08:55am  ~  I was not around at all yesterday as there was a family emergency, but back to normal today hopefully – although as it’s the first Friday of the month it means it’s also Non Farm Payrolls day so I shall not be trading. As I’ve mentioned before, the markets I generally trade will be stuck in a small trading range this morning and then all will go crazy at lunchtime when the U.S. employment numbers are released.  Instead I shall be out cycling followed by a tennis match this afternoon.

The May Day holiday in the EU yesterday plus today’s aforementioned Non Farm Payrolls has put a dampener on trading at the moment but overall there seems to be much trader optimism around – the Dow Jones 30 and S&P500 indices are up around record highs again with no apparent bad news to diminish investors bullishness.  Once the S&P500 goes through the 1890 resistance level there is a lot of clear sky for traders to go for. The WTI crude prices continued to head south yesterday, losing 51 cents to end the session at $99.22 a barrel contrary the increasing political tensions in Eastern Europe. Along with the reported record US oil supply, recent Chinese manufacturing figures indicated a slower than expected growth which puts further downside pressure on the price.

Gold prices dropped again yesterday, losing close to $7 to $1284.8 as the Fed continued trimming the pace of bond buying, a $10 billion cut to $45 billion.  This and a continuing optimistic economic outlook should keep pressure on any upward movement although there does now seem to be support at $1275.

As it’s the end of another month, I have just had a glance at my trading accounts to see what I’ve achieved from the markets.

In total I have managed 897 pips and of that total 371 pips came from my evening “Trade With A Day Job” system and the other 526 pips were from my two other systems.

To see how you can also achieve these types of trading profits consistently month after month, email me to book a chat via Skype

07:50am  ~  I have a couple of hours here in the study this morning doing emails and 4 Skype calls then a group of us are going off on our motorbikes to a fish lunch at the harbour in Whitstable Kent, the oysters and scallops are well worth the 290 mile round trip. Let’s hope the fog lifts !

The markets yesterday had a generally bullish day, US shares rallied well led by technology stocks topping estimates in the latest string of corporate results, and at the same time the economic data showed an optimistic outlook with the house prices numbers confirming expectations and a slight dip in consumer confidence. The Dow Jones gained 62 pips to 16,529 at the end of trading and remains not far from the record close around 16,600. The broader S&P500 index also had a positive day although after hours trading in eBay and Twitter will dampen the European open this morning after lower that expected profits.

As the US and European Union extended sanctions against Russia yesterday, the WTI Crude price rallied reaching above $102.00 in intraday trading but estimates that crude inventories at Cushing are at an 83 year high took their toll on the value, pushing the WTI lower in afternoon session and ending 16 cents down at $100.73 a barrel. Gold rose with crude oil due to the escalating crisis in Ukraine, breaking above the $1300 mark. A late rally in equities reversed the bullish Gold trend which ended flat for the day at $1296 as investors switched to higher yielding assets.

08:25am  ~  I have already been out for a bracing walk along the beach upto the pier and I’m now going to have a few hours here in the study doing emails and Skype calls plus a bit of chart watching of course !

There was mixed economic figures in the U.S. yesterday resulting in a rollercoaster session across the Atlantic – the S&P500 had a near 300 pip range and the Dow Jones suffered an early sell-off but rose in later trading no doubt buoyed by the news of the Pfizer bid for Astra Zeneca, sparking merger optimism for the markets.  WTI crude prices moved up 32 cents to $100.88 amid speculation that inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma declined last week although UK Brent had a very bearish day, losing over 200 pips. Gold had a bearish day after a surprising rise for the previously owned US homes figures which posted a 3 year record gain,  prices were $7 lower at $1296.3 – good economic news keeps investors away from ‘safe-haven’ commodities as I’ve mentioned before.

10:30am  ~  Not much happening on my charts so I am off for a cycle ride.

13:05pm  ~  Been back for an hour or so and I’ve not seen much on my charts to get excited about although there does look like a UTB trade opportunity setting up on my Gold chart, it should trigger if the price rises from the current $1291.

13:55pm  ~  I am now in a ‘long’ position on my Gold chart, the stop loss is 45 pips.

16:00pm  ~  I’m just popping out quickly to help a friend with some carpentry so I’ve closed off the Gold position at +69 pips.

23:40pm  ~  Just got home from a nice evening out so no trading for me since my earlier trade.

08:55am  ~  A nice lazy start to the week for me, I am off for a cycle ride in a minute with some friends, and then shall settle down to some admin in the study in the run-up to lunchtime.  Later this afternoon we will be heading upto the cottage in Suffolk for the week.

The week ahead in the markets could be an exciting one with a quarter of the companies in the S&P500 index reporting results in the next 5 days, so traders are on the starting blocks waiting for any clues that may hint at the direction the equity markets are going to head towards.  The Dow Jones and S&P500 finished broadly where they began last week and the same can be said of the gold price, although significantly it did hit a support level around $1270 so we may see a climb over the next few weeks.  There are also FOMC meeting minutes together with the U.S. employment figures out towards the end of the week so there’s plenty for traders to get busy with.

