08:50am CET (07:50 UK time)  Early-ish start for me this morning as we are out sailing this afternoon. Any trades I have will be reported below.

Market Update:

Asian markets ended the overnight session largely negative on news that the U.S Federal Reserve may increase their minimum lending rate quicker than has been priced into the markets currently. The Hang Seng was the biggest loser, ending down 313 points (-1.56%) but the Nikkei 225 was propped up slightly against the pessimism after it was announced that the Japanese economy grew by 1.7% during the first quarter of 2016 so avoiding recession once again.

There was the FOMC meeting minutes released last night and a leading Fed policymaker was quoted as saying that he would push for an interest rate hike in either June or July and two others reiterated their stance that there would be at least two rate rises this year – this is what’s giving the market jitters in the past 12 hours.

This morning’s European session started on the back foot after bearish sentiment in Asian but the German Dax-30 index has recovered slightly and is currently trading a few points up on the day.  The crud eoil markets will be in focus once again as we have the weekly U.S. oil stock numbers released this afternoon so watch out for volatility if you’re trading WTI Crude or Brent Oil. These charts have been advancing well over the last week or so but there has been a slight pullback this morning as traders adjust their positions ahead of the Crude Oil Inventories after lunch.

Trading Diary:

10:20am CET (09:20 UK time)  Not much to see on my collection of favourite charts so I am off for a cycle ride up towards Formentor for an hour or so.

12:55pm CET (11:55 UK time)   Been back for a short while but nothing to get excited about on my charts so that’s it for today as far as chart watching is concerned – back in front of my screens tomorrow morning.