07:45am  ~  More DIY round the cottage this morning plus some Skype calls, although all the electrical work in finished so we’ll have power and internet for the day.  It is cloudy but clear outside today so I’ll be off on a cycle ride in a minute followed by breakfast on a friend’s boat down in the harbour.

The Dow Jones 30 is now at a four-week low and finished last night’s session right on a moving average support line (15720), so we may well see a rebound when bargain hunters are out later on today.  US bond markets appear to be pricing in some probability of possible action next week regarding Fed tapering as the 10 year yield starts to edge back towards last week’s post payroll highs.  Yesterday’s US retail sales data didn’t really offer too much in the way of clues as to what to expect next week, but as we head towards the last full trading week of the year, traders look much less likely to drive markets to new all-time highs while the current uncertainty remains.

Gold continued it’s fall in value from the $1265 resistance level and the next stop downwards seems to be support at $1212. The result of better economic news on both sides of the Atlantic has kept investors out of precious metals and into higher yielding assets.

11:50am  ~  I got back here just before 10 o’clock and I’ve managed to watch a couple of charts very occasionally while repairing some wood panelling but so far there has not been any trade set-ups. I am going out now to Halesworth to do some shopping and have some lunch at the White Hart then we are off straight afterwards to Cromer for a shooting weekend at a friend’s farm.

My trading this week has ended up at +286 pips and so far for December my score is +718 pips

07:35am  ~  Speculation about a possible Fed taper sent US markets sharply lower again yesterday, they suffered their worst falls in four weeks and this is likely to translate into a lower open for European indices this morning.  As I have mentioned previously, the S&P500 daily chart did look like it was ready for a drop as it had hit a resistance level at 1815 a few times since the end of November.  While there is some data this morning in Europe including EU industrial production for October and the European Central Bank monthly report the main focus is likely to be on this afternoon’s US data.

It’s been nearly seven months since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke first raised the idea that the Fed might look at tapering its asset purchase programme if economic data were to improve sufficiently to warrant it. Is it possible that this time next week we could see the beginning of the end of this latest bond buying programme with a small reduction in the pace of it. Despite a weak dollar and tumbling equities, the Gold price has obeyed the $1265 resistance level that I mentioned yesterday – it lost around $10 in trading yesterday.

After a nice day out in the fresh air yesterday, I’m up very early for some reason and in the study this morning doing some admin together with a couple of Skype calls before 9am – plus some chart watching before a cycle ride prior to a lunch out at The Bell in Walberswick with friends.

09:10am  ~  I’ve finished my Skype calls so I am going to watch my charts for a few hours while I do some emailing and also some re-writing of the updated “Trade With A Day Job” system manual that I hope will be out next week.

09:55am  ~ I am now in a ‘short’ position on my Gold chart – my entry price was$1241.80.  Bike ride postponed until I’m out of the market.

13:15pm  ~  I am off for lunch now at The Bell and as my Gold trade is still trundling its way downwards, I have put a stop just above the most recent high ($1238.20) and will see what happens when I get back.

15:10pm  ~  Got back from lunch 10 minutes ago and quite happy with the progress my Gold trade has managed, so I’ve closed it off at $1225.70 giving me a +156 pip profit after the spread/commission. After a large lunch I do not fancy a cycle ride yet, so I’m going to get started on with repairs to some old electrical wiring in the cellar.

22:35pm  ~  Finished in the cellar and the electric is back on – and now time for a swift pint in the Lord Nelson.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES  (+156 pips)    

09:10am  ~  I was not able to report on my evening trading on here late night as I closed off my last trade of the session a few minutes before 8pm and then went straight out for a very late evening playing poker. I ended up having two trades using my “Trade With A Day Job” strategy during yesterday’s evening session, the first one (at 5:30pm) was stopped out at minus 9 pips and the second was closed off at +7 pips. This means my total for the day ended at +130 pips and I’ve managed +562 pips for December so far.

Yesterday the S&P500 seemed to have reached its high for the time being, the resistance level at 1815 is still intact – and with the threat of tapering becoming a reality quite soon, it does seem we’re going to have more downside for the rest of the week. The reaction of bond markets and the US dollar over the past few days would appear to suggest that markets seem quite comfortable with the prospect of Fed kicking off their tapering and it certainly appears that a window of opportunity could be opening up for the Federal Reserve to act next week without any kind of sharp market reaction, the only question remaining is will they get on with it before the Christmas break ?