11:15am  ~  I am back home after my cycle ride so I shall be watching a few charts while attending to some emails before going off for lunch around 1 o’clock-ish.

11:40am  ~  There is a possible ‘long’ trade on the S&P500 setting up so I’ll watch the chart closely over the next 15 minutes or so.

12:15pm  ~  I am the above trade, it’s a trendFX set-up with a 16 pip stop loss.

13:05pm  ~  The S&P has lost its upward momentum at a previous resistance level and I’m off out for a pub lunch now so I ‘ve closed my trade off with a quick 18pip profit.

16:30pm  ~  I have a couple of Skype calls booked for the next hour or so, which means we will not be going upto to Suffolk for a while so I shall also watch my S&P500 chart for any “Trade With A Day Job” set-ups.

17:40pm  ~  There’s been a ‘short’ trade set-up come up, so I’m in the market with a 21 pip stop loss.

18:10pm  ~  I am now also in a ‘short’ position on the S&P with a trendFX strategy set-up.

18:40pm  ~  We really have to get going now, so I have closed off both of my trades. The S&P500 has come down fairly sharpish in the past hour or so, which has resulted in my 1st trade coming in at +107 pips and the trendFX position has given me +83 pips.

08:20am  ~  After a successful trading day yesterday, I shall be watching my charts yet again today as I continue to go through my inbox that’s built up since I’ve been away, I will relay any trading news & info here as soon as it occurs.

Looking at yesterday’s markets you can see that although the main U.S. indices opened higher, they very quickly retreated on fears of growing tensions in the Ukraine but the continuing (fairly positive) corporate results helped prop up the Dow Jones 30 and it finished flat at 16501. Gold jumped quickly to reverse losses on news of difficulties between Russia & Ukraine.  With equity markets heading south, investors reached out for the safe havens that have been ignored recently. Upbeat data had previously given the dollar a boost and thus Gold a decline but this all reversed yesterday afternoon meaning the precious metal closed up $10 at $1292 by the end of the session.

10:55am  ~  A friend has just rung to see if I’m up for a cycle ride and as there’s not much happening on my charts I am certainly up for a bit of exercise for the next few hours.

15:35pm  ~  Back home now after lunch out and I’ve a few jobs around the house before I sit down at 5 o’clock to see if there’s any opportunities with my “Trade With A Day Job” evening system.

17:00pm  ~  Just going to sit down in front of my S&P500 chart……..

17:25pm  ~  I’m in a ‘short’ position at the moment, entry a few minutes ago with a 24 pip stop-loss.

19:25pm  ~  We are going out for the evening quite soon so I have had to close off my trade a few minutes ago – the S&P500 has come down quite nicely and I have come away with a +65 pip profit.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES  (+65 pips)

09:55am  ~  Back from my holidays late yesterday afternoon and today I shall start getting back into some sort of ‘work-mode’ although I’m not sure how successful that’s going to be !  I was supposed to be back on Monday but we had the chance of a stopover on the way back, so it was foolish not to take it.  I did check some charts yesterday evening and spotted a quick “Trade With A Day Job” evening system set-up just before 6:30pm so I had a swift ‘short’ trade for 21 pips profit. I shall keep half an eye on a few charts this morning while I get stuck into my inbox before lunch and I will report any excitement here as it happens.

A cursory glance at the S&P500 a few moments ago shows that it’s basically recouped it’s losses since I’ve been away and now stands at the early-March high of around 1885. There was a bullish move up at the end of yesterday’s U.S. trading session as a reaction to some earnings results (notably amongst them was Apple and Facebook) but there also seems some resistance as we are now close to the 1893 level of earlier in the month. Today’s earnings releases include General Motors, Microsoft, Starbucks, Caterpillar, Visa and Verizon so we may have some nice moves that short-term traders can use to their advantage.  The fact that investors have the 1893 level in their sights perhaps may help the  Gold price although looking at my chart 5 minutes ago shows that it could go either way today, there is a slightly bearish tilt now.

As expected, oil stockpiles in the US rose to their highest levels since records began and the recent bearish move south in the price of US crude oil had already taken this into account so there was no big reaction to the updated stock level numbers at Cushing – the WTI Crude price closed down just 31 cents at $101.44.

11:05am  ~  As mentioned earlier, it does seem as though the Gold price may come down and I can see the potential of a trendFX strategy 3 set-up developing at the moment on my 30min chart – I will keep you informed.

11:20am  ~  I am now in a ‘short’ position on my Gold chart – the stop-loss is 42 pips.

13:25pm  ~  We are off for a pub lunch in a few minutes, so I’ve come out of my Gold trade with a 107 pip profit.

16:40pm  ~   I am back home now after some shopping this afternoon so I shall switch my S&P500 chart in a moment to watch for any possible  “Trade With A Day Job”  set-ups.

17:10pm  ~  I have a certain strategy within the evening system manual that occurs occasionally at 5pm and this evening we’ve seen that set-up, so I am now in a ‘short’ on the S&P500. The stop-loss is an acceptable 21 pips.

