08:45am  I am planning a quiet day at home catching up on emails and Skype calls and also 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 closed in negative territory once again last night as the fall-out from Gary Cohen’s resignation still bites but there has been some good news on Trump’s tariff plans as White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says there may well be some allowances for Canada and Mexico which will be announced before the end of this week. The Dow Jones closed 82.76 points down on the day at 24,801.36 although it had been down nearly 300 points at one stage and the S&P-500 finished Wednesday’s session almost flat at 2726.80 (-0.05%) although there is a bearish slant to the Daily chart this morning as the rice struggles to see any upside above 2720.

The overnight Asian trading session ended slightly more optimistic than the previous day as potential trade tariff exemptions has stoked hopes that Trump may also look at helping Asian companies that export to the U.S.   The Shanghai Composite ended up 0.54% after encouraging trade data was released and steel producers across the region gained on news that there could be tariff exemptions for steel and aluminium being exported into the U.S.   Gold fell during Wednesday’s session to close at $1325.20 down by $12.00 after a good rise on Tuesday on the back of concerns of a global trade war. The price has steadied in the last few hours and is up to $1327.70, up $2.50 on last night’s close.

Oil prices have fallen dramatically on soaring U.S. crude stocks, WTI Crude ended Wednesday’s session at $61.24 down by 91 cents although futures prices stabilised overnight but are now showing further signs of declines as the European trading session gets underway. Record U.S. oil production is holding values down, the countries output at 10.37 million barrels per day (BPD) is an all time high and is now ahead of Saudi Arabia.  Traders are wondering how long OPEC are going to show restraint in the face of growing U.S. oil production and with Russia may find it difficult to face losing market share to the U.S. shale industry.

Trading Diary:

09:30am   If the price falls sufficiently on the German DAX-30 there will be a ‘short’ trade imminently so watching the chart closely at the moment.

09:45am   Now in the above mentioned position, it’s a Master-The-Trend Strategy-B pattern with a 23 pip stop loss.

10:55am   Taken a quick profit as I have meetings here for the next couple of hours.  Score +38 pips & I will send out a chart screenshot to all customers showing exact details after lunch.

14:50pm   Back from an extended lunch and there’s nothing much to get excited about on my collection of favourite charts so I am going to call it a day and switch off my screens. Tomorrow is Non Farm Payrolls in the U.S. so as usual I will not be trading . Back  at my desk (& charts) next Tuesday.

08:40am   Plans today are based mainly around the house so any trades I find through the day will be detailed below in my Trading Diary.

Market Update:

U.S. equity markets did close marginally higher last night despite a fairly volatile session that saw the Dow Jones Index fall by 166 points at one point but rallied towards the end of the session to finish 9.36 points higher at 24,884.12 but futures trading overnight has witnessed some large bullish pressure on the news that Trump’s Chief Economic Adviser Gary Cohen has resigned over arguments and disagreements concerning the proposed trade tariffs.

This unsettling news has affected the overnight Asian trading session and virtually all the regions equity markets have closed in the red with the Australian ASX-200 index coming out as the night’s worst performer, losing almost 1% during the session. There was good news however as it emerged that North Korea was willing to engage in talks with the U.S. about denuclearisation  so stocks that traded with the rogue nation jumped on the announcement.

European markets have started Wednesday’s session down although there is some limited buying which is bringing indices back upto yesterday afternoon’s close, all eyes will be on the U.S. open for some direction later.

Oil prices are under pressure after Cohen’s resignation as he is seen as an advocate of free trade and the rising U.S. stock situation and also Crude production is weighing heavily on the commodity. WTI Crude fell 19 cents during yesterday’s volatile session to close at $62.85 and is further down this morning at $61.82 with its 200-day moving average as the next target.

Trading Diary:

10:45am     Nothing to report from my collection of favourite charts so off for a cycle ride.

12:10pm   Still no trades to disclose so I am going out for an early lunch.

14:15pm     I have just taken a ‘long’ position on my UK FTSE-100 15-min chart, it’s a Master-The-Trend Strategy-B pattern with a 12 pip stop loss.

14:35pm   Just been invited out for a game of golf so leaving stop loss at 12 pips and setting target at 20 pips.

16:50pm    I was not going to take any further trades today but just glanced at my charts to see what had occurred to my FTSE trade while I was out and I noticed a very fine example of a UTB price reversal pattern setting up on the U.S. S&P-500 15-min chart so I am in that with an extremely ‘generous’ 42 pip stop loss, slightly larger than usual for this timeframe.  Previous FTSE trade ?  Stopped out at -12 pips !

