08:10am CET (7:10am UK Time)  ~  Will be here in the study for a few hours this morning doing emails etc. and then I’m off for three days to see a trader friend (Brendan) at his place in Ibiza – not quite sure whether we’ll be trading or not though.

With the markets in the U.S. taking a breather yesterday due to Veteran’s Day, there was not much direction for Europe but all should change today as we have a raft of economic numbers and Central Bank thoughts from the UK, Europe and U.S. kicking off at 9am with Federal Reserve member Charles Plosser who is speaking at the UBS European Conference in London.  Traders will be listening carefully for any hints about future monetary policy and this may have a small affect on the markets.  Asian markets overnight were generally bullish with the Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225 rising on unconfirmed speculation that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may delay a second sales tax rise to avoid damaging Japan’s fragile  economic recovery, and also call a snap election to confirm he his the chosen leader for the people.

Gold has made a move off the recent lows of $1130 but technical indicators suggest that a move back down is on the cards in the near future and with U.S. Dollar strength and low inflation in Europe and across the Atlantic there are no real reasons for any bullish optimism.  Crude Oil is also on a bearish slant although yesterday’s Veteran’s Day curbed trading in the U.S. but the WTI chart still hints at a move back towards the $76 support level.  In the UK, Brent Oil is right on a 2010 support level at $80:35 so we may see a small bounce as bargain-hunters emerge briefly, but U.S. inventory numbers are going to give the market direction to the end of the week.

Market Close Tuesday 11th November 2014:   Dow Jones 30  +1.16 @ 17,614.90  S&P 500  +1.42 @ 2,039.68  NASDAQ  +11.22 @ 4,187.16  FTSE 100  +16.15 @ 6,627.40  UK AIM  -1.86 @ 721.40  DAX 30  +17.16 @ 9,369.03  CAC 40  +21.28 @4,244.10  IBEX  +65.80 @ 10,338.80  Nikkei 225 (Today)  +72.94 @ 17,197.05  Hang Seng (currently)  +90.32  @ 23,898.60

10:45am CET  ~  Had a quick look at my charts a few times this morning but no opportunities but I’m off now so no trades to report for today.