08:05am  ~  Today I shall be away from the markets as myself and three trader friends are driving down to Whitstable in Kent this morning for an Oyster lunch.

The market close figures below show a sea of red once again and this is due mainly to profit taking after the main U.S. indices had hit record highs last week although selling of healthcare stocks did dent the Dow Jones yesterday as well – many trader believe the markets are just too high at the moment if you take into account slowing economies and geo-political risk.  There had been previous resistance at the 17145 level on the Dow Jones and yesterday we saw it move straight down through this point so it may still be valid, today’s trading may give us a clue so watch out for reversal candles for a move down when it reaches this level. Over here in Europe there were mixed results from PMI numbers that were released during the morning session and this will put further pressure on the European Central Bank to increase their stimulus — it caused a small rally in the Euro although it settled back later in the day to finish broadly flat on the day.

The WTI Crude price rose yesterday on news of U.S. and various Middle Eastern allies starting a campaign of airstrikes which the market took to mean there will be possible disruptions to supplies – the price seems to have formed a fairly definite support at $90:40 and the next few sessions will show if this is going to hold – watch out for ‘long’ opportunities if the price does go back to this point at any time this week.  Gold’s fall to its $1180 support level was briefly halted yesterday as news of the airstrikes against IS caused a buying spree as investors looked for a safer place for their money, it ended up $8:50 at $1222:50 although it did reach a high of $1235 before a raft of profit taking clipped the rise.

Market Close Tuesday 23rd Sept. 2014:  Dow Jones 30  -116.81 @ 17,055.77  S&P 500  -11.52 @ 1,982.77  NASDAQ  -9.66 @4,051.57  FTSE 100  -97.55 @ 6,676.08  DAX 30  -154.51 @ 9,595.03  CAC 40  -83.20 @ 4,359.35

23:40pm  ~  I returned back at 8pm but did not look at any charts this evening – so no trades to report.

Daily Target  +20 pips

Pips Achieved    No Trading Today

07:20am  ~   An early start at home today for me as I clear up after a long building project – so I will report back later if I have any trades. As I’ve mentioned before, I do not sit watching my charts minute by minute, but just glance at them every 30 minutes or so while I’m here at home doing other things.

As you can see from the market close numbers below, most indices ended in negative territory and this has been attributed to the fact that the Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei has confirmed that the government is not going to alter their economic policy even though their economic growth is in a serious decline.  This news caused ripples in world markets and indices fell heavily for most of yesterday’s session. U.S. markets also had to deal with surprising news that existing home sales dropped unexpectedly showing last month’s house sales (excluding new builds) dropped by nearly 90,000 in comparison with July’s figures although generally the numbers are still way ahead of those at the beginning of the year.

A knock-on effect hit Crude Oil prices yesterday as China confirmed they are not going to prop up their economy and this resulted in WTI Crude dropping just over $1 to $90:66 and falling U.S. equities did not help either.  Brent Oil was also in a bearish mood and dropped below a previous support at $96:70 for a short while yesterday although the price has recovered slightly overnight. Gold formed a reversal candle on the daily chart yesterday but there is still no big support nearby so the price could still fall although if we do see the rumoured fall in equity markets that traders have been foreseeing for the last two weeks, investors will move over to Gold and bolster its value – a move today above $1220 will be a signal for buyers.

Market Close Monday 22nd Sept. 2014:  Dow Jones 30  -107.06 @ 17,172.68  S&P 500  -16.11 @ 1,994.29  NASDAQ  -38.86 @4,061.23  FTSE 100  -45.66 @ 6,773.63  DAX 30  -49.72 @ 9,749.54  CAC 40  -18.67 @ 4,442.55

07:50am  ~  Just glancing through my charts quickly 10 minutes ago and I spotted the German Dax had formed a nice UTB pattern and the price has now just moved low enough to trigger a ‘short’ trade. My stop loss is 8 pips.

08:15am  ~  The German PMI numbers are to be announced soon and the Dax has moved down quite well in the past 20 minutes so I am now out of my position with a +36 pip profit.

08:20am  ~  I can see possible UTB set-up on my Gold chart now, I shall wait until after 8:30 to see what happens.

