09:45am   Around the house for most of the day so any trades I have will be reported below. Slightly late Market Update this morning due to some technical issues with a couple of laptops.

Market Update:

Traders will be concentrating on the Bank Of England’s Monetary Policy Committee announcement at midday (UK time) for the expected interest rate cut that has widely been predicted and to a certain extent priced into the market already. Going back to yesterday though, U.S. indices finished positively after the weekly crude oil stock situation showed a slight fall in the amount of barrels held as Cushing, Wyoming which helped energy producers and the wider market. WTI Crude ended the day 3.3% up at $41:14 although it is slightly down at $40:19 this morning.

The overnight Asian session benefited from the positive U.S. close last night with most indices closing up on the day but European markets are mixed at the moment after a few hours of trading, the FTSE-100 and French CAC-40 are down currently but German and Spanish indices are slightly ahead.  Gold experienced a bearish session yesterday as equity markets rose and today’s daily chart is also down slightly  - it closed last night at $1357:90 and is now further lower at $1352:80.

Trading Diary:

11:20pm    Just got back from a cycle ride and I can see that a UTB ‘long’ trade has already triggered on my 30min S&P-500 chart  but as the price has not really moved up much I can still join in at an advantageous level.  My stop loss is 15 pips which is acceptable given the Bank Of England announcement coming up soon.

12:50pm  The S&P-500 price has shot up and now beginning to retrace backwards so I am now out of my UTB position with a +54 pip profit.

13:05pm   Nothing else to report on my charts so off to lunch for an hour or so.

16:00pm   Been back home for an hour or so but there’s been no other trade opportunities on my favourite charts so that’s it for the day as far a watching the screens.

08:00am   Chart watching, Skype calls and emails for me this morning ahead of a relaxing afternoon out on the water. Any trades I have will be reported below.

Market Update:

Equity markets around the world are looking fairly bearish this morning after a disappointing end to the U.S. trading session yesterday and falls across Asia overnight. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the wider S&P-500 closed down last night as  crude oil values slipped once again and general pessimism for growth prospects dampened any enthusiasm for buying during trader’s traditional summer holiday break when volumes are lower than normal.

The overnight Asian session closed mainly down as investors reacted to the strength of the Yen together with disappointment over the Japanese monetary stimulus plans and this sentiment is holding back European markets this morning.  U.S. Crude Oil fell below the significant $40 level yesterday for the first time since April on oversupply worries and falling demand and already this morning the price is going back down to the $39 level after significant selling during the overnight Asian session.

With equity markets pulling back this week, Gold is surging ahead and looks to be heading for the July high of $1375, this morning it is sitting at $1363:10 after some consolidation in the past few hours.

Trading Diary:

09:05am   I have a break in my Skype call schedule and there’s not much to see on my collection of favourite charts so I am off for a cycle ride.

12:25pm   Just got into a ‘short’ UTB position on my WTI Crude Oil chart, my stop loss is 14 pips.

12:45pm   There was a quick turnaround in the WTI Crude price resulting in my trade being stopped out a short while ago.

07:10am    Nice quiet day at home after a long weekend break away so any trades I have will be reported below.

Market Update:

The main news during the overnight Asian trading session came from Australia where the Reserve Bank Of Australia cut its base rate by 0.25% to a new low of 1.5% although the ASX-200 index did not react as this rate cut has been priced into the market over the last month or so. Other markets in Asian were mainly down following on from a lacklustre session in the U.S. on Monday where both the S&P-500 and Dow Jones 30 ended the day in negative territory although Apple did help the Nasdaq close around 0.4% higher.

U.S. Crude Oil fell below the $40 level for the first time since April which also put pressure on equities but i has now recovered slightly and is trading at $40:14 currently although the outlook still looks gloomy as news spreads of an increase in ‘short’ bets by hedge funds mainly due to an ongoing global over supply. Gold is still enjoying a good run up with the daily chart heading back towards the high of $1375 reached in early July. It had another positive session yesterday although the $1355 level could prove to be a small hurdle to overcome in the next few days.

Trading Diary:

09:25am   Just got into a ‘short’ position on my S&P-500 chart, it’s a trendFX strategy-3 set-up with a 23 pip stop loss.

