07:55am CET (06:55 UK time)  ~  A day away from the charts today as it’s the first Friday of the new month again – which means U.S. employment figures out after lunchtime local time although I have got a lot of email catching up to do together with 4 Skype calls this morning with new traders.

Equities were generally bullish yesterday but  markets will be drifting around this morning in readiness for a buying or selling spree at 2:30pm as the U.S. Non Farm Payrolls numbers are announced and judging by previous data the numbers look ok. This does not always mean optimism for equities though as an expanding economy means interest rates could rise earlier than expected which in turn is bad for company profits – all will be revealed later so watch from the wings. After Mario Draghi’s speech in Cyprus yesterday the Euro continued it’s fall in value – he announced that his bond-buying programme will commence early next week and if necessary will carry on until September next year which is not good news for the shared currency so it may well continue its decline that began almost a year ago. It’s value fell below $1.10 during yesterday’s session which is the first time it has done that for over 12 years.

The rise is Crude Oil Inventories in the U.S. damaged prices in WTI Crude during Thursday’s trading session resulting in a fall of nearly a Dollar to $50:94 which is where it currently stands after the overnight Asian session.  News from Libya however may cause some respite as they’ve admitted to problems with eleven of its larger oil fields meaning a halting of crude supplies due to clashes between Libyan security guards and IS fighters.  As I have mentioned before, Gold has been moving in a narrow channel between $1223 and $1190 and again yesterday it fell below the significant $1200 level amid falling Asian demand and if equities rally this afternoon there will be further pressure on its value.

Market Close Friday 5th March 2015:   Dow Jones 30  +38.82 @ 18,135.72  S&P 500  +2.51 @ 2,101.04  NASDAQ  +6.70 @ 4,452.06  FTSE 100  +41.90 @ 6,961.14  UK AIM  +1.92 @ 714.12  DAX 30  +113.63 @ 11,504.01  CAC 40  +46.16 @ 4,963.51  IBEX  +73.10 @ 11,124.40   Nikkei 225 (Today)  +219.16 @ 18,971.00  Hang Seng (currently)  -35.31 @ 24,157.73

All times below are CET (UK time +1hr)

08:40am ~  I was chatting to a new trader on Skype a few minutes ago about trading Crude Oil and I noticed a possible UTB trade on my Brent chart – if it triggers I shall have a quick trade.

08:55am  ~  I am in a ‘long’ Brent Crude position with a 17 pip stop loss.

10:00am  ~  With today’s unexpected movements in most markets, my trade was never going to be an all-day affair and now that the price has risen to a sufficient level I am out of the position. It has come out at +33 pips and has been a very useful example for another trader I have just been speaking to on Skype.