07:55am CET (06:55 UK Time)  ~  Some more DIY today on various buildings here but I shall be around watching charts as well so I’ll report back here with any trades I find.

The Greek tradgedy did not hold equity markets back on the first day of the new week, U.S. indices finished positively  after starting down on Greece’s election result by the anti-austerity party. The S&P500 ended over 50 pips up and the Dow Jones 30 gained a similiar percentage as traders reasoned that there’s no immediate danger posed from the Syriza party getting into power as they have now stated they are willing to ‘negotiate’ Greece’s debt position with the ECB.

Crude oil values were in the news again yesterday as the U.S. WTI Crude hit a six-year low at just over $45 after the Secretary-General of OPEC said that there was 1.5 million barrels of over production per day which is doing nothing to prop up the price even though Libya’s contribution to global stocks is about to be disrupted as some of their ports look to be closing due to localised fighting.

The Gold price suffered from some profit taking after January’s rally to the $1300 level, it would seem that even safe-haven investors believe the Greek situation is not as problematic as once thought. It is currently sititng at $1282.50 and the next support on the way down is at $1250.

Market Close Monday 26th January 2015:   Dow Jones 30  +6.10 @ 17,678.70  S&P 500  +5.27 @ 2,057.09  NASDAQ  -2.43 @ 4,275.72  FTSE 100  +19.57 @ 6,852.40  UK AIM  -1.82 @ 694.44  DAX 30  +148.75 @ 10,798.33  CAC 40  +34.44 @ 4,675.13  IBEX  +114.60 @ 10,696.10   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +299.78 @ 17,768.30  Hang Seng (currently)  -112.47 @ 24,797.43

All times below are CET (GMT +1hr)

09:25am  ~  Just popped indoors to look at the charts and nothing much happening at the moment.

11:40am  ~  Just looking at my Dax30 chart – there maybe a move down in a minute according to my trendFX chart.

11:50am  ~  Didn’t need to wait very long, I am now in a ‘short’ position on the Dax using strategy one from the trendFX manual.  My stop loss is at 15 pips.

13:10pm  ~  Quite happy with the move down on my Dax position and I’m also taking the builders out for some lunch as well in a minute so I am now out of that trade – it has managed a +65 pip profit. To give you an example on how different charts move in relation to each other, the same move on the CAC40 index this morning was around 30 pips with a 12 pip stop loss, so it is a much better idea to trade the Dax instead when both instruments show the same trade opportunity – the London FTSE100 also does not move as well as the Dax.

20:05pm  ~  No trading to report from this afternoon as I was outside helping the builders until an hour ago. I have however just entered a ‘Trade With A Day Job’ position on my S&P500 chart – it’s a ‘long’ trade and my stop loss is 23 pips.

20:55pm  ~  The S&P price is losing it’s upwards momentum and I am way past my normal 20 pip profit target so I am now out of the market at +48 pips giving me +113 pips for the day.

08:45am CET (07:45am UK time)  ~  Quiet day here at home for me today after a busy weekend away so I’ll update this diary with any trades I have during the day.

The big news that traders are waking upto this morning is that the anti-austerity Syriza party has triumphed in the Greek elections yesterday althought hey were short of an overall majority and will today be talking to minority parties to form a coalition government. The Germans will now have to face the reality that their grip of EU fiscal policy maybe coming to an end as other southern European countries may also rebel against ECB-imposed austerity and for traders this means that last week’s optimism over the region’s money-printing programme could be short-lived. Another looming problem on the horizon is the prospect of emergency funds from the ECB maybe stopped if the newly elected government pushes ahead with increased spending and tax cuts – an important few weeks ahead for Greece and also the other members of the PIGS group, Portugal, Italy and Spain.

Over on the Oil market there was s brief respite to the falling value of crude towards the end of last week as speculation that the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia would reverse the countries stance on oil production, but the incoming ruler has assured fellow OPEC members that all is staying the same, and this resulted in further drops in the U.S. WTI Crude on Friday – it fell just over one Dollar to $45.46 and UK Brent Crude is following closely behind.