17:20pm    The S&P price has come down quite dramatically but it has just started to rise equally as fast so I am now out of the position with a +106 pips profit, giving me an overall score for the day of +94 pips.

08:25am   My plan is to be at home for most of the day so any trades I take will be detailed in my Trading Diary below.

Market Update:

President Trump’s trade tariff threat did dampen sentiment in global markets at the end of last week but these fears seem to have dissipated as we saw reasonable gains yesterday in Europe and U.S. equity markets.  The Dow Jones closed up by 336 points (+1.37%) last night with the S&P-500 not far behind as traders and investors seem to be treating Trump’s latest trade tariff negotiations like any other business deal where he comes in strong and belligerent but then eases off as agreement looms – interesting times…

The overnight Asian trading session saw equities rally as traders followed the lead from the U.S. session om Monday. Most indices closed in positive territory with the Japanese Nikkei-225 index leading the charge with a 2.14% gain on the day as the Dollar gained against the Yen and helped exporters.  Oil markets had a fifth positive day in a row on Monday with U.S. WTI Crude rising $1.14 to $62.48 after the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that global growth is going to rise over the next five years but OPEC output would rise more slowly which hints at oil value staying steady.  The IEA also estimates that U.S. shale production is going to supply much of the world’s upcoming crude demand so the lows that WTI has seen lately around $58.00 could be seen as support ?

Gold has found some limited support around the $1308 level and has moved up from there in the last few sessions but it seems to have faltered slightly around $1325 and has been moving down during Tuesday’s Asian trading session. The recent gains have been attributed to Trump’s threatened trade tariffs so we may see further selling as worries subside so watch for the price returning towards the $1308 level once again.

Trading Diary:

09:55am   Nothing to report trading-wise so off for a run.

11:30am   I am in a ‘long’ position on my 15-min GOLD chart, it’s a Master-The-Trend Strategy-B set-up with a 18 pip stop loss.

13:05pm    Lunch out with some neighbours is looming so I have closed my GOLD position off rather than leaving it running as the U.S. trading session opens. My score is +46 pips.

15:15pm     Just taken a second Master-The-Trend position, a Strategy-A pattern and it’s on the UK FTSE-100 30-min chart.  My stop loss is 16 pips.

09:20am   I am away from my charts today and after a long weekend break I will be back trading next Tuesday.

Market Update:

U.S. markets fell by Thursday’s close last night on news that President Trump is going to introduce trade tariffs for imported steel and aluminium, the Dow Jones 30 index initially moved up around 150 points but as news of the import duty began to emerge the index dropped dramatically and eventually closed 420 points down at 25,029.20 (-1.68%) and the wider S&P-500 index was down by 1.33%.

The overnight Asian market also reacted to Trump’s forthcoming 25% Steel and 10% Aluminium tariffs, most indices closed in negative territory with the Japanese Nikkei-225 leading the losses by closing down 2.5% with car makers who are large users of steel and aluminium amongst the largest casualties of the U.S. decision although tech stocks also suffered across the region.

European markets are also seen to be negatively affected this morning with most of the regions indices posting initial declines, the UK’s FTSE-100 has struggled for most of February to regain the losses in January but has once again declined from its 20-week moving average this week. The oil markets are still declining on higher U.S. stocks this week, WTI Crude fell just 21 cents to $61.22 by the close last night although it did touch $60.00 during the session before reversing at this ‘Big’ number. This morning the sentiment is bearish and seems to be heading back down to this possible support level so watch for trading opportunities.

08:25am  At home for most of the day and any trades I take will be detailed below in my Trading Diary.

Market Update:

Yesterday’s European markets closed mainly lower in ‘choppy’ trading after new Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell said that he expects conditions were right for at least three rate rises in the U.S. for 2018.  This sentiment crossed over the Atlantic and the main U.S. indices also closed in negative territory withe the Dow Jones 30 index finishing the last trading day of February down by 380 points (-1.50%) and the S&P index of the leading 500 companies was down by 1.11% with most of the day’s losses coming in the final few hours of trading. The tech-centred Nasdaq had its first overall monthly loss since July 2017.