11:15am   There could now be a ‘long’ trendFX opportunity coming up on my Brent Crude Oil chart if the price now starts to rise and gets above $42:65. My S&P trade still going but not much profit at the moment.

11:40am   Now in the above mentioned Brent Crude position – it’s another trendFX strategy-3 set-up and my stop loss is 27 pips.

12:25pm   Off out to lunch in a few minutes and then a game of golf so I have kept stop losses at the current level and set targets at 1:1

08:35am   I do not usually trade on a Friday but I have to be at home today for various meetings so I shall also be watching my charts from time to time through the day so any trades I do have will be reported below.

After a long weekend break I will be back here on Tuesday morning.

Market Update:

Yesterday’s U.S. trading session ended mixed with tech stocks up on encouraging earnings reports from Amazon, Logitech and Facebook and this helped the technology-biased Nasdaq close up 15 points but as the session came to a close 18 of the 30 components to the Dow Jones 30 index were falling which meant it closed 15 points down in contrast. The wider S&P index of top 500 U.S. companies did however finish in the black however, ended the day at 2170 (up 3.5 points) close to its all time high of 2179 that was reached on Monday.

The overnight Asian session ended mixed again with the main news coming from the Bank Of Japan after it concluded its regular 2-day meeting on monetary policy – the decision was increase monetary stimulus by buying more ETF’s although it has stopped short of announcing another cut in interest rates and this caused a flight to the safe-haven Yen this morning.

Crude oil values are once again slipping on the double worries of decreasing global demand caused by the weakening economy both here in Europe and Asia plus the record high global stocks. U.S. WTI Crude had another negative day, it fell 82 cents yesterday to close at $41:07 and is further down this morning at $40:68.

Trading Diary:

10:00am   If the Gold price rises above 1331.90 in the next 30 minutes or so, it should trigger a ‘long’ UTB trade so keeping an eye on that – not  much else to see on my favourite charts at the moment.

10:25am   Now in above position, my stop loss this time is 20 pips.

11:45am   I am also now in a ‘short’ position on my Brent Crude chart, it is a trendFX strategy-1 set-up with a 17 pip stop loss.  I should trade more on a Friday…..

13:20pm    Just come out of my Brent Crude trade as the bearish price momentum is slowing slightly – it has achieved +20 pips. I am going to stay in the Gold trade for a short while as U.S. equities are showing weakness ahead of the open so that may impact on the Gold price although to protect myself I have moved my stop loss upto break even.

14:05pm    I am now out of my Gold position as well, it has moved up well and my profit is +161 pips.  I shall now call it a day on my chart watching after that result so I hope you have a nice relaxing weekend and I will be back here and in front of my charts on Tuesday morning (2nd August).

07:40am   After an impromptu day off from trading yesterday, I’m back in front of my charts this morning so any trades I have will be reported below as they occur.

Market Update:

Main news on the markets yesterday was the decision of the U.S. Federal Reserve to  leave rates where they are for the moment even though they hinted that the economy was now out of its critical period and the labour market had improved so a rate rise was probable before the end of 2016. The next FOMC meeting is in September although there is no big expectation for a rise then as we are getting closer to U.S. Presidential Elections and all the uncertainty that will cause, especially if Donald Trump gets into the White House.

Even though rates were on hold, U.S. equities did not react positively and the S&P index of the leading 500 companies ended the session a few points down at 2166 (-0.12%) and this sentiment was mirrored in the overnight Asian session where stocks closed  mainly down although the Australian ASX-200 bucked the trend to finish 24 points up at 5639. Gold is benefiting from this less than bullish sentiment and broke out of a narrow trading channel yesterday to close at $1339:60, up just  under $20 on the day and is it up further this morning after buying during the Asian session.

WTI Crude continues its slide in value and is now closing in on the $40 level which we last saw in April. It fell below its 200-day moving average last Friday (a bearish sign) and is now sitting at $41:96.

Trading Diary:

08:20am  Nothing to see on my charts at the moment so I am off for a cycle ride for an hour or so.

10:00am   Back home now so any trades I see will be reported below.

