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Morning call

Hot CPI or not? Euro inflation lands at 11:00 CEST (10:00 UK)

My call: Short. Taking the overnight news and the diary together, I expect a weaker London session, which suits a short.

My call @ Fri 16 Oct morning:ShortRight? @ Fri 16 Oct 16:30 UK:

Wrong: after my call the FTSE rose a little into the 16:30 UK close, perhaps because oil majors and defence shares gained while Gulf shipping attacks kept energy costly, which outweighed banks weighed down by Budget tax talk.

Evening post

Footsie stuck in the middle

This morning my call was Short. I was wrong. The market was up a bit. My call for Monday's open: Short. Weighing up tonight's news and the overnight diary, I expect the FTSE to open lower, which suits a short.

My call @ Fri 16 Oct evening:ShortRight? @ Mon 19 Oct 08:00 UK:

Morning call

Footsie goes nowhere

My call: No trade. Nothing I can see in this morning's news or diary points to a fall, so I'm standing aside from a short.

My call @ Thu 15 Oct morning:No tradeRight? @ Thu 15 Oct 16:30 UK:

Right: the FTSE rose a lot between my call and the 16:30 UK close, seemingly because official UK growth figures that morning showed the economy still growing, which eased gilt yields and helped the FTSE shrug off another tech sell-off.

Evening post

Footsie stuck in the middle

This morning my call was No trade. I was right. The market was up a lot. My call for tomorrow's open: No trade. The open has nothing pushing it down, so I'm standing aside from a short at the start.

My call @ Thu 15 Oct evening:No tradeRight? @ Fri 16 Oct 08:00 UK:

Right: from my call to the London open the FTSE went sideways, and it looks as if traders held off while Bank of England Governor Bailey spoke in Bangkok before dawn UK time.

Morning call

Inflation station: US CPI at 08:30 ET (13:30 UK)

My call: No trade. I'm holding off a short today, as no driver for a fall shows up this morning.

My call @ Wed 14 Oct morning:No tradeRight? @ Wed 14 Oct 16:30 UK:

Right: after my call the FTSE rose a little into the 16:30 UK close, and my guess is that the Bank of England's chief economist sounded doubtful about as many rate rises as markets expect, which lifted housebuilders even as US inflation ran hot.

Evening post

Footsie on the fence

This morning my call was No trade. I was right. The market was up a bit. My call for tomorrow's open: No trade. After a strong day in London, nothing in tonight's news clearly points to a lower start, so I'm not shorting the open.

My call @ Wed 14 Oct evening:No tradeRight? @ Thu 15 Oct 08:00 UK:

Right: by the London open the FTSE had gone sideways from where it was at my call, which I'd put down to the fact that the Fed's Beige Book showed patchy US growth and traders weighed the UK growth figures out just before the open.

Morning call

A quiet diary for London

My call: No trade. I don't see a clear downside driver today, so it's not a day to short.

My call @ Tue 13 Oct morning:No tradeRight? @ Tue 13 Oct 16:30 UK:

Wrong: the FTSE fell a little between my call and the 16:30 UK close, which I think was because worries about the cost of the AI boom hit tech shares, after the IMF warned that morning that AI hopes could prove too optimistic.

Evening post

Tuesday night: a lower open in view

This morning my call was No trade. I was wrong. The market was down a bit. My call: Short. China's trade and inflation figures land overnight, and a weak reading on either is the likeliest route to a lower open for the miners.

My call @ Tue 13 Oct evening:ShortRight? @ Wed 14 Oct 08:00 UK:

Wrong: from my call to the London open the FTSE went sideways, most likely because China's overnight inflation and trade figures gave markets little new to sell on.