Over in Asia, markets closed mixed with most down although China did buck the negative trend seen in the U.S with the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng indices closing marginally in the black after initial losses caused by negative sentiment earlier in the day from Europe and America. Oil values are still under pressure from a strong U.S. Dollar although prices this morning are holding steady after two days of declines. WTI Crude lost $1.27 during Wednesday’s session to close at $61.44 after Crude Inventories revealed an unexpected rise.

Gold was treading water through most of yesterday with volumes lower than usual, it closed at $1317.20 losing just 50 cents on the day but is now heading towards the minor support level at $1308, down $9.20 since midnight.

Trading Diary:

11:00am   It’s been a quiet morning on my favourite charts but finally the GOLD chart has broken free and provided me with a trade set-up. It’s a ‘short’ Master-The-Trend Strategy-A pattern on the 15min timeframe and my stop loss is 14 pips.

12:55pm   Just taken a ‘short’ position on my UK FTSE-100 15min chart, it’s the same set-up as my earlier GOLD trade and my stop loss is 10 pips.  It’s a fairly speculative trade as the price will probably become volatile at 13:30pm as the U.S. markets start for the day.  My first trade of the day still doing ok but I will be  watching it carefully as we approach the U.S. open.

13:10pm  Out of my GOLD position at +56 pips, happy with that score.

13:40pm   Just seen my FTSE-100 trade has been stopped out !  I was on the phone for 10 minutes and did not pay attention to the charts at 13:30.  Score so far:  +46 pips so I will probably retire for the day, good result for the first trading day of the month.

08:15am   I am at home today but not sure how much chart watching I’ll be doing as everyone’s getting sledges and Land Rovers out in the snowy fields this morning. If I do take any trades they will be detailed below.

Market Update:

U.S. markets fell yesterday with the main Dow Jones 30 index closing down 299 points at the close as the incoming Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell addressed Congress and said that he envisages a continuous programme of rate rises through 2018 to contain inflation. U.S. Treasury yields rose quickly during Powell’s testimony regarding his thoughts on monetary policy and economic growth.  The S&P-500 also fell by the close of the session (-1.27%) and Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook and Netflix stocks all dragged the Nasdaq down too, closing at 7,330.35 (-1.23%).

The overnight Asian trading session fell across the board after a negative performance in the U.S. and Chinese PMI numbers missing expectations. Initially the falls were quite slow and some buyers did start appearing but within a few hours of the close, negative sentiment had crept into most markets and compounded earlier losses. The Nikkei-225 index dropped by 321 points (-1.44%) to close at 22,068.24 almost wiping out most of its recent gains.

The oil markets have turned pessimistic over the past few days on rising U.S. stockpiles and today’s Crude Oil Inventories should confirm this situation so further volatility could hit the WTI and Brent Crude charts.  West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 20 cents by the close last night to $62.80 and is further down this morning (currently $62.66)  Gold fell quite strongly at the beginning of yesterday’s U.S. trading session on interest rate ‘adjustment’ worries and closed down by exactly $15.00 at $1317.80 although any faltering in equity markets should see a rush to this safe haven metal. We could see a fall this week to the $1310 level before a small rise once again.

Trading Diary:

09:25am   Just taken a ‘long’ position on my 15-min S&P-500 chart. It’s a Master-The-Trend Strategy-B pattern with a 44 pip stop loss (slightly higher than usual for this timeframe).  Outside for a while now so set target at +44 pips.

11:05am   My S&P position was stopped out while I was outside but now I am in a ‘long’ position on my DAX-30 15-min chart. It’s another Master-The-Trend trade but a Strategy-A set-up. My stop loss is 11 pips.

11:20am    Taken a quick +11 pip profit as the DAX price is retreating very quickly backwards.

14:00pm  Just back from lunch and decided to finish work for the day – screens off until tomorrow.

Today was the last day of trading for February and my total for the month has come out at +649 pips with 12 winning trades and 3 losing one. I hope you’ve also had a successful month’s trading.

10:25am   After a short break away I am planning a quiet day here at home catching up on emails and doing some chart watching. It’s a late start to the day as I’ve been out with some neighbours on a 25-mile cycle ride already this morning.

Market Update:

U.S. equity markets had a good start to the week as the Dow Jones rallied 399 points during Monday’s session to close at 25,709.79 (+1.58%) with Boeing and 3M providing the biggest share rises, it has now risen over 1100 points in the past 10 trading days going some way to prove that this dramatic downturn at the beginning of February was merely a blip. The S&P-500 and Nasdaq also rose well with average gains of around 1% by the end of the evening. These indices are closing in now on their January highs and many of the large tech stocks such as Alphabet, Apple and Facebook have already returned to their pre-fall levels.