08:45am  ~  The Gold price has moved slowly upwards and has triggered a ‘long’ UTB position, so I am in the market with 23 pip stop loss.

10:15am  ~  The Gold price momentum has slowed slightly so I have come out of the trade with a +69 pip profit.

11:25am  ~  Just back indoors to look at my charts and there’s not much happening so I am off out now to get two of my old Morgans MOT”d and then more landscaping in the garden for the afternoon.

19:35pm  ~  Just got indoors and had a shower so I’m going watch the S&P 500 while I cook some supper for me and the blonde.

20:40pm  ~  I did manage to have a quick ‘long’ trade using one of the “Trade With A Day Job” strategies – stop loss was 19 pips and profit +20 pips.

Daily Target  +20 pips

Pips Achieved  +125 pips

07:45pm  ~  Builders are finishing here to day so I shall spend most of the day helping them but I do have two Skype calls early this morning plus a cycle ride with some friends at 9am.

With no meaningful economic or political news out over the weekend, the markets this morning will be influenced largely by the Asian session overnight and already futures trading has hit the Dow Jones and S&P500.  Japan’s Nikkei index ended down 0.5 percent today after one of its largest constituents Softbank dropped over 4% due to profit-taking in Alibaba which had their stock market debut last week. As you may have seen, Alibaba shares hit a high of just under $100 after their IPO level of $68 and Softbank are a major shareholder, so have suffered more than others.

After lunchtime European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is due to testify on monetary policy before the EU Parliament in Brussels so there maybe some unexpected movement in the major European indices as well as the Euro and the FTSE will also react to the fact that Grocer Tesco overstated their profits at the last announcement by £250,000 so their shares may move down towards the £2 level after closing on Friday at 230 pence.  On Friday the Dow Jones hit a new high in early futures trading following the Scottish Referendum result but slowly succumbed to traders taking profits for the rest of the day as did the wider S&P 500 and there does not seem to be much news around today to encourage traders to get buying again.

Over on the Oil market, the impending U.S. interest rate hike is dampening prices, WTI Crude fell 16 cents on Friday to close at $91:81 per barrel even though Opec has stated they will restrict production in the coming months in an attempt to prop the price up which has steadily dropped since 13th June this year.  As equities have risen since the middle of August, inevitably Gold has taken a tumble as a result and Friday’s close at $1217.20 meant it’s now getting closer to the next support level at $1180 as falling demand in Asian and investors piling into equities offers no support at all to its value.

Market Close Friday 19th Sept. 2014:  Dow Jones 30  +13.75 @ 17,279.74  S&P 500  -0.96 @ 2,010.40  NASDAQ  -2.99 @4,103.08  FTSE 100  +18.63 @ 6,837.92  DAX 30  +1.13 @ 9,799.26  CAC 40  -3.48 @ 4,461.22

09:20am  ~ Off out on my cycle ride now – slightly later than intended as I’ve been watching my WTI Crude chart as there was a UTB pattern setting up.  I have just entered the position ‘long’ with an 18 pip stop loss.

11:05am  ~  Been up the beach track towards Lowestoft on our bikes but back now and my WTI trade is still running, currently a few pips in profit.

12:20pm  ~  The price momentum has slowed slightly and I am also happy with the +58 pip profit I’ve amassed so I am now out of my WTI position.

16:50pm  ~  Just got inside after being in the garden all afternoon working as a labourer in the JCB cab but I’m going to watch my S&P 500 chart for a couple of hours now.

17:10pm  ~  Dead on 5 o’clock one of the “Trade With A Day Job” patterns popped up on my chart so I am in the market with a ‘long’ position – the stop loss is 20 pips.

17:55pm  ~  That was  quick 20 pip profit – out of my position now.  There is a ‘short’ opportunity that looks as though it’s going to trigger now as well.

18:15pm  ~  I am now out of my second trade of the evening – another 20 pips.  The stop loss on that trade was 11 pips.

Daily Target  +20 pips

Pips Achieved  +98 pips

07:55am  ~  A raft of Skype calls with new traders will keep me indoors this morning but I’ll be out in the fresh air this afternoon with some clay pigeon shooting up the road.  Off for a cycle ride in a minute as well.

