08:55am   It’s a lovely sunny day outside so no chart watching indoors for me today – could be back trading tomorrow though…..

Market Update:

U.S equity markets closed on the last day of April on a negative note although overall they were up slightly on March’s close. The S&P-500 ended Monday’s session down by 16.81 points (-0.63%) at 2653.10 as it was dragged down by the telecoms sector after T-Mobile announced they were buying Sprint in a deal worth $26.5 billion.  The Dow Jones 30 index was also down but not by such a large amount, it finished at 24,223.23 (-0.36%) and the negative sentiment is continuing this morning in the futures markets.

The overnight Asian trading session suffered from low volumes as bank holidays were widespread but Japanese and Australian markets traded mostly higher despite the negative sentiment in the U.S. on Monday. The Australian Central Bank kept their monetary policy on hold with predictions of continued growth in the country’s economy after a period of stagnation in the last quarter of 2017.  Gold is on its way down to the minor support level at $1306 as equity markets start to resume their upward trend, it fell $8.43 to close at $1315.02 and is further down at $1309.78 as the U.S. Dollar strengthens.

Oil markets are looking optimistic as traders worry about upcoming Iranian sanctions which will affect supply in the region, Brent Crude ended Monday’s session at $74.65 (+$1.05) but does seem to have touched a high for the week so we could see some profit taking today – watch for trade opportunities as price could head for the 20-day moving average around $72.50.

No trading today/tomorrow but will be back at my desk on Tuesday 1st May.

07:55am   I am planning another quiet day at home so any trades I take will be detailed in my Trading Diary below.

Market Update:

U.S. markets experienced another bearish session as the Dow Jones 30 index closed off more than 400 points in the red after an initial flurry which saw the index rise by 130 points and then tumble over 700 points. Although earnings are coming in at or above expectations, traders are still concerned that higher interest rates later in the year will adversely affect future company profits. The S&P-500 and Nasdaq also fell significantly by last night’s close with Facebook, Alphabet, Netflix and Amazon all dropping over 3%.

This negative sentiment spilled over to the overnight Asian trading session, all the major markets closed in negative territory except for Australia and New Zealand that were closed for their Anzac Day holiday. The main news in the region was the revised offer by Takeda Pharmaceutical to takeover Irish drug maker Shire, although their shares dropped by 7% as investors voiced concerns over their ability to raise the capital required to mount this $64 billion bid.

Oil markets experienced a negative session on Tuesday with U.S. WTI Crude falling $1.24 to close at $67.67 despite analysts saying that the slump that began in 2014 is now virtually over and the prospect of higher prices are a firm prospect. Rising demand in Asian plus continued troubles in the Middle East region are main reason for a rise in values and OPEC’s production curbs will also help for the rest of 2018.  Gold is befitting from falling equity markets, it rose $5.80 during Tuesday’s session to close at $1330.30 after reversing at a minor support at $1332.00 although this morning it is down by over $6 already and heading to $1322.00 again – watch this level for trading opportunities.

Trading Diary:

09:25am    Nothing much to see on my collection of favourite charts so I am off for a cycle ride.

10:55am    Just taken a ‘short’ position on my GOLD 15-min chart. It’s a Master-The-Trend Strategy-A setup with a 14 pip stop loss.

12:55pm    The GOLD price has just hit $1320 and started to reverse upwards so I am now out of my position with a +40 pip profit.

14:40pm    Just got back from lunch and glanced at my charts – nothing much to get excited about so far but I am getting on this afternoon with the final pieces to my monthly Trading-Education eBook so I will keep an eye on the screens from time to time.  I have got some news about the two trading systems I have been testing each month in the eBook and I now have nearly 12 months back tested data that shows some surprising performances.

15:50pm   The main markets that I watch are quite volatile this afternoon so I am switching off my screens for the day.  Not sure if I am chart watching tomorrow, I have had a few invitations so we’ll see what the weather is like in the morning.  Happy with today’s total of +40 pips

08:30am   Back home after a short break away and today’s plan includes some chart watching and catching up on emails – any trades I take will be detailed below in my Trading Dairy.

Market Update:

U.S. markets did not perform well on their first trading day of the new week, the Dow Jones has experienced a 4-day losing streak and closed down by 14.25 pips (-0.06%) although the wider S&P-500 did manage a tiny profit after a late flourish, it ended ahead by +0.01%. Tech stocks weighed the indices down with Netflix, Amazon, Google parent Alphabet and Facebook all closed in the red although companies that are reporting 1st quarter earnings are mainly showing good numbers but traders are reporting some concerns over increasing bank interest rates in the coming months.