If you were following my trades yesterday you’ll know that Gold carried on it’s march upwards after hitting the $1210 support level a few times last week, it ended the day $21 up at $1262 with resistance on the daily chart at $1265.

After spending most of yesterday in doors watching charts I am going to be more outdoors today with a cycle ride this morning plus some clay-pigeon shooting later this afternoon although I have a couple of Skype calls and some emails to attend to before lunch.

18:30pm  ~  I’ve been outside for most of the day but I did manage to sit down here in the kitchen with this laptop to watch my S&P500 chart at 5 o’clock – and I ended up having two trades with my “Trade With A Day Job” strategy. The first one just before 6pm was stopped out at minus 11 pips and the second one (which I’ve just come out of) gave me +11 pips so I have ended the evening flat.

Daily Target Reached ?  NO  (zero pips)    I just traded for 90 minutes this evening.

08:00am  ~  The S&P500 pushed higher again yesterday and finished with another record high although its momentum was curtailed slightly during the last half of the U.S. trading session due to FOMC member James Bullard indicating that tapering may well start as early as next week’s Fed meeting – this has put markets into a small holding position for the time being.  I can also see a resistance level around 1815 on the Emini futures chart so there may have a consolidation day on the cards. Bank Of England Governor Mark Carney was speaking in New York last night and he spoke at length regarding global economic stagnation and the outlook due to this in 2014, his speech in full is here.  Bargain hunters came out of the woodwork yesterday and pushed Gold up slightly, it would seem that the support level at $1210 is holding for the moment, helped by Chinese buying for their New Year celebrations.

I am back home now after a long-weekend away so I’ll be in the study later this morning doing some chart watching plus emailing & Skype calls. There is thick fog out there at the moment so I’ll wait for it to clear before I go off a morning cycle ride.

09:25am  ~  I’ve been watching my charts since 9 o’clock and I can see a possible ‘long’ set-up on my Gold chart. If it does trigger it will be quite a unique trade as there is a signal at this time for THREE of my strategies all at once – that’s going to give it a head-start and for new student traders some much needed confidence.

09:40am  ~ The Gold price has risen slightly so I am in the market with a ‘long’ position. The stop loss is 19 pips, so I will go for around 20 pips initially and then see how the momentum is fairing.

10:55am  ~  The Gold price has had a good run up but the buying enthusiasm is slowing slightly, and even though I think there still may be some more upside to the chart later, I am happy with my profit so I am out of the position now. I came away with +35 pips.  The weather has brightened up slightly so I am off for a cycle ride now north along the coastal path past the pier.

14:15pm  ~  Just sat down here in the study for a few hours after a tiring cycle ride and quick shower – I have 3 Skype calls in the next hour so I’ll also watch my charts while I’m sat at my desk. I will report later if there’s anything interesting happening on the markets.

14:40pm  ~  Now I’m in a ‘short’ position on my Brent Oil chart with one of the trendFX strategies – stop loss is quite high at 44 pips but there’s enough room for a move down that should give me a 1:1 profit ratio.

16:10pm  ~  The Brent Oil price has come down nicely but over the past 15 minutes or so it has refused to go much lower, so I am out with a 44 pip profit.

16:45pm  ~  And now I am in a ‘long’ trade on the same Brent Oil chart I was using earlier this afternoon – this time with my UTB strategy and the stop loss is 36 pips.

17:25pm  ~   Another fairly quick trade is over, the price shot up quite convincingly and as it rested slightly I came out with +53 pips, giving me 132 pips for the day.

Daily Target Reached ? YES  (+130 pips)      PLEASE SEE WEDNESDAY’S DIARY FOR DETAILS OF EVENING TRADING

08:35am  ~  I’ve been up here in London for a long-weekend break but will be returning back home later today, so there will not be much trading for me I would think – I’ll get going properly on the markets tomorrow.

European equities are set to start slightly higher this morning after better than expected Chinese export numbers have been released over the weekend – their November figures  jumped sharply, up by 12.7%, helped by a strong performance to the EU and US markets. This together with the U.S. employment numbers on Friday will give a positive slant to the beginning of the trading week, although there’s not much else to get the markets excited about this week, more focus will be given to next week’s FOMC meeting as we should get more hints regarding Fed tapering into the new year.

Last week the S&P500 had mainly negative week, although Friday’s surge resulted in a climb back to Monday’s level, and the daily chart looks as though bulls may have the upper hand at the moment. Buoyed by a positive U.S. economic outlook WTI Crude rose slightly (up 40cents) and Gold is just sticking on the $1210 support level so we may see some bullish moves there with the right candle pattern on the daily chart.

