09:35am  ~  A late start for me today which is a throw-back from the days many years ago when I had to get up early at the start of the week to go to a ‘normal’ job. I can now please myself, so Mondays are just an extension of the weekend for me now.  I have a few odd jobs to do around the house today plus a cycle ride at some time together with 3 Skype calls with budding traders.  I will report back later if I manage to do any chart watching as well, although early Monday morning is usually a time for the markets to sort themselves out before they get going for the week. I’ll have a look a bit later on, before lunch perhaps.

The Dow Jones 30 is now hovering around a support/resistance level at 15700 after a generally bearish last week of January and the S&P500 seems to have also hit a December support also. Over the weekend the official China Manufacturing PMI numbers came in weaker as expected so we will probably see a bearish slant to trading in Europe and the U.S. today. This week has a host of US data with some high impact releases out every day so a roller-coaster ride may be coming up for traders on both sides of the Atlantic.  Brent Oil hit a significant resistance level last week and is now heading towards support at 105.50 so watch out for trading opportunities at that level.

10:35am  ~  I’ve just done a pile of emails and I’m now going off on a cycle ride for an hour or so. When I am back I shall have a look at my charts and see if the markets have settled down yet.

12:15pm  ~  I’m back from my exercise session and I can see a possible ‘short’ trade opportunity setting up on my Brent Oil chart – I will report back soon with the outcome.

13:05pm  ~  That Brent Oil position I mentioned earlier is on and I am at break-even at the moment, the stop loss is 16 pips. I am also in a Gold trade (long)

16:25pm  ~ Right – I’m now out of both trades as 1) they’ve both done ok and 2) some friends have just arrived to plan a skiing trip next week and then we’re all out for Chinese New Year.  My first trade on Brent oil has ended with a profit of +50 pips and the Gold trade which was a long position with entry just after 12:30pm came in at +154 pips.  They were both trades using my trendFX collection of strategies and I will send over details soon to students who have that system manual.

Daily Target Reached ?   YES  (+306 pips)  See Tuesday’s Trading Diary for evening results

My trading for the first month of 2014 has come in at +1692 pips over 14 trading days.  My beginner’s “Trade With A Day Job” strategy contributed +269 pips to that total.

Book a Skype call with me to find out how you can do the same.

08:10am  ~  More site meetings plus a few sessions here in the study doing emails and some chart watching is what’s in store for me today but an invite from a trader friend in Gran Canaria makes me think that I should escape the UK’s winter weather for a week – I shall be booking flights today. It was 20 degrees over there yesterday !

The markets yesterday had a generally bullish time due to concerns over the emerging market problems temporarily subsiding and the post-taper fallout was not the feared blood bath some had expected,  but there are still fears that it’s a powder keg waiting to go off. With the sell-off on pause and a lack of bullish news stories, traders look to be in a holding pattern at the moment until new information comes to market or  holding positions over the weekend becomes too much to bear and they lose their nerve later today.

The US GDP figures showed a rise of 3.2% in the fourth quarter which was largely in line with estimates and consumer spending climbed 3.3%, the most in 3 years and at the end of the day the Dow Jones  rose 73 points to 15820. The combination of faster US growth and the Fed staying on course with their  tapering programme took its toll on gold prices which yesterday posted a steep sell-off of $24.2 to $1243.6. Not even the growing fears over emerging markets could stop that slump as investors probably favoured the dollar instead.  Oil traders took good U.S. news to be a catalyst for increased demand for crude so driving WTI prices 61 cents higher to $98.04 a barrel. In addition, bad weather in Midwest continues to play its supportive role.

08:25am  ~  I have just switched on my MT4 charts and have noticed that a ‘short’ trade looks as though it may be triggered in a minute on my S&P500 chart, so I’ll report back in a minute with an update.

08:55am  ~  The trade has been triggered and I have managed to get into the market at a better than normal level as the S&P500 price has retraced upwards slightly. My stop loss is 49 pips which is higher than normal but this is due to me using a higher timeframe.

11:35am  ~  The S&P500 is still staging a sell-off so my trade is looking ok at the moment.

13:30pm  ~  I am now out of my S&P position for two reasons, firstly the U.S. trading session is about to start so there maybe some volatility in the index, but more importantly, I am off out for lunch at The Lion with friends.  The trade came in at +151 pips and was a strategy 3 set-up from my trendFX collection of systems.

16:20pm  ~  I am back home after lunch and a fraught meeting with the builders, so I’m going to emails and then watch my “Trade With A Day Job” chart at 5pm for a short while before we are off to London for the evening.

17:50pm  ~  I’ve just got into the S&P500 with a ‘long’ trade.