The overnight Asian trading session was affected by the U.S. close although most markets ended ahead with the Shanghai Composite coming out as the best performer of the session at +1.97%. One of the only losers of the night was the South Korean Kospi index which closed down 10 pips as Samsung Electronics and chip maker SK Hynix both fell significantly through the session. Oil markets are still looking bullish as rising demand and a tighter supply situation impact on the price – UK Brent Crude is almost at the significant $75 level this morning after a good showing yesterday, it rose $1.01 to close last night at $74.75 but is slightly down this morning as traders take some profits off the table.

Gold closed at its lowest level for two weeks last night, it finished at $1324.60 (-$10.30) but seems to have found some minor support at $1322 so we may see a small move upto today as bargain hunters come in to the market. A rise in the value of the U.S. Dollar and year U.S. Treasuries has dampened demand for the safe haven commodity.

Trading Diary:

10:10am    Nothing on my collection of favourite chart so off for a run.

11:10am   I have just taken a ‘long’ position on my GOLD 15-min chart. It’s a Master-The-Trend Strategy-B set-up and my stop loss this time is 12 pips.

12:00 Midday   My Gold trade has been stopped out at -12 pips.

13:55pm   Now in another Master-The-Trend Strategy-B position, this time it’s on the German DAX-30 15-min chart with a 17 pip stop loss.

15:30pm    Now out of my DAX position with a score of +78 pips.  The price was struggling to go much lower than 12,500 so came out at a good level.  Finished for the day now, screens off until tomorrow morning.

08:00am    I am planning a quiet day at  home today so any trades I take will be detailed below in my Trading Diary.

Market Update:

Yesterday’s European trading session ended on a positive note, the UK FTSE-100 was the best performer in the area with a rise of 1.26% and the CAC-40 and DAX-30 were also up around 0/5%. Later in the day the U.S. markets were once again fairly upbeat as corporate earnings are continuing to come in ahead of analysts expectations, the S&P-500 closed +0.0% up at 2708.64 although the Dow Jones index was dragged down by IBM as the company’s shares dropped after a downbeat forward guidance statement was released despite an optimistic earnings and revenue announcement, the shares dropped 7.5% by the close.  The tech-centred Nasdaq index closed ahead on upbeat earnings with expectations for more good news towards the end of the week.

Traders in Asia last night were buoyed by a largely positive U.S. session and almost all the region’s indices closed ahead with Hong Kong’s Hang Send Index the best performer of the night, gaining 1.20% on the back of a surge in energy stocks due to the rise on oil prices on Wednesday.  This was instigated by a surprising fall in the weekly U.S. Crude Inventories number together with a report from Reuters News Agency that Saudi Arabia are looking at a $80 per barrel by the end of the year.

Gold is still looking fairly bullish despite a rise in equity markets, it closed up $1.80 last night at $1349.20 and is already up to $1353.80 this morning but may find some minor resistance at $1357.00 so watch for trading opportunities at that level.

Trading Diary:

08:10am    Off for a run in the sunshine, back to the screens in an hour.

10:55am    Just taken a ‘short’ position on my S&P-500 15-min chart, it’s a Master-The-Trend Strategy-A pattern with a 22 pip stop loss.

12:40pm     My S&P-500 position has just been stopped out at -22 pips.

13:15pm   I am now in a ‘short’ position on my FTSE-100 30-min chart, it’s a Master-The-Reversal UTB pattern.  The stop loss on this occasion is a whopping 9 pips.

14:30pm    The FTSE price is getting quite volatile so watching the chart carefully in case I have to close it off quickly.

15:45pm     Still in the FTSE position as I ended up going out for pub lunch and left the trade running – just got back and seen the trade is still going and just in profit.

16:10pm     The FTSE price is struggling to go lower at the moment despite the S&P-500 still falling so I have closed off my position at +14 pips, my total for day is – 8 pips. Screens off now and with weather set to continue fine tomorrow, today is my last trading session of the week, I will be back next Tuesday.

07:20am   Early start for me today as I am off soon for a meeting but I shall be back mid morning to watch my charts for the rest of the day. Any trades I take will be detailed below in my Trading Diary.

Market Update:

U.S. equity markets surged yesterday and the Dow Jones closed up by 213.59 points at 24,786.63 after some of the country’s largest companies released upbeat earnings. The most widely reported company was Netflix after their shares rose 9.2% during the session after reporting higher than expected subscriber numbers and UnitedHealth, Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson also surpassed expectations.  Traders are reporting that 1st Quarter earnings are going to keep the equity rally going over the next few weeks so we can expect the S&P-500 to reach for the 2875 level once again (currently sitting at 2710.35).

This investor optimism continued during the overnight Asian trading session with most markets finishing in positive territory. The best performer of the night was the Japanese Nikkei-225 index which finished ahead by 1.50% at 22,175.20 with the retail, technology and utilities showing the best gains.  The Australian ASX-200 was dragged down throughout the session by the financial sector but it managed to end the session up by 0.34% after energy and materials boosted the index.