Gold seems to be holding above the $1290 support level on the back of rumours that Russian is in the market bolstering its reserves as a hedge against the falling Ruble and the Greek ‘situation’ also helps demand and it finished $8 up on Friday night at $1293.30 although it has fallen slightly during the overnight Asian session to $1289. A move below $1284 today may signal further falls so watch for this possible trade opportunity.

Market Close Friday 23rd January 2015:   Dow Jones 30  -141.38 @ 17,672.60  S&P 500  -11.33 @ 2,051.82  NASDAQ  +7.78 @ 4,278.14  FTSE 100  +36.20 @ 6,832.83  UK AIM  -0.29 @ 696.26  DAX 30  +213.96 @ 10,649.58  CAC 40  +87.89 @ 4,640.69  IBEX  +70.90 @ 10,581.50   Nikkei 225 (Today)  -43.23 @ 17,468.52  Hang Seng (currently)  +21.13 @ 24,871.58

All time below are CET (GMT + 1hr)

09:00am  ~  Just got into a ‘short’ on my Gold chart using the trendFX strategy 3 set-up — it was a late entry after the trade had triggered but I managed a good level with a stop loss of 36 pips.

10:10am  ~  The Gold price has come down nicely to last week’s support at $1280 and the selling pressure has subsided slightly so I’ve come out of my position with a +93 pip profit.  Itching to get out on my bike, so I’m off for a quick cycle ride now towards Formentor.

11:45am  ~  Back here in the study and I’ve just got into a ‘short’ position on my S&P500 chart with the UTB pattern – stop loss is 28 pips.

12:10pm  ~  I am now also in a ‘long’ UTB on my Brent Crude chart – with a 32 pip stop loss.

14:20pm  ~  Out of my Brent trade before the U.S. open in a minute – and I’m off for some lunch in town as well. The position ended up at +95 pips and my earlier UTB was stopped out at -28 pips, so my running total for the day is +160 pips.

16:35pm  ~  Back home now but no chart watching as I have some DIY jobs to do in one of the barns.

18:40pm  ~  In doors now so I’ll watch my S&P500 chart as I would like to do a chart screenshot of a “Trade With A Day Job” trade position for the new students that joined at the weekend, just to get them started.

19:15pm  ~  I am now in a ‘long’ TWADJ trade on the S&P with a 20 pip stop loss.

19:55pm  ~  Nice quick trade and out with a profit of +42 pips.

09:20am CET (08:20 UK Time)  ~  Nice late start for me today after a tiring day out yesterday – I shall be around the house for most of the day so I will report back if I have any trades.

The big news yesterday, and the  main driver of markets was the European Central Bank President’s announcement that they were embarking on a programme of Quantitative Easing which is going to amount to over €1.2 trillion by the time it ends in September 2016 although Mario Draghi has intimated that the end of the programme can be open-ended, depending on how well it works for the Eurozone. On the back of this U.S. equities were given a boost as Transport and Bank shares rallied on the expectation of an increase in business due to the expansion of the European economy.

That’s the good news, but traders are also wary of what the fall-out is going to be after the weekend’s Greek elections where former communist and Left-Winger Alexis Tsipras is looking set to be their next President – and with that result will come a move away from the Eurozome-inspired economic austerity, so their maybe some selling going on today to neutralise the trading books and be ready to react on Monday.

Yesterday’s U.S. Crude inventory numbers were a day late due to the Martin Luther King bank holiday showed a large increase in stockpiles to just over 10 milion barrels against a consensus of 2.5 million so the small drop in WTI Crude values by just 70 cents by the close on Thursday although decreasing drilling in the U.S. is also weighing in and will in time reduce production.

