The day has started very nicely with the S&P Futures shooting up from 881.1 to a heady 886.6 (55points) in a matter of an hour this morning – a reaction of the bargain hunters after yesterdays big falls on the U.S. and European markets due to adverse economic data. I have just caught an early morning trade on the German DAX (just before 8am) as it rose dramatically.

Yesterday’s trades where thin on the ground in the morning (only 3 opportunities !!), but once the U.S. session got underway at 2:30, things started to hot up and a total of 8 trades (with one loss) produced a profit of 49  points on the ‘Any-Time’ System together with a couple of trades on the ‘Evening System’ (Trade With a Day Job) which landed the usual 20 points. An important note when trading during the day (in the UK) is to avoid the lunchtime break as many of the traders will take off just after midday and leave the trainees in charge of trading for a few hours, so market movements can be erratic and directionless, so it’s better to have a break yourself and rejoin again once the U.S. have started. I find that going off for a long cycle ride clears my head and leaves me fresh for the afternoon trading session. I also have a morning cycle ride before I sit down at the screens – I feel a lot more focused after strenuous exercise.

I am often asked what hours I trade – well, I like to be in front of the screens by 6am – I check the overnight markets in Asia – to see if there has been any important news which may influence the London start, and I also check to see if there is any important economic figures being released during the day which will move the markets. While I am doing this – i keep an eye on the markets for suitable signals to trade. I take a lunchtime break around 12:30 to 1pm – and come back for the U.S. open around 2:45pm and trade the Any-Time System until around 6 ish. If I am trading the ‘Evening System’ I watch the S&P from 5pm until I get the usual one trade of the evening and hit my 20 pip profit target.

No big economic figures out today apart from the Eurozone GDP figures out at 10-am – so be careful when trading the Euro$ around that time, try to get out 10 minutes beforehand if you are in a trade – or better still, leave it well alone until 10:15.

A news item in the telegraph this morning made me smile – hot on the heels of the world’s best job – looking after that island near Australia – comes employment hopes for many of the mother-in-laws that take up space in these green and pleasant pastures. Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset, have advertised for a witch.  Only thing is – the successful candidate must be able to ‘cackle’  ~ Can any of you think of a suitable candidate ??