08:10am CET (07:10 UK time)  ~  I have a few errands to do in Palma this morning so not sure how much chart watching I’ll be doing this morning but I will report back if I do spot any trades.

The big news in the markets on Friday was the U.S. jobs numbers, there were 252,000 more jobs added in December meaning the unemployment rate is now down to 5.6% which is the lowest rate since before the global recession kicked off in 2008.  Both main U.S. indices reacted positively to begin with the S&P 500 rising from 2053 to 2067 within the first hour of Friday’s session but it quickly fell back after traders analysed the numbers and took in the wider picture – yet again we have the ‘good news is bad news’ situation in the markets due mainly to low wage growth which ultimately drives consumer spending plus renewed worries that the growing threat of deflation in spreading across Europe.

Crude oil values have resumed their fall on the back on continued oversupply together with OPEC’s current pricing policy towards Europe and the U.S., with the WTI Crude price falling 68 cents during Friday’s session to $48.25 per barrel and the recent low at $46.82 looks like a reasonable target for this week. Over in the UK, Brent Crude hit a new low at $48.89 on Friday on the back on the WTI move down and has started the week on a negative tilt, it’s currently sitting at $49.04 as the Asian session is coming to a close.  Gold investors were given a boost on Friday as the value rose on the back of the fall in equity prices together with deflationary fears, it gained nearly $12 by the end of last week to end at $1220.50 and is up to $1227 at the moment and heading towards the next resistance at $1237.

Market Close Friday 9th January 2015:   Dow Jones 30  -170.50 @ 17,737.37  S&P 500  -17.33 @ 2,044.81  NASDAQ  -27.27 @ 4,213.28  FTSE 100  -68.82 @ 6,501.14  UK AIM  +3.23 @ 703.45  DAX 30  -189.11 @ 9,648.50  CAC 40  -81.12 @ 4,179.07  IBEX  -396.00 @ 9,719.00   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +30.63 @ 17,197.73  Hang Seng (currently)  +82.83 @ 24,002.78

All times below are CET (GMT +1hr)

10:50am  ~  Nothing much happening on my charts this morning as is quite usual at the beginning of the week, so I am off to Palma for a few hours.

13:55pm  ~  Been back a short while and have just got into a ‘short’ position on my Dax 30 chart – it’s a BERT set-up from my ‘Master-The-Reversal’ trading system. The stop loss is 27 pips.

15:45pm  ~  The markets have become very volatile as the U.S. session kicks off due mainly to the drop in the Crude Oil value again, and this has affected European equities as well so my Dax trade is currently sitting at +85 pips.

16:05pm  ~  Prices are still quite volatile and the markets are still falling dramatically but I’m happy with my trade performance so I am now out of the position – it has managed +162 pips.

17:20pm  ~  Switching my MT4 platform off now and finishing trading for the day as we are off out for the evening shortly.