Market Close Thursday 22nd January 2015:   Dow Jones 30  +259.70 @ 17,813.98  S&P 500  +31.03 @ 2,063.15  NASDAQ  +78.27 @ 4,270.36  FTSE 100  +68.59 @ 6,796.63  UK AIM  -3.42 @ 69.55  DAX 30  +136.39 @ 10,435.62  CAC 40  +67.98 @ 4,552.80  IBEX  175.30 @ 10,510.60   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +182.73 @ 17,511.75  Hang Seng (currently)  +280.24 @ 24,802.87

All time below are CET (GMT + 1hr)

09:25am  ~  There maybe a ‘short’ opportunity on the EUR/USD chart in a moment, if the price fall slightly.

09:40am  ~  I am now in a ‘short’ position on the EUR/USD chart using strategy one from my trendFX manual – the stop loss is 19 pips.

11:10am  ~  Happy with the move down that we’ve had on the EUR/USD chart so I am now out of my position, the score has come in at +107 pips. I do not often trade this chart as the daily movement is a lot less than Gold/Crude Oil and the S&P500 meaning the pips achieved per trade are a lot lower than I normally manage but due to th ECB announcement yesterday, the volumes are up considerably and there’s more scope today for bigger movements.

12:10pm  ~  There is now a possible ‘short’ UTB set-up on my French CAC40 chart.

12:25pm  ~  The CAC40 price has risen sufficiently to invalidate the trade set-up.  Off into town for some lunch now.

16:25pm  ~  Been back a short while and I have just got into a ‘short’ position on my Dax30 chart using a UTB set-up – stop loss is 42 pips.

18:40pm  ~  Just got back indoors and seen that my Dax trade was stopped out, so my total for the day has come in at +65 pips  - and we are going out for the evening quite soon so no more trading for the day.

08:45am CET (07:45 UK time)  ~  No trading for me today, I am off on a fishing trip soon.

Traders eyes and ears will be on the ECB announcement today as it is widely expected that they will announce a €50 Billion per month Bond buying programme. Germany is against the move but Mediterranean countries will be ones who can benefit best from the money printing exercise. The German argument is that these countries are now being helped out of recession even though they are reluctant to help themselves by reigning back their spending and increasing taxes. The European Central Bank should make their announcement during the press conference at 14:30 today (13:30 UK time) in Frankfurt so this may be a time to be out of any European-based trading positions.

Equities yesterday were dominated by the Crude Oil market and the rebound in WTI and Brent Oil prices was caused by the OPEC Secretary General El-Badri announcing that that crude prices should rebound soon rather than falling down towards $20 per barrel.  This small piece of news caused the U.S. Crude price to move upwards by 68 cents by the close to $47.33 and is slightly higher this morning at $47.50. UK Brent Crude had a similiar rise yesterday as well, rising around 50 cents to $48.72 but both charts are still in decline, moving towards their respective resistance levels.

Market Close Wednesday 21st January 2015:   Dow Jones 30  +39.05 @ 17,554.28  S&P 500  +9.57 @ 2,032.12  NASDAQ  +20.88 @ 4,192.09  FTSE 100  +107.94 @ 6,728.04  UK AIM  +1.32 @ 699.97  DAX 30  +42.10 @ 10,299.23  CAC 40  +38.80 @ 4,484.82  IBEX  +51.40 @ 10,335.30   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +48.54 @ 17,329.02  Hang Seng (currently)  +164.66 @ 24,517.24

07:55am CET (08:55 UK Time)  ~ Catching up on emails this morning plus some chart watching here in the study and then shopping in Palma this afternoon

There is still a fairly bullish mood in Europe despite the general global slowdown that’s been predicted by the IMF, although traders do need to see some concrete evidence tomorrow that Mario Draghi and the European Central Bank are actually going to go ahead with some quantitative easing this time after so many false rumours – although with world leaders gathering at Davos now, the timing may be ideal for some announcement. The German Dax 30 is at record highs after Friday’s session and has now settled under a 10,300 resistance level so watch for a move above this before the end of the week for a good ‘long’ opportunity.