The overnight Asian trading session was not as buoyant though and markets closed mixed although the Japanese Nikkei-225 did close up by 236 points (+1.07%) as traders in other regions took some profits after a good run in the past few days. Gold had a positive session yesterday although it did give up some of its gains late in the day, it rose $6.05 by the end of the evening to close at $1333.70 and is still using the 5-day moving average as support so watch for trading opportunities around this level.

Oil rose on Monday for a fourth session in a row to hit levels not seen since the beginning of this month. U.S. WTI Crude closed the session 42 cents up at $63.92 on news that production restraint by OPEC members and Russia are still in place and there has also been a slight decline in U.S. production. This week’s Crude Oil Inventories will show if this is having a lasting effect on values.

Trading Diary:

10:50pm   There could be a ‘short’ trade opportunity coming up on my German DAX-30 chart.

11:00am   The DAX trade has triggered and I am now in a ‘short’ position with a 34 pip stop loss  — it’s a Master-The-Trend Strategy-B set-up.

11:45am   Just taken a quick +35 pip profit, I think the price still has further to fall but it could go back upto my stop loss level first.

12:00pm  Off now for early lunch then out with friends for a 5k run afterwards.

16:50pm  It’s been such a sunny afternoon, I have been outside since lunchtime so no further trading to report. Back in front of my screens at the usual time tomorrow morning.

09:30am   A lazy start this morning after a busy few days and I am planning a quiet time at home catching up on emails and doing some chart watching – any trades I take will be detailed below in my Trading Diary.

Market Update:

Global markets are reacting to the latest U.S. Fed minutes which showed that Federal reserve members regarded the rising inflation situation and increased economic growth as justification to keep the rate rises coming fairly quickly in 2018. This news sent the Dow Jones 30 index falling by 167 points (-0.67%) last night to close at 24,797.78 after rising over 300 points earlier in the session and the wider S&P index of top 500 companies fell marginally less at -0.55%. The U.S. Central Bank sees inflation reaching its 2% target but does not foresee any unexpected spikes so the expected 3 interest rate hikes looks to be on the cards and this has given strength to the Dollar once again and dampened any enthusiasm for buying Gold. The yellow metal fell $5.60 by the close yesterday and is further down this morning at $1322.80 and I have given customers a target of $1310 to watch for.

The overnight Asian trading session continued the earlier bearishness and markets from most areas in the region closed slightly down although the Nikkei-225 was the biggest loser of the night, falling over 1% by the close. The Australian ASX-200 swung between losses and gains for most of the session but eventually closed up by a small margin (+0.12%) with banking stocks helping pull the index out of negative territory.

Oil values fell slightly this morning as the U.S. Dollar firms up following the Fed announcement last night, U.S. WTI Crude Oil closed down by 24 cents at $61.28 last night and is now at $61.22. Expect some volatility in the Crude Oil charts today as the U.S. Crude Inventory numbers are released in about 5-hours.

Trading Diary:

12:20pm   I have nothing to report so far from this morning’s session although there was a ‘long’ trade on the WTI Crude Oil which triggered while I was out for a run which already hit its first target.

13:45pm   Just taken a Master-The-Trend Strategy-B position on my S&P-500 30-min chart. The stop loss is 45 pips which reasonable for the timeframe considering the current daily range.  There was another trade that’s just triggered on the WTI Crude chart but it is getting close to the Crude Oil Inventories announcement time so I  have left it alone, I am already in one ‘risky’ trade as it is — S&P at U.S. trading session start !

14:50pm  The S&P price has become more volatile than is normal for this time of the day and although the price has risen to over 2726 it has fallen back quite sharply and I am out at 2715.80 giving me an +88 pip profit.  Normally I would finish now with such an encouraging score for the day but I am in the office until late today for various reasons so I shall continue to watch my collection of favourite charts while getting on with other things.

15:20pm    I’ve just got into a ‘short’ position on my Brent Crude Oil 15-min chart – more details soon.

15:30pm    Details of the above trade:  Master-The-Reversal  UTB price-reversal set-up with small 19 pip stop loss. Although the Crude Oil Inventories are due soon the UTB pattern is very prominent and almost perfect (if you can ever say a pattern is ‘perfect’) plus the risk is negligible bearing in mind my score so far today.

