UK Shares Trade Lower Into The Weekend

The equity rally petered out with profit-taking ahead of the weekend. Gold pushed higher, and oil rallied ahead of Sunday’s OPEC meeting.

I decided to cash in my equity long bet; a bit too early, but I’m happy enough. I part-closed last night at 3750 and 3760, finishing off at 3780. My reasoning was that the markets were fast approaching their 21-day moving averages, looked over-cooked on the shorter charts and might be prone to some pre-weekend profit-taking. I’ll be happy to play the long side again next week if it still feels right, but I’m not going to play ‘Headline Roulette’ over the weekend.

I’m in danger of losing my reputation as a contrary indicator on gold; I’ve just closed out a tasty little overnight trade for £150. Yesterday gold pushed up to $930, so when it slipped back to $920 I decided to have a bit, paying $921 for a £1 bet. I felt confident enough running the bet overnight and returned from the gym today to find the price up at $938. I missed the top, but with the price way above the Bollinger band, and the RSI over 70, I decided to take my profit at $936. I felt pretty chuffed as the price subsequently dropped back (briefly) to the $920 level. However, indecision ruled and I missed the opportunity of making a quick $10 on the bounce, but I’m happy staying flat over the weekend.

One to keep an eye on is the EUR/GBP. I’ve been nipping in and out of this one several times a day, always opening a long bet and closing out for a profit. But today the froth seems to be missing. It’s not enough to call an end to the uptrend (it deserves a rest after a busy few days), but certainly I’m going to be more cautious in my trading until I get a clearer message.

I was lucky with my latest EUR/GBP trade. Yesterday, when the price broke below the 21-period moving average, I suggested that it could continue falling to the lower Bollinger band at £0.9220 (Not Much Industry In The Fatherland). It did, sort of. What I hadn’t allowed for was the lower band rising so that it met the price at £0.9240, not ‘20. I picked up a fiver at £0.9242, closing £3 at £0.9263 and running £2 overnight. Luckily I closed the bet before hitting the gym, selling at £0.9282; when I returned the price had fallen to £0.9175!

All in all, a good end to the week. All I need now is for England to beat the French on Sunday and Bath to win at Saracens. Oh, and if I can be greedy, Italy to beat the Welsh.

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