The Dow Jones and S&P 500 had a mixed day yesterday with both indices failing to move over their respective resistance levels as traders worry about the slowing world economy, even though lower oil prices gives a boost to companies bottom line. Crude oil prices are once again moving down towards their recent lows after yesterday’s announcement from the Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Mahdl that his country is now producing over 4 million barrels per day and have plans to increase their imports as well. This news hs put pressure on Crude values, the benchmark U.S. WTI Crude fell over a Dollar to $46.65 as the end of Tuesday’s session and is currently sitting slightly up at $46.85.

With the general pessimism for the world economic outlook, Gold once again benefited from safe haven investment and rose $18 to $1294 yesterday, a new four month high and after the overnight Asian session it is now at the $1300 resistance level, so watch for ‘short’ opportunities today.

Market Close Tuesday 20th January 2015:   Dow Jones 30  +3.66 @ 17,515.23  S&P 500  +3.13 @ 2,022.55  NASDAQ  +29.07 @ 4,171.21  FTSE 100  +34.57 @ 6,6620.10  UK AIM  +1.10 @ 698.65  DAX 30  +14.78 @ 10,257.13  CAC 40  +51.09 @ 4,446.02  IBEX  +126.40 @ 10,283.90   Nikkei 225 (Today)  -85.82 @ 17,280.48  Hang Seng (currently)  +406.85 @ 24,358.01

All times below are CET (GMT + 1hr)

09:20am  ~  Not much occurring on my collection of charts so I am off for a quick cycle ride in a minute.  Just been invited on a fishing trip tomorrow so a day away from the charts.

10:50am  ~  Just got back and I can see a possible UTB setting up on my German Dax30 chart.

11:20am  ~  The Dax price has risen enough to trigger the trade but then retreated quickly so I got in a better level – my stop loss is 19 pips.

11:55am  ~  I’ve got a meeting with the builder in 5 minutes so I have just closed off my Dax trade – it’s managed +26 pips.

12:40pm  ~  Off to the marina for a few hours to sort out the boat for tomorrow’s fishing trip – I will be back here later to watch my charts.

08:25am CET (07:25 UK time)  ~  Our weekend guests departed for the UK last night so it’s back to normal here today, I shall be here in the study this morning catching up on emails and also doing some chart watching from time to time – plus a cycle ride at some stage, I’ve not been out on my bike since last Wednesday.

With U.S. markets closed yesterday for Martin Luther King Day all focus was on Europe and the impending stimulus package that is expected to be announced in a few days time. It is thought that the ECB is going to provide around €500 Billion and the Euro did stage a mini rally on the back of this news although it was down during the overnight Asian session. Equities today are expected to be fairly bullish after the International Monetary Fund downgraded their global expansion forecast for the rest of this year and also 2016, urging the world’s central bank to continue with their various loose monetary policies  -  Turkey maybe first off the blocks with an expected rate cut later today. Overnight, China announced a fairly optimistic annual GDP figure, not quite at the 7.5% that the government had wanted, but still good when all is taken into account.

The Crude Oil market did not react positively to the Chinese GDP numbers but instead was under pressure once again after the Saudis yet again underlined just how influential they are in the global oil market – they reiterated their stance again yesterday by saying that they can afford to let the price drop well below $30 per barrel and to prepare for any eventuality they are preparing for a severe cut in government spending.  The U.S. Crude Oil benchmark WTI Crude dropped $1.29 yesterday to $47.91 and after the Asian session is now trading around $47.65 with UK Brent Crude also down to $48.59 after trading as high as $50.58 over the past 3 days.

As I mentioned yesterday, the $1280 resistance level did provide some shorting opportunities and so far has failed to get over this hurdle, it finished $3.40 down yesterday at $1276.80 but may test the level again as equity markets may remain bullish for the rest of the week.