The oil market was bullish during yesterday’s trading sessions after reports that U.S. crude oil inventories are going to show a slight decline, this will be confirmed later today with the weekly stock report. There are also continuing supply concerns in the Middle East and this has helped push the price of WTI Crude up to $67.03 this morning, it started Tuesday’s session at $66.36. Gold is starting to become slightly bearish as funds are diverted into equity markets, it actually rose during yesterday’s session by $1.80 to $1347.30 but is down $2.70 already this morning.

Trading Diary:

11:25am   Back home now and I’ve just taken a late entry on my Brent Crude 1-hr chart. It’s a Master-The-Trend Strategy-A set-up with a 21 pip stop loss, as I noticed the opportunity late I have managed to get a better entry level than the rules dictate.

12:40pm   Unusually I am watching my Brent position more carefully than usual as the weekly Crude Oil Inventory numbers are being released soon and there is also the fact that U.S. traders are getting to work now and adjusting their own positions in the next hour or so.  It is expected that the Inventories number is going to show a drop in crude stocks so we may well see a rise ahead of the release.

13:30pm    Out of my Brent position as it has reached a previous high from last Friday – my score is +50 pips.

13:45pm     Out for late lunch now.

15:35pm     Just taken a ‘short’ position on my Gold 15-min chart, it’s a Master-The-Reversal UTB pattern with a 22 pip stop loss.  The price is very volatile so I will keep a close eye on the chart and close the trade off as soon as the move gets unpredictable.

17:10pm    This has been a later session than normal but I did start later.  I have just come out of my Gold position as it reached the stop loss level although with a bit of slippage I ended up with +20 pips rather than the planned +22 pips – these things happen occasionally but luckily not very often.  Score for the day has ended up at +70 pips.

08:20am   Back in front of my screens after a 5-day break away and any trades I take will be detailed below in my Trading Diary.

Market Update:

U.S. equity markets ended up on the first trading day of the new week as tensions regarding Syria are seen to be subsiding and traders are starting to concentrate on company earnings rather than Middle East troubles. There will be a raft of first quarter earnings in the coming weeks and yesterday there was good figures from Bank Of America and J.B.Hunt Transport following on from better than expected results from major financial companies last week and Netflix announced a surprise rise in subscribers after Monday’s session closed which helped their shares spike over 6% in futures trading.

The overnight Asian trading session was slightly more pessimistic however after key Chinese data was released showing that their economy was expected to slow in coming months despite a good start to the year. Their GDP figure came in at +6.8% for the 1st quarter of 2018 which was slightly ahead of expectations although the growth was slower for March. Across the region only the Japanese Nikkei-225 and Australian ASX-200 finished in positive territory although only by a very slim margin.

Oil markets had a negative session on Monday as traders took some profits off the table, U.S. WTI Crude finished $1.03 down at $66.30 after a good run up from $61.82 earlier in the month but despite the small fall the Daily chart chart still look bullish. Gold had a flat session on Monday, closing at $1345.60 after a good showing on Friday (+$9.80) where it staged a bullish price reversal off the 20-day moving average.

Trading Diary:

09:10am   Nothing yet on my collection of favourite charts so I am off for a run.

12:05pm     Still no trades to report – off for an early lunch.

13:40pm    I have just taken a ‘short’ position on my GOLD 15-min chart. It’s a Master-The-Reversal  UTB price-reversal pattern and my stop loss is 13 pips.

14:20pm   I’ve taken a quick profit from my GOLD position as this time of the day is usually quite ‘unpredictable’  My score is +20 pips, the minimum profit I strive for even if the stop loss (risk) is less.

15:00pm    Far too sunny to be inside at the moment so my charts are now switched off.  Back tomorrow at the usual time.

08:35am  I have finished my trading for the week as we are off later this morning for Max’s wedding celebrations, I will be back in front of my screens next Tuesday (17th April)

Market Update:

U.S. equity markets are on alert and have fallen once again as President Trump taunts Russia and Syria on Twitter regarding a possible missile attack – both the Dow Jones 30 and S&P-500 closed down last night and there’s no sign yet in the futures markets that prices are rising this morning. Safe haven products such as Gold, Japanese Yen and U.S. Treasurys are on the rise, Gold ended last night at $1353.20, up by $13.20 and its best one day performance since the beginning of the month.

The overnight Asian trading session ended negatively with none of the major indices closing ahead as investor confidence disappears amid ongoing tensions in Syria and this is likely to continue for the next few days as any strike by the Americans will not be likely until the weekend.  Across the region financials have been affected the most which mirrored the U.S. trading session earlier in the day where Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs all fell and dragged down the relevant indices.