10:25am    Just got into a ‘short’ position on my Brent Crude Oil chart, it’s a trendFX strategy-3 set-up with a 26 pip stop loss.

12:20pm   There could now be a ‘short’ trendFX trade on my S&P-500 chart as well now, if the price continues to fall in the next 30 minutes or so.

12:45pm    The S&P price has now fallen below 1264.50 so it has triggered a ‘short’ position, my stop loss is 19 pips.  It also looks like my Brent Crude trade is going to be stopped out in a minute.

13:10pm   Out of my S&P position now before the Unemployment Numbers release at 13:30pm – the trade has managed +18 pips as the price was rising up from its low of the day.  My earlier Brent Crude trade was stopped out at -26pips.

Off to lunch now and then a game of golf this afternoon with some fellow traders.

10:05am   Slightly later than usual Market Update this morning as I have had an early game of golf but back in my study now for some chart watching for the next few hours.

Market Update:

The overnight Asian session saw the Nikkei 225 index sell-off on Japanese Yen gaining ground as traders move away from the U.S. Dollar and falls in oil values hurt energy stocks. The fall in the U.S. Dollar reflects nervousness ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting that starts in a few hours and will decide on the bank’s interest rate for the next month. There was a hold on rates last month due mainly to the UK Brexit vote but the global economic fall-out of Britain leaving the EU has not manifested so it is widely perceived that more Fed members will be more enthusiastic about raising rates.

European markets are falling slightly this morning after the first few hours of trading as the earning season gets underway although UK equities are bucking this trend and are up slightly. Crude oil prices are once again on a downward slope with U.S. WTI Crude experiencing another negative session on Monday by closing down by $1:15 to end the day at $43:03 and it is further lower this morning, currently at $42:88.

Gold is starting to benefit slightly from U.S. interest rate worries and a slowing in equity markets and is up this morning by just over $6 to $1321:77 after mainly bearish sentiment for the last two weeks.

Trading Diary:

12:05am   Nothing much happening on my collection of favourite charts so no trades to report  -  off out now for an early lunch.

15:55pm    Not been able to trade this afternoon so nothing to report from today’s session.  My next Trading Diary/Market Update will be on Thursday 28th July

08:50am   Not much planned for the day apart from emails and some chart watching this morning – any trade opportunities I do find will be reported below in my Trading Diary

Market Update:

Asian markets started the week with mixed results with no large winners or losers and that sentiment has transferred over to the European trading session open where indices traded largely flat earlier ahead of key central bank statements later in the week from the U.S. and Japan although a few of them are now picking up and moving ahead from Friday’s close. Indices in the U.S. closed ahead for the week on Friday with the S&P 500 reaching another record level of 2175:70 and that figure has been surpassed in overnight futures trading last night and is now trading just below that level and the daily chart is looking quite bullish this morning.

The Gold price looks to be heading back down towards last week’s low of $1310 as most equity markets shrug off worries over the UK Brexit vote and lower growth expectations in China and we could see a further fall to the $1300 level if the $1310 price is breached this week. Oil continues to fall as well on over supply concerns, U.S. WTI Crude is now at $44:10 on a fairly bearish daily chart, having just fallen below its 200-day moving average.

Trading Diary:

11:05am   Just back from cycle ride and the only possible opportunity I can see on my charts at the moment is a potential UTB pattern on my UK FTSE-100 chart, more news soon.

11:20am   The price on the FTSE-100 15min chart has just fallen below the trigger level of 6736 so I am now in a ‘short’ UTB position, my stop loss this time is 8 pips.

12:25pm    Off out to lunch now, leaving my FTSE trade with its 8 pip stop loss but keeping target open for the time being – I will see what happens when I’m back around 2pm

14:30pm   Just got back and the position is doing ok (+11 pips) but I’m going to hang on a while longer as the stop loss is so small.

17:25pm   Just come in from the garden to see how my trade is fairing and the FTSE price hit a low at 6690 around an hour ago but has retreated up slightly – so I’ve closed the position off at +38 pips a few seconds ago.

08:50am   End of the week again so it is an early start to my weekend, no chart watching today but back here on Monday morning.