Market Close Monday 19th January 2015:   Dow Jones 30  Closed @ 17,511.57  S&P 500  Closed @ 2,019.42  NASDAQ  Closed @ 4,142.14  FTSE 100  +35.26 @ 6,585.53  UK AIM  +1.44 @ 697.55  DAX 30  +74.58 @ 10,242.35  CAC 40  +15.31 @ 4,394.93  IBEX  +118.60 @ 10,157.60   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +352.01 @ 17,366.30  Hang Seng (currently)  +213.399 @ 23,951.88

All times below are CET (GMT +1hr)

09:40am  ~ Not much happening on my charts so I am off for a cycle ride shortly with a neighbour.

11:10am  ~  I don’t often trade the UK FTSE 100 but I’ve just spotted a ‘long’ trade on it using an established trendFX set-up (strategy 1) so I am in the market with a whopping 9 pips stop loss.  The general movement of the FTSE 100 index on a daily basis is never usually as good as the S&P 500, Gold or Crude Oil but if the stop loss is fairly low there is the chance that you could achieve at least 20 pips out of a trade and as you probably know, 20 pips profit every few days amounts to a big potential earning at the end of the month.

13:35pm  ~  We are off out for lunch now and as my FTSE trade has far surpassed the 9 pip stop loss I’m happy to close it ahead of the U.S. open, I have managed +33 pips. I will send out a chart screenshot of the trade as soon as I am back this afternoon.

16:40pm  ~  Back home from a typically long Spanish lunch and not much occurring at the moment on my charts.

18:50pm  ~  If the S&P 500 drops down below 2011.20 it will trigger a ‘Trade With A Day Job‘ trade – more soon.

18:55pm ~ I am in ‘short’ on the S&P 500 with 20 pip stop loss.

19:15pm  ~  Quick trade and out with a +20 pip profit.

09:25am CET (08:25 UK time)  ~  No trading for me today we still have friends over from the UK.

European and U.S. equities look set to have a fairly positive start to this week as traders optimism is spreading across dealing floors on the expectation that the European Central Bank will announce their money-printing exercise (Sovereign Bond Buying) on Thursday and that will give much needed support to EU equities as the worries of Eurozone deflation has been hanging around now for the past few months. U.S. stocks seemed to have turned a corner briefly and last weeks losses are being negated by Friday’s move upwards.

A brief rally in energy stocks on Friday on the back of rising Crude Oil values may not last though, there is still weak demand due to global economy slowdown and OPEC members have resolutely refused to cut production so it is down to producers in the rest of the world to try and stabilise prices but the Saudis and their trading partners in OPEC have been allowed to become too powerful over the years so they really call the shots at the moment so the guess is there will be further falls once last weeks bullish traders take their profits. WTI Crude rose just over $2 by Friday’s close, to end at $48.97 and Brent Crude had similiar moves upwards although there is a small resistance level at $50.60 so watch that point today.

Gold has benefited from the proposed ECB move this coming Thursday and it rose over £12 on Friday and is now sitting at the $1280 resistance level and if it is going to reverse this will be the time so watch out for short opportunities on the higher chart timeframes.

Market Close Friday 16th January 2015:   Dow Jones 30  +190.86 @ 17,511.57  S&P 500  +26.75 @ 2,019.42  NASDAQ  +52.49 @ 4,142.14  FTSE 100  +51.49 @ 6,550.27  UK AIM  -1.35 @ 696.11  DAX 30  +135.16 @ 10,167.77  CAC 40  +56.42 @ 4,379.62  IBEX  +56.40 @ 10,038.90   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +150.13 @ 17,014.29  Hang Seng (currently)  -423.79 @ 23,679.73

09:55am CET (08:55 UK time)  ~  No trading for me today, we’re taking our house guests sightseeing for most of the day.

