07:55am   Relaxing day at home in front of the screens doing some chart watching plus catching up on emails –  any trades I have will be reported below.

Market Update:

A potentially interesting day on the markets as U.S. citizens begin go to the polls to elect their next President. Early exit polls should start emerging around late afternoon (European time) and there is still a perception that markets will rise if Clinton comes out ahead but if Republican Donald Trump ends up winning we will most probably see a fall in equities due to perceived uncertainty with regard to future policy. A Reuters/IPSOS States of the Nation poll yesterday gave Hilary Clinton a 90% chance of coming out ahead and this was one of the drivers that sent U.S. equity markets higher by the close of Monday’s trading session.

The overnight Asian trading session ended mainly up on optimism over the U.S. election result despite poor Trade Balance data from China but the Japanese Nikkei 225 index did close slightly down over concerns about the ‘safe-haven’ Yen spiking if Trump wins later today. European equities started bearish this morning although most are now recovering as a general optimism grips the markets – Gold is holding steady over the last few hours after falls yesterday caused by equity buying instead.

Crude oil markets have fallen considerably over the past 3-weeks but yesterday saw a respite as prices stabilised after hitting a support level at $43:50 with many traders believing this is just some short-term bargain hunting. There is still no agreement in sight for reduced production amongst OPEC countries and other large producers so there is no assumption that we have seen a bottom to the market yet.

Trading Diary:

10:10am    Just got back from a ‘bracing’ cycle ride and seen that a ‘short’ UTB trade on my S&P-500 chart had triggered a little while ago but as the price had not fallen by much yet I have managed to get into the position at an advantageous price – my stop loss is just 14 pips.

12:15pm   Off for an early lunch so I have moved my stop loss up to break even for protection as I will not be in front of my screens when the U.S. trading session opens in just over an hour’s time and here could be some volatility then.

13:55pm   Back home now and my S&P-500 position is still in profit so I will hang on and see how the price action develops.

14:05pm   Price becoming more volatile so I have moved my stop upto +20 pips to protect some of my profits.

14:50pm    Out of my S&P-500 position now, the market is getting increasingly volatile and unpredictable so I have come out with an acceptable +87 pip profit. That will do me for the day, back here in front of my screens tomorrow.