform to watch for any ‘Trade With A Day Job’ set-ups.

19:30pm  ~  I am now in a ‘long’ position on the S&P 500.  My stop loss is 18 pips.

20:25pm  ~  The upward momentum of the S&P index has calmed down quite considerably so I am now out of my position – the result is +26 pips

07:20am  ~  Early start for me today, we are off to look at property in Oulton Broad but first a couple of hours here in the study catching up on emails – not much trading  today I suspect.

The main subject of speculation in the markets today is the Greek debt problem that will be discussed at the Eurogroup of finance ministers this afternoon. The stand-off does not seem to be getting sorted so far with both Greece and Germany issuing statements that their respective demands are being met, so there should be some volatile trading opportunities on the EUR/USD today, keep your eyes peeled.  U.S. equities were generally bullish yesterday on hopes that there will be some sort of agreement by the end of this week with the main Dow Jones 30 index up 139 pips by last night to finish at 17,868 just short of the short term resistance at 17,930.  The wider S&P 500 is already sitting at it’s 2068 resistance point, so there maybe a pullback during today’s session – the 4hr chart is looking slightly overbought.

OPEC members Iraq and Iran have cut their wholesale crude prices to Asia and there are rumours that Saudi Arabia has followed suit in an attempt to keep market share and this news contributed to a fall in U.S. Crude value by nearly $1.50 to $50.97 per barrel. The U.S. stock situation numbers at their storage facility in Cushing Wyoming are released this afternoon and estimates are for a rise of over 3 million barrels will hurt values again.

Gold is currently suffering from bullish U.S. equities and is well established in a bearish trend, it fell another $5 yesterday to $1233.30 and is sitting around the $1230 support/resistance level that goes back as far as last September – watch for bullish trades off this level today.

Market Close Tuesday 10th February 2015:   Dow Jones 30  +139.55 @ 17,868.76  S&P 500  +21.85 @ 2,068.59  NASDAQ  +65.07 @ 4,281.16  FTSE 100  -8.03 @ 6,829.12  UK AIM  +2.55 @ 700.50  DAX 30  +90.32 @ 10,753.83  CAC 40  +44.57 @ 4,695.65  IBEX  +135.20 @ 10,500.10   Nikkei 225 (Today)  -59.25 @ 17,652.68  Hang Seng (currently)  +199.42 @ 24,328.68

08:55am  ~  I’m looking at my Brent Crude chart to answer a question from a new student and I can see a possible UTB trade setting up – although I’m not trading today I will take it if it triggers quickly.

09:15am  ~  I am in a ‘short’ position on my Brent chart, stop loss is 22 pips.

09:55am  ~  I’ve got two Skype calls now before we’re out for the rest of the day so I am now out of the Brent trade. It’s come down nicely after the UTB price reversal and I ahead by +109 pips.

18:00pm  ~  Just got home and I’ve a new neighbour just arrived who wants to see some trading so we’re going to watch my ‘Trade With A Day Job’ chart to see if we can find a quick trade.

18:25pm  ~  I am currently in a ‘long’ trade with a manageable 21 pip stop loss.

19:40pm  ~   We slipped upto the Lord Nelson for a quick pint and on getting back my trade had got to +68 pips so it’s now closed.  A reasonable total of +177 pips for the day.