The main news for the markets today is the outcome of the Scottish Referendum which has been won decisively by the ‘No’ vote meaning that the United Kingdom will stay together until Alex Salmond thinks he has a good chance of winning another vote, although David Cameron has just said in his TV speech that the question is settled now for a ‘lifetime’ – we shall see. One thing is for sure though, the futures markets like the outcome.

Although I was not trading yesterday a lot of friends were long on the FTSE and UK pound from early in the morning on the presumption that the outcome would be positive for the union although there will probably be some profit taking in the next few hours. Watch banking shares today as Lloyds and RBS breathe a sigh of relief as they needn’t move their operations south of the border. Over in Asian, Japanese equities now stand at a 7-year high on news that President Shinzo Abe is going to sort out the pension fund market over there which is seen as good news for the markets as pension funds will invest a larger proportion of their money back into stocks in the next year as a result of these reforms.  In the U.S. the S&P 500 index closed at another all time high (at 2011.86) and is still advancing on news of the Scottish vote, those heady levels of 1999 and 2007 around the 1500′s seem a long lost memory now. The smaller Dow Jones 30 index also advanced well and finished at 17,266 last night and is currently sitting at 17,339 as I am writing this.

The Gold market had indecisive day yesterday after a sharp drop on Wednesday and it formed a reversal candle by the close last night so today’s movement will give us some clue as to its future direction. A move below the $1215 support will signal a further drop towards $1180.

Market Close Thursday 18th Sept. 2014:  Dow Jones 30  +109.14 @ 17,265.99  S&P 500  +9.79 @ 2,011.36  NASDAQ  +29.52 @4,103.08  FTSE 100  +38.39 @ 6,819.29  DAX 30  +136.63 @ 9,798.13  CAC 40  +33.29 @ 4,464.70

11:25am  ~  There’s been no trade opportunities this morning when I’ve glanced at my selection of charts a few times this morning – that’s about it now as I’m off for an early lunch at midday and then out for the afternoon

Daily Target  +20 pips

Pips Achieved  -  No Trades This Morning

11:55am  ~  Bit late for today’s ‘Market Update’, I have only just got back from the trip to Belgium.  Time now for a shower and some lunch and then into the study this afternoon for some emailing and chart watching while I also get on with finishing off my Trading Psychology book, the current project.

Market Close Wednesday 17th Sept. 2014:  Dow Jones 30  +24.88 @ 17,156.85  S&P 500  +2.59 @ 2,001.57  NASDAQ  +6.29 @4,073.57  FTSE 100  -11.34 @ 6,780.90  DAX 30  +28.57 @ 9,661.50  CAC 40  +22.26 @ 4,431.41

12:35pm  ~  A UTB Pattern has just appeared on my S&P 500 chart and if the price gets down below 20102 I will enter a ‘short’ position.

12:55pm  ~  The price moved down sufficiently so I am now in a ‘short’ on the S&P with an 18 pip stop loss. I will usually just watch my chart every 15 to 30 minutes if I have a trade on but with it being around the U.S. trading session open I shall watch it constantly for signs of adverse volatility.

14:35pm  ~  Price movement is getting quite volatile as you would expect at this time of the day so I have come out of my trade – I’ve ended up with +33 pips.  Just taken a chart screenshot of the trade to send to students in a minute.

15:00pm  ~  That’s me done with trading for a while, a friend needs some help down at the harbour with his boat so I’m going down there for the rest of the afternoon/evening

Daily Target  +20 pips

Pips Achieved  +33 pips

07:50am  ~  Fairly quite day for me today here at home, a few Skype calls this morning while I do some emailing and chart watching.  An extended cycle ride will be fitted in at some stage as I did not go out at all on Sunday/Monday. Later on this evening I am off to Bruges for a friend’s birthday trip.

