Today, just hours after Donald Trump threatened North Korea with ‘fire and fury like the world has never seen’, Pyongyang state media that the nation was ‘carefully examining’ whether to hit the Pacific island of Guam with missiles. The US has a military base on the island which is classed as an unincorporated territory of the US. A military spokesman for North Korea added that they might also carry out a pre-emptive operation if the US continued to provoke them.
More soggy data from China this morning. In July consumer prices rose by just 0.1 per cent taking the annualised rate down to 1.4 per cent. This rather erratic series has massive swings between minus 2 per cent and plus 8 per cent over the last 20 years.
DAX 30
Yesterday’s small shooting star candle underlines the importance of the horizontal level at 12350. A daily close below 12085 would turn momentum negative.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Small short at 12225; stop above 12355. Target 11550.
POSITION TAKER: Short at 12175; stop above 12415. Target 11500.
FTSE 100
A small shooting star candle yesterday as the commodity channel indicator turns down as it did late July.
SHORT TERM TRADER: New small short at 7509; stop above 7600. First target 7350.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
S&P 500
Definitely a change in tone yesterday with a big shooting star candle and the commodity channel indicator collapsing in one fell swoop. These underline the fragility that has built up since mid-July. Similarly the Dow Industrials saw its first lower daily close after 10 consecutive higher ones. The Rule of 8 (to 10).
SHORT TERM TRADER: New short at 2468; stop above 2500. First target 2430.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
BRITISH POUND/US DOLLAR
Now momentum turned marginally bearish and we’re in the middle of the broad range of the last three months making life difficult.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Stopped out at a small loss. Must wait for better signs of finding its feet.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
EURO/US DOLLAR
Bullish momentum has collapsed as we hover just under this year’s high.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Long at 1.1740; stop below 1.1700. Target 1.2150.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
GOLD
Knee-jerk rush into gold as noises from the Korean peninsula escalate.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Tiny short at 1266; stop above 1280. Target 1220.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