Market Update:

Gold had a fairly positive day on Thursday as global equities largely lose their bullish momentum and traders book some profits ahead of the summer holidays. The safe haven metal advanced $14:10 during yesterday’s session to finish at $1330:80 but has suffered from some profit taking earlier this morning and is now sitting at $1324:65. The overnight Asian trading session followed America’s lead and closed mainly down with the Japanese Nikkei 225 index leading the losers with a fall of 1.09% (-183 points) and this sentiment has transferred across to European equities this morning with all main indices posting losses in the first hour of trading.

Crude oil markets experienced another bearish day on Thursday on high global stock concerns and increasing production from Iraq and Iran, U.S. WTI Crude ended the day down by $1:11 at $44:52 and is further lower this morning at $44:36 currently.

08:20am   After a few days out in the sunshine, I am planning to do some chart watching today as well as catching up on emails so any any trades I do have will be detailed below.

Market Update:

Markets in the U.S. had an upbeat trading session yesterday with banks and technology stocks leading the way, the Dow Jones index of top 30 stocks ended the day at 18595 (+0.19%) although the wider S&P 500 closed up nearly 0.5% ahead (at 2173.5) and touched a possible new resistance at 2175 before retreating back slightly. This level has just been reached in after hours futures trading so today could produce some interesting price action with the S&P daily chart showing an overbought reading on my MMOSc oscillator.

Although indices across the world are not advancing as quickly as they have done on the past few weeks, there is no rush to buy Gold at the moment and yesterday’s session saw the yellow metal slip down once again – the high of $1375 that was reached 10 days ago is now a distant memory and Wednesday’s trading left it $16:10 down to end at $1315:90 although overnight trading in Asian has moved values up, currently at $1318:05.

Wednesday is U.S. Crude Oil Inventories and the numbers showed another draw from stocks at Cushing, this was the 9th consecutive week that stocks are falling and this prompted a rise in futures prices – the September delivery price rose to $45:93, up 18 cents. This bullish price action kept going during the overnight Asian trading session but is now subdued since European markets opened and the price has slipped 80 cents in the past hour.

Trading Diary:

09:20am   Just got into a ‘long’ position on my 15min Gold chart using strategy-3 from my trendFX system, the stop loss is 31 pips.  There may also be a UTB trade setting up on my  WTI Crude chart – more details in the next 30 minutes.

09:35am   The price on my WTI Crude chart has fallen enough in the past 5 minutes to trigger the ‘short’ UTB trade mentioned above – my stop loss on this position is just 16 pips, quite low for a 30 minute chart.

09:50am  Off for a cycle ride for a while.

11:30am   Back home now and both trades still doing ok. I will review them before I go off to lunch and perhaps close them off as I’ve been invited for a game of golf this afternoon.

12:25pm   Off out to lunch in a minute so closed off my WTI Crude Oil trade at +31 pips but as the Gold trade is only sitting at +12 pips I am leaving it running and  have moved the stop loss upto break even as we don’t want a winning trade turning into a loss. I’ve set the target at +31 pips, a 1:1 profit target.

22:55pm   After returning this evening I noticed my Gold trade was stopped out at break even so the total for today’s trading stood at +31 pips.

09:55am  Slightly later than usual start to my day here in the study as I’ve already been out on an hour-long cycle ride along the beach path – and the weather is again too glorious to stay indoors today watching charts so I shall have another day off from the markets.

Market Update:

The markets seem to have entered their ‘summer holiday’ period already, there’s not much driving U.S. equities upwards but neither are investors moving over to Gold either and the overnight Asian market ended mixed with the Shanghai Composite and Nikkei 225 indices finishing down but the Hang Seng and Sydney’s ASX-200 posting gains over the session. European markets have started their session slightly positively with London’s FTSE 100 posting a gain of 26 pips so far this morning and the German Dax 30 is doing even better at +49 pips on last night’s close.

Oil has also traded sideways ahead of this afternoon’s U.S. inventory release where we see the current state of crude oil stocks in Cushing, Wyoming. Ahead of today’s weekly report the American Petroleum Institute has reported that stockpiles have dropped by over 2 million barrels since last week and that has contributed to a small rise on prices yesterday, U.S. WTI Crude rose $1:31 in early trading yesterday before falling back to finish just 22 cents up for the day.