Standing on the sidelines was the order of the day yesterday as most traders are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the Federal Reserve meeting which kicks off today and then there is the Scottish Independence Referendum results on Friday so there’s a marked reluctance for placing any large positions as nobody really knows how the outcomes are going to pan out.  There does seem to be a marked reluctance in most equity markets since the end of August to forge higher so maybe the summer bullish trend maybe coming to an end, all will become clearer by Friday evening.  There is UK inflation numbers out at 9:30 this morning but the vote on Thursday will affect the Bank Of England’s future direction more I would imagine and there is also U.S. Producer Price Index numbers released at lunchtime so there is something for traders to get their teeth into during today’s session.

The WTI Crude price ended up finally after a fairly volatile day and is still obeying the $91 support level – for the time being, it ended the day at $92.82. Over here in the UK, Brent Crude had a similarly volatile day bouncing around the $96.50 support line but overnight futures trading has seen a move upwards and is currently sitting at $97.86.  It would seem that Gold prices were given a boost yesterday by increased Indian demand so the fall in value that began in July has been temporarily halted and overnight Asian trading is keeping the price up around $1235

Market Close Monday 15th Sept. 2014:  Dow Jones 30  +43.63 @ 17,031.14  S&P 500  -1.41 @ 1,984.13  NASDAQ  -39.35 @4,029.89  FTSE 100  -2.75 @ 6,804.21  DAX 30  +8.50 @ 9,659.63  CAC 40  -13.07 @ 4,428.63

09:20am  ~  The markets are settling down now after the session open here in Europe and the only possible opportunity I can see at the moment is a potential ‘long’ trade on my WTI Crude chart using the ‘Magic-Line’ pattern.

09:35am  ~  The WTI price has risen sufficiently to allow me a ‘long’ entry in that market – I have a 16 pip stop loss.  If you do not have a copy of the ‘Magic-Line’ trading system manual please contact me and I will send you one free of charge.

11:15am  ~  Who insisted men cannot multi-task ?  While on a Skype call 15 minutes ago I also closed off my WTI trade, I have come away with a +26 pip profit.   Off for a cycle ride now, been sitting at my desk for too long this morning.

14:40pm  ~  Been back from lunch for ten minutes and I can see a possible ‘short’ trade on my Gold chart – it’s a trendFX pattern.

14:55pm  ~  I am in the Gold position with a 29 pip stop loss.

17:15pm  ~  Just got in from some gardening and seen that my Gold position has been stopped out at -29 pips. Will watch my S&P 500 chart for a short while to see what comes up in the way of “Trade With A Day Job” set-ups for a few hours before I am off.

18:05pm  ~  Now in a ‘long’ position on the S&P, stop loss is 19 pips.

18:45pm  ~  I have closed that position off at +33 pips as I am off now to Bruges in Belgium via Clacton Aerodrome for a friend’s (surprise) 50th.  Back on Thursday morning hopefully, so diary and market updates will resume then.

 Daily Target  +20 pips

Pips Achieved  +30 pips.

07:45am  ~ I am starting the week off with a tennis match at 9am but will be back around lunch time to do some emails, Skype calls and occasional chart watching.

The market’s main direction for the first few hours today are no doubt going to be influenced by Chinese industrial production and retail sales numbers that were released on Saturday morning after all markets were closed for the weekend. They show a marked slowdown for the world’s 2nd largest economy and this will obviously have a knock-on effect with other trading partners in the coming months, so companies that are directly involved in the Chinese market will feel the pinch.  Over in the U.S. their retail sales and consumer confidence rose last week so the ‘good news is bad news’ comes into play again without worries that the Fed are going to raise interest rates sooner than expected and with the Central Bank meeting later this week, there will no doubt be some sort of guidance from Chairman Janet Yellen regarding timing of this market-moving occurrence.

Slowdowns in European and Chinese economies plus the end of the U.S. driving season has put pressure on Crude Oil prices again, the U.S. WTI Crude is sharply down in early morning trading at the moment, currently sitting around a previous support level of $91 and Brent Crude is now sitting at $96.37 a level that’s not been seen for over 2 years, so there will be bargain hunters watching their charts this week, watch out for some small support levels appearing giving a good excuse to get in ‘long’ for a quick trade.  Gold prices stages another sharp drop on Friday (down $9.60 to $1230.20) continuing its bearish trend that began at the middle of last month – all in all it has lost around $120 in that time and is now well below the established $1240 support level. It would seem that the next support is around $1210 so watch for ‘short’ opportunities after small retraces.