16:05pm  Well that was quick !  The Brent trade has just been stopped out at -19 pips.  If I had been watching the trade over the last 15 minutes I could have closed it off with a reasonable profit but I was outside doing some dog training.  No matter, still an acceptable +69 pip profit for the day and will probably turn off my charts now.

08:40am   My plan today is to be in front of my screens from time to time this morning watching for potential trade set-ups and after lunch it’s out for a game of golf. Any trades I take will be detailed in my Trading Diary below.

Market Update:

U.S. markets ended negatively on Tuesday with the Dow Jones breaking a 6-day bullish trend to close down by 254 points (-1.01%) as Walmart shares falling by over 10%,its worst one day performance for over 10 years. The S&P-500 also closed down but not as bad as the DJ30, it dropped 15.96 points (-0.58%) and both indices are now below their 50-day moving averages with the S&P-500 well on its way to the 2700 ‘big’ number. Later today we have the FOMC meeting minutes so traders will be waiting for any hints about future interest rate hikes before putting on their buying boots on once again.

The overnight Asian trading session was fairly ‘choppy’ but ultimately positive despite the pessimism in U.S. markets earlier in the day. The Japanese Nikkei-225 index closed up 45.71 points (+0.19%) to 21970, helped by manufacturing stocks although tech and auto companies ended slightly down. The Hong Kong stock exchange performed better and closed up by 1.66% with HSBC and China Construction Bank contributing the most gains.  Oil rices are falling this morning after a small rise in the value of the U.S. Dollar and an expected rise in U.S. crude production.  WTI Crude fell 73 cents to $61.52 by last nights close and is now at $61.03 and Brent is down by an equal amount and is looking at a bearish target of $62.00 by the look of price action on the Daily chart.

Gold fell $17.30 yesterday to $1329.50 on a rising U.S. Dollar and tonight’s FOMC minutes announcement will move this chart again although there should be some support at the 50-day moving average around $1320 so watch for some reaction here.

Trading Diary:

09:25am   Nothing much happening on my charts at the moment so off for a quick cycle ride.

12:30pm   Switching my screens off now and off to lunch – then out all afternoon, no trades to report from this morning’s session.  I will be back in front of my charts at the usual time tomorrow morning.

08:50am   I am back from a short holiday and I am planning to be at home today catching up on emails and Skype calls and also watching my collection of favourite charts from time to time through the day. Any trades I find/take will be detailed below.

Market Update:

U.S equity markets where closed yesterday for President’s Day, European markets were negative on the whole and the overnight Asian market was quiet with low volumes across the region as China continues its New Year celebrations. This morning the U.S. futures markets are starting in a negative direction although here in Europe the French CAC-40 and German DAX-30 have began to look more bullish after a poor show at the start of the week as traders concentrate on earnings releases as there is a lack of economic news out today.

Oil markets are at an unusual point this week where the U.S. WTI Crude and global benchmark Brent Crude are going in different directions, contrary to their usual behaviour. Although Brent Crude is moving down from its 20-day moving average this morning, WTI has been given a boost due to reduced outflows from Canada. The Keystone Pipeline has been operating below capacity for the last few months due to previous leaks but was supposed to back to full flow by now, ongoing problems  are preventing this. WTI Crude rose 78 cents by the close last night to finish at $62.32 but is slightly down this morning at $62.09 although it may find some support at its 20-day moving average as the morning progresses.

Gold has had two consecutive negative sessions as Chinese buyers slowly disappear from the market and this morning it has fallen further from last night’s close at $1346.60, it is currently down another $9.40 but the price may also find some support at its 20-day moving average – I will send out a chart to subscribers soon.

Trading Diary:

09:25am    I have just taken a ‘short’ position on my Brent Crude 15-min chart. It’s a Master-The-Trend Strategy-B set-up with an 18 pip stop loss.

10:35am    I have taken a quick +47 pip profit as the price has moved down quite quickly and I am also ready for my daily cycle ride.  Back in a few hours.

13:35pm    I am in a ‘long’ position now on my German DAX-30 15-min chart, it’s another Master-The-Trend Strategy-B patterns with an 11 pip stop loss.

14:55pm     The DAX price has been very volatile over the past hour as the U.S. markets open for Tuesday’s session so I have been watching the screen intently and I am now happy with the score so the position is now closed.  The trade ended at +66 pips, giving me +113 pips for the day – so time to switch off my screens for another day.