18:00pm  ~  Well that was quick – the trade has hit its 20 pip target and I am now out for the evening.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES (+171 pips)

09:55am  ~  This morning’s market update is slightly later than usual as I had a site meeting with builders at 7am at an old cottage I’ve just bought on the Essex coast, but I’m back in my study now doing emails and some chart watching as well.

The Dow Jones 30 had a down day yesterday and has now come to rest on a previous support level (15700)with the S&P500 following suit. Later in the U.S. session, as widely expected the Fed announced it will cuts its stimulus program by a further $10 billion a month but that was already priced in to a certain extent so not much movement after that bit of news.

The weekly US crude stockpiles numbers climbed 6.4 million barrels surpassing expectations for an estimation of just 2.2 million barrels. That triggered a drop in crude prices initially but proved to be short lived as traders then realised that cold weather is estimated to increase demand for energy products to a record for more than five years. In the end the WTI crude prices closed 25 cents up at $97.42.

11:05am  ~  There’s not much happening on my favourite charts over the last hour so I am off for a cycle ride along the river, and then lunch at Cafe Rouge afterwards.

16:20pm  ~  I’ve ended up being out all afternoon doing some shopping in town but I shall sit down soon and see if there are any “Trade With A Day Job” opportunities on the S&P500

18:25pm  ~  I am now in a ‘short’ trade on the S&P500 using a set-up from the “Trade With A Day Job”  Manual 2. The stop loss is 14 pips.

19:25pm  ~  After an hour of trading I am now out of my ‘short’ position as we are off out in 5 minutes, I have managed a profit of +30 pips.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES  (+30 pips)

09:05am  ~  I have a pile of emails to catch-up on today after being away, so I shall also watch a few charts as well while here in the study, although with the FOMC statement later this evening there might be limited movement in the main indices in the run up. The weather here does not look like it’s going to improve for a while so I may slip over to Spain in the next few days.

There’s positive news abounding as the markets open, Turkey has attempted to delay it’s own currency troubles by raising interest rates by 4.25% overnight and that seems to have steadied the recent fears of an emerging market fall – Asian markets and index futures have all reacted positively so far. On top of that, President Obama’s State Of The Union Address late last night showed he was in a bullish mood regarding the U.S. economy, pledging to do what is deemed necessary to keep people in work. Ahead of the FOMC policy meeting consumer confidence in the US beat estimates rising to 80.7 and at the same seemed to dismiss the disappointing durable goods orders figures. With this news, the Dow Jones 30 index recovered from a two day sell off gaining back 100 points to 15,939. It would seem that traders are still optimistic that an overall better than expected corporate earnings season could make a second round of tapering a safe bet.

10:00am  ~  There is a trendFX trade opportunity setting up on my Gold chart so I’m going to watch it for the next 5/10 minutes to see if the price goes high enough to trigger a ‘long’ position.

10:25am  ~  I am in the Gold trade mentioned above with an 18 pip stop loss, and there is now the possibility of a ‘short’ trade on the S&P500 – also using one of the trendFX strategies.

12:35pm  ~  Still in both trades – the S&P500 trade came off just after 10:30am.

14:40pm  ~  I am now out of the S&P500 trade with a profit of  139 pips.  The Gold trade looks as though it’s not long for this world either !

15:00pm  ~  As predicted, the Gold trade has been closed as well – I have ended with a +103 pip score on that one. I’m going to go out in the rain for a cycle ride now and hopefully be back for the “Trade With A Day Job” session this evening.

17:10pm  ~  I am now in another ‘short’ trade on the S&P500 –  this time with my “Trade With A Day Job” strategy, the stop loss on this one is 19 pips.

18:50pm  ~  We have the FOMC announcement at 7pm (UK time) so I am now out of the S&P500  -   my trade has managed +60 pips

Daily Target Reached ?  YES (+302 pips)

18:25pm  ~  No market update earlier today as I have only just returned home after a few days away. I will switch on my MT4 charts in a short while though to see what’s happening in the markets since I’ve been abroad, although for simplicity I’m just going to watch for “Trade With A Day Job” set-ups.

19:00pm  ~  It looks like a ‘long’ opportunity is setting-up on my S&P500 chart.

20:45pm  ~  I did get into the market earlier, and it’s resulted in a quick 25 pip profit – the S&P has moved up nicely for most of the evening.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES (+25 pips)

02:25am (CET)  ~  There is no update from me today as I am currently away on a short break – I shall be back home in the UK tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday).

07:15am  ~  I am bright and early this morning as I have some errands to do before I am off after lunch for four days skiing in Chamonix with a couple of trader friends. Firstly I am going to spend a couple of hours in the study clearing up some loose ends while watching my charts now and then.