Market Close Friday 12th Sept. 2014:  Dow Jones 30  -19.71 @ 17,049.00  S&P 500  +1.76 @ 1,997.45  NASDAQ  -2.32 @4,092.65  FTSE 100  -30.49 @ 6,799.62  DAX 30  -8.89 @ 9,691.28  CAC 40  -9.89 @ 4,440.90

08:05am  ~  Just glancing at a couple of charts while answering a trading-related email and although there’s nothing much happening on my usual favourites as is normal for the start of the week, there does seem to be something developing with the French CAC40 index.

08:45am  ~  The possible trade still looks on and if the price rises above 4425 I will get into a ‘long’ position. The set-up is from my ‘Magic-Line’ free trading system

09:00am  ~  I am now in that ‘long’ position with a whopping 7 pip stop loss !

09:05am  ~  I am off out in a minute so I’ve set-up my stop loss plus a take profit at 15 pips. Not a large target but these European indices do not have great daily movements in relation to certain other charts – see the chapter on this specific subject in my ‘Master-The-Reversal’ manual.

11:55am  ~  Just turned on my charts after getting back here and I can see a possible ‘long’ trade on my S&P 500 chart.  My earlier CAC40 trade came out at +15 pips.

12:15pm  ~  In a ‘long’ position on the S&P 500 using strategy 3 from the trendFX collection of set-ups. Stop loss is 31 pips.

14:30pm  ~   Just hit the 1:1 target before the U.S. markets opened – safely out of the position.  There can sometimes be quite a large movement on the Dow Jones and S&P after a weekend break.

18:50pm  ~  I did switch on my S&P 500 chart at 5 o’clock to see if there were any “Trade With A Day Job” set-ups developing but so far nothing so that’s it for the day as we’re out in ten minutes.

Daily Target  +20 pips

Pips Achieved  +46 pips.

08:15am  ~  Some time here in the study this morning doing emails and watching my charts every half an hour or so and then I am off to a clay pigeon shoot up the road at midday.

On the markets – the Japanese Nikkei had its fifth straight day of rises overnight and now stands at an eight month high mainly due to the rise in exporters shares on the back of a weakening Yen although general sentiment in Europe and the U.S. is more muted as most traders are now reluctant to add to positions as we go into the weekend ahead of some major news that kicks off tomorrow with Chinese industrial production and retail sales and is followed next week by Fed and Bank Of England minutes and the outcome of the Scottish referendum – which if successful will then prompt more European regions to seek independence giving the Eurozone and ECB President Mario Draghi more problems to sort out.  The S&P 500 is slowly advancing up from the moving average support line it has been sitting on this week with the Dow Jones largely following suit although do not expect any fireworks today as traders will not want to be caught holding positions as news announcements over the weekend concerning geo-political problems in Ukraine and the Middle East has the power to surprise the markets first thing on Monday morning.

With a general falling off of demand for oil-based products throughout the world,  Crude Oil prices have been in a bearish mood all week but bargain hunters did step in yesterday giving WTI Crude a slight boost as it hit a strong support level at $91 in intraday trading and bounced back up to finish $1.35 up at $93.06.  Gold tested the $1240 support level yesterday a few times and in the end finished dead on the line but in overnight Asian trading it has now dropped below the line and looks as though that support may become resistance but we may have to wait a few days before we see any commitment to further falls.

Market Close Thursday 11th Sept. 2014:  Dow Jones 30  -19.71 @ 17,049.00  S&P 500  +1.76 @ 1,997.45  NASDAQ  -2.32 @4,092.65  FTSE 100  -30.49 @ 6,799.62  DAX 30  -8.89 @ 9,691.28  CAC 40  -9.89 @ 4,440.90

11:05am  ~  I’ve glanced at my group of charts a few times now over the last couple of hours but there’s nothing really occurring so that’s it – laptop off now but I may have a look later this evening if I get back in time. So far this week I’ve managed a total of  342 pips.

22:55pm  ~  I got back here too late to watch any charts, so no more trades to report.