07:55am  ~  Up early this morning to help clear up down at the harbour which was flooded last night. No trading for me today as it Non Farm Payrolls day – so as usual the markets will be broadly flat this morning then all over the place after 13:30pm (UK time)

More details on my trades last night.  They were both on my favourite index, the S&P500 – the first was a short using the trendFX “Beginners” strategy which kicked off at 6:15pm and the second was also a short position, this time using my “Trade With A Day Job” evening system – I was in that one just before 8 o’clock.  I came out of both trades at the same time, a few minutes before 8pm at 17859.  Both trades were ok and the joint profit was +68 pips.

Traders will be sitting on the sidelines waiting for the U.S. employment numbers, and if there are better than expected figures we may well see a drop in the main indices as good news (at the moment) means bad news for the markets. The Fed will be watching these numbers closely as the U.S. economy seems to be getting back on track and today’s news may confirm for them that their money-printing exercise may need to be parred back (or tapered as it’s known as in the press).  Gold adhered to the $1250 resistance level that I’ve mentioned previously, it was a bearish day overall losing $18 bringing it back to Tuesday’s level and Brent Oil gave up all of Wednesday’s rise. Over in the U.S. the WTI Crude price was largely unchanged due the NFP announcement plus OPEC’s decision to leave its crude oil production unchanged.

09:15am  ~  A nice lie-in for me today after a very late night in the Lord Nelson which ended with a poker game going onto 3am.  It would seem as though there’s so some severe weather coming along the east coast today so a walk along the beach and sea path looks like an worthwhile trip out this morning.  I have quite a few Skype calls this morning so a bit of chart watching while I’m here in the study will be on the cards I suspect.

Traders of the S&P would have noticed yesterday that the U.S. index failed to hold onto the 1800 level after an initial surge as their trading session commenced. Both the S&P and the Dow Jones 30 ended the day in negative territory with the initial shoot upwards mainly due to positive ADP Employment figures, but due to the upside down nature of fundamental trading at the moment, once traders realised this was quite good news, the markets then staged a sell off as Fed tapering is now a possibility at a sooner date than envisaged.  It has to be noticed, on a brighter note, that the S&P500 chart has formed a support level at 1780 so keep an eye on this level for day trading today.

Oil inventories came in lower than expected and provided a slight lift for the WTI price, and is now pushing up against an important resistance level on the daily chart. Gold had a good day and posted a nice rise after bargain hunters stepped in although there still seems to be some resistance at $1250 ( a previous support level)

11:15am   ~  I’ve been indoors for half an hour now so I have been watching a few favourite charts – and I’m in one position already, a ‘short’ on the Gold chart and there’s also a set-up getting itself together on my Brent Oil chart as well. Not been able to do any Skyping yet, the website is not allowing me in at the moment.

12:50pm  ~  My Gold trade is still meandering down slowly and it’s been joined by the previously mention Brent Oil position, that triggered a few minutes ago.

14:40pm  ~  I am out of my Gold trade with a profit of +104 pips — it was a set-up using the trendFX “Beginners” strategy. The Brent Oil price seems to have stalled slightly so as it is looking quite good already I may come out of that in a minute as well.

14:55pm  ~  Out of the market totally now – the Brent Oil position ended up at +39 pips.  The weather is getting worse, along with my broadband connection so I’m off out for a cycle along the beach to see what’s happening.

18:05pm  ~  I’ve just got back in after a bracing hour out by the harbour getting boats tied down properly so I am going to watch my charts for a while before we’re out for dinner at the Swan with friends.   Actually while I am typing this I can see on another screen an S&P500 short  position setting up with the trendFX beginner’s strategy. Report back later….

20:10pm  ~ Two good trades tonight on the S&P500 but no time to give details as we’re out in about 1.5 minutes so I will fill you in later – score for this evening was +48 and +20 pips

Daily Target Reached ?  YES (+211 pips)   

07:15am  ~  Just off for an early cycle ride then off to the cottage at Southwold for a week or so. Once I’m up there I’ll be doing some chart watching plus emailing and 3 Skype calls. I will report back later regarding any trades I find.

A third successive day of losses on U.S. markets yesterday seems to confirm that with markets at 12 month highs careful investors appear to be locking in some profits ahead of this week’s key data announcements from the other side of the Atlantic, though we could well see a slight rebound into the European open this morning. The S&P500 has a support area around 1780 so we may see more of a sell-off down to this level – even though better than expected U.S. auto sales should have buoyed the market.  As usual, good news equates to market jitters across the Atlantic for reasons I have mentioned before.

