#FTSE #WallSt Quite a few years ago, managing to horrify a hotel full of Americans proved to be a real cultural surprise. We were on our annual ski trip to Vail, Colorado and it had become “a thing” for me to fetch my guitar sometime after dinner. I’d play while getting very drunk, often relinquishing the instrument to other hotel guests who felt able to humiliate themselves in the same manner as myself. To be fair, the hotel bar has become regularly very busy, its character changing from a bunch of folk retelling their days ski adventures to a bunch of folk sometimes singing their heads off.
On a Tuesday evening, after dinner, our gang of 10 Brits made ourselves comfortable around the fire pit, the bar served us a round of drinks and the barman kept a close eye on one of the many televisions surrounding the bar area. Absently noticing the TV volumes were up, I settled down to tune the guitar (a nightmare 12 string) and led into Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” melody. The bar manager made his way across, hissing I couldn’t play as the president was on TV. It transpired this was the annual “State of The Union” address and unlike the UK and political broadcasts, people were paying close attention to what their President was saying.
Our little gang of skiers quietly respected the reverence with which folk were listening to the TV but in truth, all we talked about was the massive difference in culture between the US and the UK. The idea of people falling silent to listen to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown on a telly was truly an alien concept, yet we were surrounded by Americans who thought President Bush might say something important. While there are innumerable differences between the two countries, this was one which had to be experienced as we’d never have believed it. The following evening, turning up without a guitar led to apologies about the Presidential interruption, along with questions about our equivalent in the UK. While the closest may be the Royal Address at Christmas, personally I don’t think I’ve ever seen it. In our house, at Christmas the TV would only be turned on to watch “The Great Escape”….
With next Tuesday being “The State of The Union” from President Trump, it should be interesting watching the markets on Wednesday as those who think they understand politicians choose their own interpretation of their Great Leaders words. Then again, we may watch it ourselves, due to President Trump being ‘different’!
Currently, below 10,600 suggests the potential for near term weakness to an initial 10,565 points. Our secondary, if broken, works out at 10,516 points. If triggered, the tightest stop loss looks like 10,635 points. Overall, there is the potential of further slippage to 10,362 points in the event 10,516 breaks but we lack confidence in such a movement.
In our usual alternate scenario, the FTSE needs exceed 10,672 points to trigger a visit to an initial 10,713 points. Our ‘longer term’ secondary, if this initial is exceeded, calculates at 10,782 points.
Have a good weekend. Only a short while to the first GP of 2026 on 8th March. Hopefully better telly than a US president droning on about the best country in the world.
FUTURES
FUTURES
| Time Issued | Market | Price At Issue | Short Entry | Fast Exit | Slow Exit | Stop | Long Entry | Fast Exit | Slow Exit | Stop | Prior |
| 11:13:19PM | BRENT | 7154 | 6989 | 6910 | 7100 | 7165 | 7239 | 7063 | ‘cess | ||
| 11:16:03PM | GOLD | 4998.1 | 4959 | 4931 | 4984 | 5023 | 5072 | 4993 | |||
| 11:20:24PM | FTSE | 10660.8 | 10596 | 10568 | 10632 | 10670 | 10687 | 10642 | Success | ||
| 11:28:43PM | STOX50 | 6059.4 | 6038 | 6027 | 6057 | 6065 | 6076 | 6044 | ‘cess | ||
| 11:32:34PM | GERMANY | 25020 | 24968 | 24926 | 25037 | 25123 | 25180 | 24996 | |||
| 11:47:58PM | US500 | 6864.8 | 6833 | 6797 | 6869 | 6910 | 6923 | 6854 | |||
| 11:53:28PM | DOW | 49422.9 | 49201 | 48996 | 49447 | 49893 | 50100 | 49571 | |||
| 11:56:08PM | NASDAQ | 24810.2 | 24691 | 24605 | 24886 | 25004 | 25087 | 24847 |
19/02/2026 FTSE Closed at 10627 points. Change of -0.55%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 9,149,830,600 a change of 23.38%
18/02/2026 FTSE Closed at 10686 points. Change of 1.23%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 7,416,218,337 a change of 13.36%
17/02/2026 FTSE Closed at 10556 points. Change of 0.79%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 6,541,923,736 a change of 30.7%
16/02/2026 FTSE Closed at 10473 points. Change of 0.26%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 5,005,351,962 a change of -53.38%
13/02/2026 FTSE Closed at 10446 points. Change of 0.42%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 10,736,069,118 a change of 25.25%
12/02/2026 FTSE Closed at 10402 points. Change of -0.67%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 8,571,766,423 a change of 6.33%
11/02/2026 FTSE Closed at 10472 points. Change of 1.15%. Total value traded through LSE was: £ 8,061,814,273 a change of -0.89% 
SUCCESS above means both FAST & SLOW targets were met. ‘CESS means just the FAST target met and probably the next time it is exceeded, movement to the SLOW target shall commence.