Oil markets also have the jitters over possible crude supply interruptions in Syria and continuing trade arguments between the U.S. and China and the burgeoning American oil supplies.  U.S. WTI Crude oil has risen from a low of $62.00 at the beginning of this week and closed last night at $66.63 but is slightly lower this morning at $66.51.

08:40am    I am at home today watching my charts from time to time ahead of a 4-day break away for eldest son Max’s wedding celebrations. Any trades I take today will be detailed below in the Trading Diary.

Market Update:

U.S. markets had a bullish finish to Tuesday’s session after Chinese President Xi Jinping revealed plans for his government to lower import tariffs on a wide range of goods which is widely seen  as conciliatory in nature and should allay concerns for a trade war with the U.S.  The Dow Jones 30 index ended the day 428 points up at 24,408.00 (+1.79%) and the wider S&P-500 index closed up 1.67% at 2,656.87.

The overnight Asian session was not bullish however by the close although there was a strong start last night but most indices suffered from some profit taking later on. The Chinese Shanghai Composite was the best performer, it closed up +0.56% at 3208.31 and the Hang Seng index also closed in the black (+0.49%)  The Nikkei-225, Kospi Index and Australian ASX-200 all closed in negative territory.

Oil markets were buoyant yesterday on concerns that air strikes in Syria may well disrupt oil supplies in the region, WTI Crude closed the day at $65.48 (+$2.19) and is approaching the $66.50 resistance level once again. Later today there is the weekly U.S. stock situation so expect some volatility on WTI and Brent Crude charts as the American Petroleum Institute reported yesterday that there has been a rise in Crude Inventories of 1.8 million barrels and this will be confirmed later this afternoon (UK time)

Gold is rising for the fourth day in a row as continued geopolitical concerns continue and a weak Dollar keep investors pouring money into the safe-haven metal. The price reversed at $1320 at the end of last week and is now at $1343.80 and looks to be heading towards the $1356 level before the end of the week.

Trading Diary:

10:25am   I have just entered a ‘long’ position on my GOLD 15-min chart, it’s a Master-The-Trend Strategy-A pattern with a 12 pip stop loss.

10:50am   I was going out for a cycle ride but there is the beginnings of a possible ‘short’ UTB trade on the German DAX-30 chart so I will hang on for a while.

11:05am   The DAX-30 price has dropped sufficiently to trigger a Master-The-Reversal  UTB trade so I am now in a ‘short’ position with a 26 pip stop loss.

11:25am  Both my trades have reached a more than acceptable profit level so I have closed them both off enabling me to go out on a cycle ride with a number of my neighbours. The GOLD trade achieved +33 pips and the DAX came in at +43 pips giving me a total so far today of +76 pips which I may well retire on…..

13:10pm   Off to lunch now and I am happy with my score so far today from the two trades I’ve had so switching off my charts.

07:50am   I am planning a quiet day at home today and some chart watching from time to time so any trades I take will be detailed below in my Trading Diary.

Market Update:

U.S. markets had a mostly positive day on Monday after a perceived cooling of the trade war against China and at one stage the Dow Jones 30 index was up over 400 points although this was almost completely erased by the close as news emerged that the FBI had raided President Trump’s lawyer’s offices. The index eventually finished up just 46 points at 23,979.10 (+0.19%) and the S&P-500 closed up by +0.33%.

The overnight Asian trading session started flat but ended mainly on a positive note as China’s President Xi Jinping hinted at measures that would open the Chinese economy to outside investment and lower tariffs for various products including cars. The Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng index closed up +1.61% and +1.79% respectively to end the session as the best performers and Australian and South Korean markets also had a good showing.

Oil markets were in an optimistic mood on Monday as trade concerns between the U.S. and China began to dissipate and both the WTI Crude and Brent Crude rose around 2% although there has been some profit-taking this morning as traders eye up the continuing high stock situation across the world. U.S. WTI Crude Oil prices have been stuck between $58.00 and $66.00 for all of 2018 and the price this morning is above the minor support/resistance level at $64.00 so there is scope for further moves up towards the $65.00 level (currently $64.16)

Gold has been virtually trend-less for the past few weeks as traders pull money in and out of the market depending on the latest news, it had mainly positive session on Monday, rising $2.50 to finish at $1336.00 and it is just $1.00 down from that level this morning. It has found some support at its 20-day moving average so we could see a small price rise through the day.

Trading Diary:

 10:45am    Nothing to report so far this morning concerning trade opportunities, off for a run now.

14:20pm    Back home now after lunch out and nothing yet on my collection of favourite charts.

15:00pm  In a ‘long’ position on my UK FTSE-100 15-min. chart more details soon. on a Skype call at the moment.

15:15pm   The trade above is a Master-The-Trend Strategy-A pattern with a 13 pip stop loss.

A technical issue has resulted in today’s post not being completed.  The above trade ended at +24 pips and was my last of the day.