If you were trading yesterday you’ll know just how volatile the markets behaved at certain points in the day – it was also evident in the size of some of my stop losses. This was caused mainly by the Swiss National Bank’s surprise announcement that they were abandoning the peg of 1.20 Francs to the Euro that’s been in place since the European debt crisis around 3 years ago. This move also caused the Euro to fall 2% against the Swiss Franc and rumours are that this move was all due to next week’s proposed ECB’s money printing exercise which traders have been waiting to kick off for a few months now.

Looking at the Gold chart, you can see that fundamentals trumped technicals yesterday after a resistance level at $1240 was broken, even after a couple of reversal candles had formed on the daily chart. There was a distinct rush to safe haven assets yesterday after the SNB announcement and Gold rallied over $34 by the end of the session to $1263.30 although it is slightly down at the moment at $1258.00.  There was another interesting day for Crude Oil yesterday, a lot of traders felt that the bottom has been reached in the short term and bargain hunters continued the buying that started on Tuesday and drove the price past $51 before the U.S. session opened and falling equities, too much supply and strengthening Dollar put pressure on the price and it ended the day at $46.23 and looks like it will be revisiting the support just above $44.

Market Close Thursday 15th January 2015:   Dow Jones 30  -106.38 @ 17,320.71  S&P 500  -18.60 @ 1,992.67  NASDAQ  -56.19 @ 4,089.65  FTSE 100  +110.32 @ 6,498.78  UK AIM  +0.06 @ 697.46  DAX 30  +215.53 @ 10,032.61  CAC 40  +99.96 @ 4,323.20  IBEX  +136.50 @ 9,982.50   Nikkei 225 (Today)  -244.54 @ 16,864.16  Hang Seng (currently)  -190.38 @ 24,160.53

Do not forget that Monday is Martin Luther King Day so it’s a Bank Holiday in the U.S. and this will means that volumes maybe down slightly for the beginning of next week. As usual, I don’t worry about trading on U.S. holidays.

08:25am CET (07:25 UK time)  ~  We have visitors from England arriving this afternoon but before then I’ll be here in the study doing emails and Skype calls – plus some chart watching.

Markets yesterday had some challenging news to contend with as the copper price collapsed by more than 5% and disappointing U.S. retail numbers gave traders more reasons to be wary about the global economy. Today there is only PPI figures from the U.S. to keep the markets on their toes but weak numbers so far this month from Europe, China, UK and Japan does not bode well for the announcement at lunchtime.

As well as weak retail figures yesterday, the World bank cut its global growth forecast so equity markets were virtually all down on the day although trading in Asia overnight has reversed that sentiment.  WTI Crude Oil traders were in a buying mood yesterday as many feel that a short term support level has been reached just above $44 and the price was driven up for most of the day, reaching a high of $48.88 late in the session although some profit taking has taken place resulting in a move down to $47.68 currently – UK Brent Crude has been reacting in a similiar way with its support currently at $45.15.

Gold seems to have established a resistance point around $1240, traders were again unable to push the price above this level for a second day, so a new move downwards to $1220 could be on the cards over the next few days – currently at $1228.

Market Close Wednesday 14th January 2015:   Dow Jones 30  -186.59 @ 17,427.09  S&P 500  -11.76 @ 2,011.27  NASDAQ  -20.36 @ 4,145.84  FTSE 100  -153.74 @ 6,388.46  UK AIM  -4.84 @ 697.40  DAX 30  -123.94 @ 9,817.08  CAC 40  -67.04 @ 4,223.24  IBEX  -120.00 @ 9,846.00   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +312.74 @ 17,108.70  Hang Seng (currently)  +170.33 @ 24,282.93

All times below are CET ( GMT + 1hr)

08:55am  ~  The only excitement I can see so far on my collection of charts is a possible price reversal on my Gold chart, there’s the beginnings of a UTB pattern emerging.

10:00am  ~  It has taken a while but the Gold price has just risen enough to trigger a ‘long’ position. My stop loss is 24 pips.