Daily Target  20 pips

Pips Achieved  0 pips

07:45am ~  Another day away from the markets as I am away late morning to a friend’s funeral. Before that I will be here in the study doing emails plus 3 Skype calls and a brief look at a few favourite charts.

Equity markets were generally positive yesterday at last night’s close with U.S. indices forming reversal candles on the daily charts with hopes of further gains today and Japan’s Nikkei index also finishing up on the back of a weakening Yen and the hope that today’s meeting between the Prime Minister and Central Bank Governor. Emerging bullish news regarding geo-political problems with President Obama confirming air strikes against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq plus Russian troops apparently withdrawing from Eastern Ukraine helped traders form an optimistic outlook for the coming few days in the market ahead of an FOMC meeting, the bank Of England MPC meeting minutes and the looming Scottish Independence vote.

Across at the Oil market there was an unexpected higher stockpile number yesterday which drove the WTI Crude price lower yesterday afternoon to a low of $91.20 which technical traders will be pleased to see was the exact reading for the low at the beginning of the year. UK Brent Crude followed suit reaching a low of $96.20 a level that’s not been reached since April 2013 so expect bargain-hunters to be out in force for the rest of the week trying to get the price back up around the resistance at $98.40.  With the aforementioned easing of geo-political problems the Gold price suffered from a lack of interest as an alternative investment plus a stronger Dollar and it ended the day down $6 at $1249 with possible further falls down to the support level at $1240.

Market Close Wednesday 10th Sept. 2014:  Dow Jones 30  +54.84 @ 17,068.71  S&P 500  +7.25 @ 1,995.69  NASDAQ  +33.09 @4,094.97  FTSE 100  +1.11 @ 6,830.11  DAX 30  -10.53 @ 9,700.17  CAC 40  -1.58 @ 4,450.79

08:00am  ~  Just glancing quickly at my charts for any opportunities as the European indices get going and I can see a possible UTB pattern on the French CAC40 index, not something I usually trade but as there’s nothing really happening on my normal charts I’ve picked on a few additional ones.

08:10am  ~  I am in a ‘short’ UTB position on my CAC40 chart with a 14 pip stop loss.

10:15am  ~  As we are off out soon I am now out of my CAC position – it has resulted in a +25 pip profit.

Daily Target  +20 pips

Pips Achieved  +25 pips

07:05am  ~  An early start today as myself and a few friends are taking some of our cars upto Norfolk for a trackday  - back late afternoon/early evening.

As you can see from the market close figures below, there is a sea of red numbers as all the major indices ended down yesterday and the overnight Asian session is broadly down as well. Traders are starting to believe that U.S. interest rates are going to rise earlier than was previously imagined, maybe as soon as the next few months and apart from helping the value of the Dollar, it is causing equity traders to question whether the indices are now at a high enough level and profit-taking is the order of the day.  There has been a raft of reversal candles on the S&P and Dow Jones daily charts over the past week or so giving weight to the idea of a move downwards until a few world problems are sorted – namely the situations in Ukraine, Syria, Libya and Iraq together with the Scottish referendum and looming recession in Europe where Germany seem to be propping up the rest of the EU region (as usual).

Continued perception of falling demand for oil meant WTI Crude ended down yesterday at $92.76 although we have crude inventories data out later today so commodity traders will have some definite numbers to trade on – over here in the UK we have Brent Crude also in a bearish trend and very close to the strong support level of $98.70, a level we last experienced in April last year. Watch out for bargain hunters around this level moving the market upwards.  Gold yesterday formed a reversal candle on its daily chart during yesterday’s trading session and finished slightly up at $1256 but with the stalled bullish trend in equities we may see a move up in the near future – support at $1240 and resistance around $1272 are important levels for trading for the rest of this month.

Market Close Tuesday 9th Sept. 2014:  Dow Jones 30  -97.55 @ 17,013.87  S&P 500  -13.10 @ 1,988.44  NASDAQ  -33.58 @4,061.88  FTSE 100  -5.77 @ 6,829.00  DAX 30  -47.33 @ 9,710.70  CAC 40  -22.56 @ 4,452.37

Daily Target  +20 pips

Pips Achieved – No Trading Today