19:20pm  ~  I am now out of my S&P500 position, I achieved +45 pips.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES  (+152 pips)

07:05am  ~  No trading for me today, I have a few errands to do this morning plus meetings with builders this afternoon ahead of a 10-day holiday away in the Indian Ocean (with no internet or phone signal !)

European markets are set-up to open lower today after a sell-off in U.S. equities yesterday – there seems to be no news-driven reason for this bearish movement, it would seem that traders have decided that there’s no real reason for higher valuations of the top 500 companies in the U.S. –  and the Dow Jones index has gone as far as 16455 before heading south, a level it’s rested at a few times in the last month.

WTI Crude oil prices traded flat yesterday even though the US Energy Information Administration announced in its annual Oil Reserves report that US proved reserves are at the highest levels in 36 years. Ongoing troubles in Ukraine gave Gold continued momentum which extended to $1318.2, a $6.4 gain for the day. The minutes of Fed’s March meeting revealed doubts over the previous projections on interest rate rise which also supported the precious metal.

08:05am  ~  A fairly relaxed day for me ahead, a game of tennis this afternoon, a cycle ride at some stage and some chart watching inbetween times. I shall also be catching up on all my emails before a holiday away next week.

Technology shares led the rally in the US equity market in early trading yesterday with Alcoa also seeing a sharp increase for its price (3.8%). Later in the session when the Fed released its last meetings’ minutes, it eased some of the previous worries regarding an imminent interest rate hike giving the Dow Jones another boost last night, leaving the index 193 points up at 16,441. The S&P500 had a similiar bullish tilt and helped me take a 100 pips out of the market early yesterday evening.

Gold prices edged higher yesterday gaining nearly $4 to $1312 after dropping earlier in the day but finding support just over $1300. The late rise was undoubtedly provided by the Fed policy makers who admitted they are not as hawkish as previously thought.

11:55am  ~  I did watch some charts for an hour or so earlier but not much happening so that’s it now until later, I am off our for lunch in a minute then tennis this afternoon.

17:00pm  ~  Back home now and I have a couple of hours spare now before I go out for the evening so I shall watch my S&P500 chart to see if there’s anything to get excited about trade wise.

17:05pm  ~  Well that was quick !  I am in a ‘short’ position on the S&P chart – using one of the trendFX strategies. There’s nothing showing on my “evening” system yet, but it’s still early.

18:55pm  ~  We’re off out now so I’ve closed my ‘short’ on the S&P500 chart – that’s 105 pips for the day’s trading.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES (+105 pips)

08:15am  ~  An early start for me today – I have already been up the road to check on a building project and will be off on a cycle ride soon followed by meetings with architects/planners/builders before lunch. I shall be here at home this afternoon though, so may get time to do some chart watching.

The slide in U.S. equities had a brief respite yesterday, both the Dow Jones 30 & S&P500 formed spinning top candlestick patterns on their daily charts, and coincidently both reversals were around previous support levels, so we may see that level obeyed in the coming week or so.  Yesterday’s session saw  the start of the earnings season and there was a rather volatile session for the US stocks yesterday. After an initial sell-off, technology stocks lifted the equity markets, giving us a rebound in the afternoon but still the Dow Jones closed 17 points down at 16,246.  Aluminium producer Alcoa were first off the blocks and their results came in higher than estimates in the first quarter.

An escalation in the Russian/Ukrainian conflict renewed fears over energy supply in the Black Sea region and resulted in the WTI crude price climbing up  $1.65 to $102.35. The steep climb was also supported by news that Libyan rebels are sticking to their oil sharing conditions for allowing ports opening.  The tensions in eastern Ukraine also pushed gold prices $11.7 higher to $1308.5 on safe haven demand. At the same time, a weaker U.S. made dollar denominated gold look cheaper attracting some buying interest in the early morning session, followed by some profit taking around the U.S. trading session open.

11:25am  ~  I am back home now and in the study and I can see a nice ‘short’ opportunity on my Gold chart – the current level on the chart gives me a better entry price, so reducing my stop-loss right down to just 23 pips ! Here goes, it’s another trendFX strategy 3 set-up, the same as one of my trades yesterday.

13:25pm  ~  The Gold chart/price is starting to become volatile as we run-up to the start of trading in the U.S. – and I am also getting ready to go out for some lunch, so I have just come out of my ‘short’ Gold trade, It’s come in at +59 pips. There’s been a few other trade opportunities this morning that I’ve not taken as I have also been in meetings here with builders/architects – just had a look at them and they’ve all turned out profitable as well.

17:50pm  ~  Back home – so going to watch my S&P500 chart for a short while to see if there’s any “Trade With A Day Job” opportunities.

19:40pm  ~  Quick update as I’m off out for the evening in a few minutes – I had one trade with my “evening” system tonight – it kicked off just after 6:30pm and resulted in a +101 pip profit a few minutes ago after the S&P500 shot up nicely. The trade I took was actually two seperate trade set-ups which gives you more reasons to get into the market – ideal for new traders.  Nice end to a good trading day.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES (+160 pips)