Our commentary is in two sections. Immediately below are today’s updated comments. If our commentary remains valid, the share can be found in the bottom section which has a RED heading. Hopefully, this will mean you no longer need to flip back through previous reports. HYPERLINKS DISABLED IN THIS VERSION
Please remember, all prices are mid-price (halfway between the Buy and Sell). When we refer to a price CLOSING above a specific level, we are viewing the point where we can regard a trend as changing. Otherwise, we are simply speculating on near term trading targets. Our website is www.trendsandtargets.com.
UPDATE. We often give an initial and a secondary price. If the initial is exceeded, we still expect it to fall back but the next time the initial is bettered, the price should continue to the secondary. The converse it true with price drops.
We can be contacted at info@trendsandtargets.com. Spam filters set to maximum so only legit emails get through…
Section One – Outlook Updated Today. Click here for Section Two – Outlook Remains Valid shares
Click Epic to jump to share: LSE:AFC AFC Energy** **LSE:BME B & M** **LSE:BP. BP PLC** **LSE:EMG MAN** **LSE:MRO Melrose** **LSE:OXIG Oxford Instruments** **LSE:STAR Star Energy** **
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Updated charts published on : AFC Energy, B & M, BP PLC, MAN, Melrose, Oxford Instruments, Star Energy,
LSE:AFC AFC Energy. Close Mid-Price: 13.5 Percentage Change: + 3.85% Day High: 13.5 Day Low: 12.8
Target met. Further movement against AFC Energy ABOVE 13.5 should improve ……..
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View Previous AFC Energy & Big Picture ***
LSE:BME B & M. Close Mid-Price: 187.4 Percentage Change: + 0.29% Day High: 188 Day Low: 184.3
Continued trades against BME with a mid-price ABOVE 188 should improve th ……..
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View Previous B & M & Big Picture ***
LSE:BP. BP PLC. Close Mid-Price: 479 Percentage Change: + 2.02% Day High: 484.1 Day Low: 467.65
Continued trades against BP. with a mid-price ABOVE 484.1 should improve ……..
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View Previous BP PLC & Big Picture ***
LSE:EMG MAN Close Mid-Price: 272.8 Percentage Change: -2.15% Day High: 281 Day Low: 270.6
Target met. In the event of MAN enjoying further trades beyond 282p, the ……..
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View Previous MAN & Big Picture ***
LSE:MRO Melrose Close Mid-Price: 665.4 Percentage Change: -2.41% Day High: 682.6 Day Low: 661
All Melrose needs are mid-price trades ABOVE 682.6 to improve acceleratio ……..
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View Previous Melrose & Big Picture ***
LSE:OXIG Oxford Instruments Close Mid-Price: 2615 Percentage Change: -1.13% Day High: 2680 Day Low: 2600
All Oxford Instruments needs are mid-price trades ABOVE 2680 to improve a ……..
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View Previous Oxford Instruments & Big Picture ***
LSE:STAR Star Energy. Close Mid-Price: 13 Percentage Change: + 10.64% Day High: 13 Day Low: 11.75
Target met. Further movement against Star Energy ABOVE 13 should improve ……..
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View Previous Star Energy & Big Picture ***