11:10am  ~  The market is extremely volatile so I have come out of my UTB trade with a quick +93 pip profit.

11:30am  ~  Off to Palma airport now to fetch our weekend guests, so charts off for the time being.

13:55pm  ~  Back home now and I have just noticed a possible ‘long’ trade setting up on my Brent Crude chart using one of my trendFX strategies.

14:05pm  ~  I am now in the ‘long’ trade on Brent Oil with a slightly higher than normal 64 pip stop loss.

14:50pm  ~  The markets are very ‘jumpy’ today and moving large amounts so I’ve decided to take a good profit and leave charts alone now for a while – this latest trade has come out at +103 pips.

18:45pm  ~  Going to watch my S&P 500 chart for a short while before we all go out for the evening to see if there’s any ‘Trade With A Day Job‘ opportunities.

19:25pm  ~   I am now in a ‘short’ position although as has been typical today, the stop loss is slightly higher than usual for this particular system (31 pips)

19:50pm  ~  We’re off out in 10 minutes so I’ve closed my trade off at +38 pips.

08:35am CET (07:35 UK Time)  ~  A late start for me after getting in early this morning – I shall be at home this morning doing emails and Skype calls with some chart watching every hour or so and then clay pigeon shooting planned for this afternoon just outside Sa Pobla.

There was an initial rally when U.S. markets opened yesterday on encouraging profit figures but this bullishness quickly evaporated as a falling oil price and deflation worries once again took traders focus away from equities. UK inflation figures out yesterday morning showed a record low figure which increased hopes that interest rates will be kept on hold which buoyed the FTSE 100 but there are also underlying fears of a global deflation problem that is currently in full swing in certain areas of the Eurozone and Asia. Crude oil values continued their march south during most of yesterday on concerns of oversupply and also a consensus in Wall Street that there is support for WTI Crude around the $40 level and on the back of this sentiment it touched $44.20 during yesterday’s session before bargain hunters brought the price up slightly to finish Tuesday at $46.12. After the overnight Asian session it’s currently trading down again at $45.39 and Brent is, as usual, following suit and is currently falling towards yesterday’s low of $45.18 (currently $45.90)

Gold briefly touched the $1240 resistance level yesterday before retreating downwards although overall it is now in a bullish trend that kicked off during the last few weeks of December, expect some volatile trading in this commodity as investors yo-yo between good and bad news almost daily. The price is currently sitting at the top of the narrow $100 wide tunnel that it’s been trading in since October.

Market Close Tuesday 13th January 2015:   Dow Jones 30  -27.16 @ 17,613.68  S&P 500  -5.23 @ 2,023.03  NASDAQ  -3.71 @ 4,166.20  FTSE 100  +40.78 @ 6,542.20  UK AIM  -1.68 @ 702.24  DAX 30  +159.10 @ 9,941.00  CAC 40  +62.40 @ 4,290.28  IBEX  +168.50 @ 9,966.00   Nikkei 225 (Today)  -291.75 @ 16,795.96  Hang Seng (currently)  -126.27 @ 24,089.70

All time below are CET ( GMT + 1hr)

08:55am  ~  Just had a quick glance at my favourite set of charts and there’s nothing much happening at the moment, so I am going off for a cycle ride to clear the cobwebs.

12:45pm  ~  Looks like the start of a UTB pattern on my S&P 500 chart.

13:00pm  ~  I am now in a ‘short’ position on the S&P index with a 46 pip stop loss.

14:25pm  ~  I’m still in my S&P trade but the pre-markets is just about to open and there’s also U.S. Retail Sales numbers out in 5 minutes so I have my stop loss in place and going to watch the chart carefully in case the numbers are good.

15:10pm  ~  The U.S. equity markets are quite ‘busy’ at the moment but my trade has faired quite well and I am now out with a +201 pip profit, another success for the UTB pattern. Going to curtail my chart watching now as I’m off out now for the rest of the afternoon.