The main indices had a sell-off yesterday seemingly in response to U.S. Jobless Claims together with lower new house sales. This coupled with news from China earlier sent the Dow Jones 30 down 161 points to end at 16208. It would appear that traders have watched the struggle to break previous highs from the beginning of the month and decided that was probably a resistance level so are now profit-taking while the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos try to come up with some form of consensus.

As often happens, the slump in the main markets caused a flurry of buyers to get into Gold and the price shot up $27 by the close to $1264.21, it’s highest level since the middle of last month.

08:10am  ~  I wasn’t really looking to get into any trades this morning, but a UTB set-up appeared a bit earlier on my S&P500 chart and I’ve just managed to get into the market ‘short’ at a decent level, actually a bit better than if I had entered as the trade was triggered.  The stop loss is just 12 pips.

12:25pm  ~  I have just come out of my S&P500 position as I’m off for lunch at the Lord Nelson, the index has come down quite well and I have finished with a profit of +125 pips. Another success for the UTB set-up.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES (+125 pips)

09:20am  ~  After a very late night at a card evening, I am having a slow start this morning.  I have still have some emails to catch up on plus 4 Skype calls this morning so I shall probably be here in the study until lunchtime.

The markets had a mixed day yesterday, the Dow Jones 30 had a generally down day and although the S&P500 had a flurry after the U.S. session opened, all those gains were knocked out by overnight news from China regarding a deterioration in their economy according to the HSBC Manufacturing PMI. It is the first time the index has been below 50 since last summer and the markets took the fall to 49.6 as a early warning signal that the Chinese economy may be contracting.

Gold has broken through a small support level and dropped $4 to $1237 so there may well be further falls to come for the rest of the week

09:40am  ~  The price on my Gold chart has reversed from yesterday’s falls and is rising quite quickly, and I have managed to get in to the market with a long position.

11:15am ~  My S&P500 chart has just had a UTB set-up appear, so I am now short on the index with a 29 pip stop loss.

13:50pm  ~  I am off for a quick cycle ride in a minute, I’m getting rather ‘twitchy’ after sitting here all morning, so my stops are set on the two positions I am in and we’ll see how they develop over the next hour or so.

15:00pm  ~  I’m back home and both trades are still doing ok, the S&P position is at +79 pips and the Gold trade is currently running at +192 pips.

17:55pm  ~  It now looks like the S&P500 is going to give me a short’ trade with my “Trade With A Day Job” evening strategy – and I am still in the other two trades as well. We are off out at 7:30pm tonight, so I’ve only got another hour or so in the market.

19:10pm  ~  I am now out of all three positions, the Gold trade that kicked off earlier this morning has achieved +230 and the S&P500 has been in a bearish trend for most of the day and that has resulted in both trades on that index coming in as winners as well. My first trade gave me +162 pips and the second +40 pips.

Daily Target Reached ?   YES  (+432 pips)

08:25am  ~  The main news for traders in the UK this morning is the unemployment rate which is inextricably linked by Mark Carney to the Bank Of England interest rate so traders in London will be standing in the wings for another 45 minutes to see what the numbers reveal. We also have a raft of other figures out at the same time – the complete list is here and includes the Monetary Policy Committee vote on interest rates.

Over in the U.S. there was a negative reaction to the disappointing results for Johnson & Johnson and Halliburton which led to a general decline in the US stocks yesterday. A continued growth in corporate earnings in the coming months is seen as crucial in maintaining investors’ optimism. The Dow Jones lost 73 points to close at 16,383, but the S&P500 faired slightly better and looks as though it is resuming an upward movement if you look at the daily chart.  Gold had a negative day yesterday but has hit the $1235 level again, so this may turn out to be a short term support level. Watch out for trading opportunities again if the price goes down there again today.

In 10 minutes I am off for a bracing rain-soaked cycle ride north along the beach path and when I get back I’ll be doing emails and some chart watching.

11:05am  ~  After an extremely wet experience I am now back indoors, showered and sitting here in the study doing emails and watch my small collection of charts. There’s nothing much happening at the moment but I will report back later

12:25pm  ~   There’s a possible ‘long’ trade setting up on my Brent Oil chart with one of the trendFX strategies, so I maybe in the market in a while.

13:00pm  ~  I am in that Brent Oil trade, the stop loss is 15 pips.

17:10pm  ~  My Brent Oil trade is still on and I’m now going to watch my S&P500 chart for any Trade With A Day Job set-ups.

19:40pm  ~  Out of one trade, in another……  I got into an S&P500 trade just before 7 o’clock and I’m out of the Brent Oil position (+83 pips)

20:10pm  ~  That’s me done for the evening, the S&P500 trade ended with the normal 20 pip profit.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES (+103 pips)