There will be nothing positive driving the markets today. A war with Iraq is getting closer, making investors nervous, after the United States and UK stepped up their efforts for a new resolution.

Everyone is negative on Iraq and in combination with the gloom surrounding technology, the market is vulnerable.

We are caught in a vicious cycle of selling that only resolution on Iraq can break.

Trading is relatively thin with the Christmas holidays and there are bits and pieces of news but not much positive.

Sentiment seems to be more upbeat at the moment but bear in mind much of the improvement in earnings has come from restructuring, as companies take action to deal with lower sales and weaker pricing power.

We're at the point where financial markets could impact economic growth, in which case the bounce we've seen since July 24 could have a positive impact.