Gold took a breather yesterday after Monday’s big fall, maybe bargain hunters were around ? If that was the case, they soon petered out as the yellow metal only managed a rise of around $3 on the day. We are now in a definite bearish trend and $1200 looks easily achievable, a level we have not seen since the end of June.

10:35am  ~  I’m up here in Suffolk and settled in so going to switch my charts now and watch my favourites* so see if there are any trading set-ups available.

11:25am  ~  I am in a ‘long’ position on my Gold chart using the main strategy from my “Any-Time” collection of set-ups  – stop-loss is 26 pips.

13:10pm  ~  I am off out for lunch with a friend now so I’ve closed the trade off at +78 pips. The U.S. ADP Employment numbers are out soon so probably a good idea.  I will send out a screenshot of my chart that I took a few seconds after I came out of the market to “Any-Time” students this afternoon to show my trade set-up.

18:35pm  ~  Had a lazy afternoon after an Amazon book delivery at lunchtime but I did get back to my MT4 charts at 6 o’clock to watch for evening system set-ups. I am now in a long trade on the S&P500 so I’ll report back as soon as I am out of it.

20:40pm  ~  I have just closed off my S&P position at 17954 giving me a profit of 104 pips. Time for a swift couple of pints at the Lord Nelson now….

Daily Target Reached ?  YES  (+182 pips)      I traded the late morning session plus a few hours this evening

08:10am  ~  A quieter day for me today, I’m here at home this morning doing some emailing/chart watching with a cycle ride at some stage before lunch.

Gold down, Oil prices up – no wonder the markets felt jittery and had a bit of a down day yesterday. U.S. equities were particularly badly hit after better than expected PMI figures suggested to traders that tapering may ended earlier than previously suggested – together with the fact that many investors are looking at their gains this year and perhaps doing some end-of-year profit taking.

Higher than projected Chinese growth numbers early on encouraged Oil traders out of the cupboards and with renewed optimism, they pushed both WTi and Brent Oil prices higher, although the Brent daily chart did hit a resistance level near the end of the European trading session so watch out for short trade opportunities today.  Gold dropped for most of the day, firstly on Chinese growth numbers then the U.S. news, it did not really stand a chance – and there was my observation that the price had hit a solid resistance level yesterday, unfortunately I wasn’t around yesterday to take advantage of the short trade opportunities !

10:35am  ~  Just back from a cycle ride along the river so I’m going to switch on my MT4 charts and watch for any trade set-ups while I do some emailing + 2 Skype calls in the next hour.

12:15pm  ~  I’m in a ‘long’ position on my EUR/USD chart, there’s only a 14 pip stop-loss and just a short time before U.S. traders start their Tuesday trading session so I think this maybe a brief trade.

13:50pm  ~  I have come out of my EUR/USD position as the market has become more volatile – and I’ve hit the 1:1 profit target after waiting a short time to see if it would go higher. A friend has also arrived for lunch so we’re off to Cafe Rouge for an hour or so.

18:05pm  ~  After lunch we stayed in town shopping so I’ve only just had a chance to turn this laptop on and watch my S&P500 chart to see if there any “Trade With A Day Job” set-ups available. I will report back later.

20:55pm  ~  I have just got out of a ‘long’ trade on the S&P500 as the U.S. market is just about to close, I used an “Extra” strategy from the evening system and managed +25 pips.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES  (+39 pips)      I traded for the late morning session plus a few hours this evening

10:10am  ~  I am back in the UK now but I am not sure I will be getting much trading done today as I have a number of meetings planned plus a trip into London this afternoon.  Tomorrow will be a quieter day so I will have more time to sit down in the study and watch some charts.

Both the German DAX and the S&P500 ended last week at more record highs and so far in 2013 this particular U.S. index has only experienced two negative months, which on the law of averages would seem to suggest that we should be due a negative one, contrary to the usually bullish end to the financial trading year.  If next week’s Non Farm Payrolls employment numbers look positive we may see a small sell-off as an good economic outlook for the U.S. will bring fears of tapering, and as we’ve seen over the past few months, the markets do not like that idea.

Gold hit a fairly solid resistance line again on the daily chart at $1255 last week so we may see some falls in coming few days, although China is reporting some increase in demand, so it looks like some good trading prospects in the next 5 days.