This afternoon at 1.30 pm GMT , the U.S. Labour Department will report on the number of nonfarm payroll number during February.The consensus is for payrolls to decline by a seasonally adjusted 50,000 - 80,000, with the unemployment rate going up to 9.8% (against 9.7% in January), partly due to the bad weather in the United States during the month. Contrarian Investor is expecting a great deal of volatility in both the U.S. and U.K. markets as the numbers are announced.
The FTSE 100 hit an 18 month high this morning of 5,557 up 30 points on the day. DOW industrials futures are currently up 18 pts at 10,464. At these levels, the markets are looking a little overheated and I am considering a short on the FTSE 100 this morning on anticipation that the non-farm payrolls will be in line or fall short.
