rather than pick out individual stocks to trade, it can often be worthwhile to trade the indices themselves, especially in times of high volatility.

for those so inclined, i attach below charts for FTSE and FTSE 250, though one might equally be tempted to trade Dow or S&P, which is significantly broader in its coverage, or even NASDAQ

for ease of reading, i have attached 1 year and 3 month charts in each instance

5820 is where support sits as Cynic states. However considering heavy resistance at just over 5900 a sliding stop at 5850 isn't a bad idea. As the above chart shows, if a further test occurs of 5910 then a pull back above 5850 is likely. A fall below 5850 would be a likely early warning of a change in direction. IMO..

US ISM PMI @3pm.

To frack or not to frack - Gas-fired power stations to be encouraged by government

The government is to unveil its contentious gas strategy this week.

Chancellor George Osborne has ruled that gas should continue to play a role in day-to-day electricity generation beyond 2030.

Merkel's euro push leaves east Germany out in the cold

EISENHUETTENSTADT, Germany | Mon Dec 3, 2012 11:50am GMT

(Reuters) - This fading industrial city, like many in Angela Merkel's former East German home, is stony ground for the chancellor's message of European integration and fertile soil for opponents trying to stop her winning a third term next September.

More than two decades after unification, income and jobs in the five eastern states, home to 15 percent of the population, still lag behind the west and trillions of euros in transfers have not stemmed an exodus that has left some areas looking like ghost towns.

Bank of England credit scheme sees moderate initial take-up

LONDON | Mon Dec 3, 2012 11:18am GMT

(Reuters) - British banks and building societies drew down 4.36 billion pounds from a Bank of England programme to boost lending in its first two months, in what analysts said was a moderately encouraging start.

Net lending by the banks involved rose by only 496 million pounds, but the BoE's executive director for markets, Paul Fisher, said it was too early to use Monday's data as a guide to the scheme's success - a view largely shared by economists.

Greece Makes Buyback Offer as Merkel Floats Writeoffs

Greece offered 10 billion euros ($13 billion) to buy back bonds issued earlier this year as the bailed-out nation attempts to cut a debt load that may threaten future international aid.

Greek bonds rallied after the so-called modified Dutch auction was announced today by the Athens-based Public Debt Management Agency. PDMA offered an average maximum purchase price for the bonds maturing from 2023 to 2042 of 34.1 percent, based on information in the statement. The offer runs until 5 p.m. London time on Dec. 7.

Nokia Speed Advantage Opens Way to Holiday Gain on IPhone

When Tommie Johansson was looking for a new smartphone in Stockholm last month, he quickly ruled out the iPhone 5. The reason: It’s too slow.

The Apple Inc. (AAPL) handset can’t connect to the newest networks of most European carriers. That creates a potential opening for Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) as it seeks to claw back lost market share with new phones that can take full advantage of the fastest networks.

USD Final Manufacturing PMI 52.8 consensus 51.7 previous 52.4

Bouncing off resistance, the above daily chart shows how strong 5910 is. Long term bullish bhunt?? See below...

USD ISM Manufacturing PMI 49.5 consensus 51.5 previous 51.7

USD Construction Spending m/m 1.4% consensus 0.5% previous 0.6%

USD ISM Manufacturing Prices 52.5 consensus 54.3 previous 55.0

Cheers Shortie - I am letting it run for time being - still with 5850 as my SL

Your welcome bhunt, it'll be interesting to see which way the FTSE breaks long term. Since the credit crunch we've seen a flag formation as shown in the yearly chart above (solid diagonal green support, and red resistance lines). Either direction could be argued at the moment however I feel the downside will prevail due to QE and money supply. Sooner or later the banking system will release QE funds into the open market which will affect exchange rates and cause a period of hyperinflation. We're already seeing this as unimpaired commodities soar in price. Take the UK, energy, food etc have all soared recently and the countries QE policy isn't about to reverse this trend any time soon. When the markets finally give way to QE and the central bank realises it can't print its way out of debt we'll be left with higher interest rates and over supply of money. Unless wage inflation is able to keep up then we're looking at a major contraction even a depression. Of course this isn't about to happen any time soon, look at Greece, the can keeps on being kicked further up the road. But something will have to give sooner or later and history tells us the giving normally occurs in the lining of our pockets... Of course you could argue this from the other side but lets face it, governments are unable to remove their structural deficit currently, without this first step the larger problem can't begin to be tackled. All this is IMO and I'm sure others will disagree, who knows we may end up needing a new thread...

ISM PMI falls to its lowest reading since July 2009 --Respondents note little impact from Sandy --Bigger drag is uncertainty of fiscal future (Adds details throughout) By Kathleen Madigan The U.S. manufacturing sector fell back into contraction last month as businesses harbor uncertainty over the impact of the so-called fiscal cliff, according to data released Monday by the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM's manufacturing purchasing managers' index unexpectedly fell to 49.5 in November from 51.7 in October. The November reading was the lowest since July 2009. A reading above 50 indicates expanding activity. The index fell below 50 during the summer, but improved in September and October. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected the November PMI to fall but only to 51.0. Comments from the panel "indicate that the second half of the year continues to show a slowdown in demand; respondents also express concern over how and when the fiscal cliff issue will be resolved," the report said. Bradley Holcomb, who oversees the ISM survey, said few respondents mentioned superstorm Sandy. One member said shipments were delayed by the storm. In a conference call after the report, Mr. Holcomb said lagged impacts from Sandy could show up in later surveys. The bigger drag on the factory sector is coming from uncertainty surrounding future federal spending and tax policy, he said. "People are backing off from making any moves until [the fiscal cliff] is cleared up." The ISM report conflicts with another national factory index also reported Monday. Data provider Markit said its own U.S. factory index hit a six-month high in November. Mr. Holcomb played down the differences between the ISM and other reports. He noted the ISM has a long history and has been consistently hovering near the 50-mark since June. The ISM indexes were generally mixed. The new-orders index in November fell to 50.3 from 54.2 in October. The exports index remained contractionary for the sixth consecutive month, falling to 47.0 from 48.0. The production index rose to 53.7 from 52.4. The employment index dropped sharply to 48.4 from 52.1. The November jobs index is the lowest since September 2009. Economists think overall November job growth was very weak, in part because of Sandy. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expect November nonfarm payrolls increased only 80,000, down from 171,000 jobs created in October. Payrolls are scheduled to be reported Friday. With demand slowing businesses are more cautious about inventories. The inventory index dropped to 45.0 from 50.0 in October. More respondents also thought their customers' inventories were too low. The customers' inventory index dropped to a near-year low of 42.5 from 49.0. Manufacturers reported only a small easing in cost pressures. The ISM's prices index declined to 52.5 from 55.0 in October. The ISM said it will release its semiannual outlooks for the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing sectors on Dec. 11.

Barry the Kenyan to take questions on Twitter on fiscal cliff at 19:00 GMT

Spanish Unemployment Change 74.3K consensus 90.0K previous 128.2K

Dang - stopped out at 5850. Still a handsome profit

lol! did tell you, but never knock or mock pennies in the pocket

I am convinced that this will rise to 6200+ over next few months so the gambler in me has gone back in with the same stake at 5855.!!!!

would not disagree ..... market sentiment has changed firmly for the better

Look and laugh learn! :-)

BORIS JOHNSON AT THOMSON REUTERS

And from that speech, referring to the Olympics: Boris: "The only piece of transport infrastructure to malfunction was a zipwire."

Well a FTSE100 rise to over 6200+ would require a weekly close above 5917. Market sentiment may have changed but I doubt the FTSE has the legs at the moment to reach such a level.