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

that is partly why i set a stop on my dow long last night and was scarcely distraught when it got hit ...... it happens that i opened a small ftse 250 long this morning, but again, i do not expect to stay in long (it's nicely in the money at the moment)

my HG&H Index contract is also showing a decent profit, but if the market falls, then so will that index, so again, i shall not be greedy

I was cashed in on December Futures yesterday so not alot of unrealised profit/loss on my portfolio at the moment, my DOW play is in loss but my FTO March Futures more than cover. I'm going to run a FTSE short, small position on rollover to cash in on the inevitable fall.

Thinking the same Shortie, UKX may well rally higher till friday but has to fall eventually, buiding a short position starting @ 5971.7

FTSE/DOW YTD.

As am I Chris, small stakes being added to.

Next DOW resistance at 13411 I think.

Greece's government bond prices Wednesday rallied to their highest levels since the country's debt was restructured in March, after a credit rating upgrade by Standard & Poor's further bolstered hopes that a messy Greek exit from the euro zone has been averted. The recent run of positive news on Greece also boosted bonds issued by other euro-zone countries with low debt ratings, with Italian bond yields just above their lowest levels in two years. S&P raised Greece's rating to B-minus from selective default, the highest debt rating enjoyed by the country since June 2011, citing the commitment of euro-zone policymakers to keep the troubled country inside the single currency. The outlook for the country's debt rating is stable. While Greece isn't expected to sell bonds in the foreseeable future, an upgrade of the country's debt rating is still important as it reflects optimism that policymakers in the euro zone are getting to grips with the crisis, after more than two years of bickering and fumbling. Greece will this week receive EUR34 billion in aid that had been held up for six months due to political uncertainty and prolonged negotiations with its creditors over fresh austerity measures and a debt reduction plan. Greek bonds climbed sharply. The country's 2023 bond--the closest Greece has to a 10-year benchmark following the March write-down of private investors' holdings--traded at 47.4% of face value, the highest level since the restructuring. The 2023 yield was down half a percentage point on the day at 12.16%, according to Tradeweb. Extremely thin trading volume also exaggerated the moves. Just over EUR29 billion of the new Greek bonds are held by private investors, after Greece convinced holders to sell it back EUR31.9 billion of bonds last week in a bid to lower its debt pile. Bonds issued by other fiscally-frail euro-zone nations followed in Greece's wake. Italian and Spanish debt also rallied as the prospect of Greece leaving the euro zone, a potentially calamitous scenario that has rattled investors throughout 2012, appeared to recede a little further. Italy's 10-year yield was down 0.05 percentage point at 4.40%, just above the two-year low of 4.38% hit earlier this month. "S&P's rating action points to a reduction of systemic risk in the euro zone," said interest rate strategists at Rabobank International. Nevertheless, a B-minus rating leaves Greece deep inside junk territory. Bond prices below 50% of face value indicate investors are still pricing in a considerable chance of further losses as the country struggles to bring its soaring debt pile under control in the midst of a deep recession. S&P noted that even after the recent buyback of Greek bonds, which prompted the firm to move its rating to selective default, Greece's debt-to-gross domestic product ratio is more than 160%.

Have the S&P gone mental with this assessment, Greece can not afford to pay its debts hence emergency bailouts being received. This on its own should be reflected in a debt status of junk until such a point that the country can borrow and be expected to honour its debt repayments without outside intervention...

out of FTSE 250 at 12368 - it'll pay for a couple of tanks of petrol
out of HG&H Index at 8358 - it'll pay for Beloved's Christmas pressie

dwelling on shorting Dow

I'm short on the DOW, small stake though.

CAD Wholesale Sales m/m 0.9% consensus 0.4% previous -1.4%

USD Building Permits 0.90M consensus 0.88M previous 0.87M

USD Housing Starts 0.86M consensus 0.87M previous 0.89M

all fairly neutral ...... will dow therefore take a breather?

Obama Administration Threatens Boehner Budget Bill Veto

By Kathleen Hunter & Roger Runningen - Dec 19, 2012 3:47 PM GMT

President Barack Obama would veto a tax proposal presented by House Speaker John Boehner because it would put “too big a burden on the middle class,” White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said.

General Motors flying today on share purchase scheme.

Skinny,

Veto - what Boehner wanted? A plan seen as positive, a veto as negative?

Cheers,
KidA

Veto - as in block or stop. The article is there in the link or here is the FT take on it.

Obama threatens to veto Boehner’s plan B


The White House threatened to veto a bill backed by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives to extend tax cuts for all except those earning more than $1m, without any accompanying spending cuts, as fiscal cliff talks appeared to lose some momentum.

“This approach does not meet the test of balance, and the president would veto the legislation in the unlikely event of its passage,” said Dan Pfeiffer, White House communications director, in a statement on Wednesday.

i went short dow at 13354 and am quite surprised that following the above rattle, that the market has not headed south quite sharply

now i'm stuck! .... don't know where to estimate the short-term bottom of this ..... arguably around 12940 i guess, but that implies a pretty sharp correction

DOW down 99 points, futures off a further 20.

U.S. "fiscal cliff" talks turn sour, Obama threatens veto

WASHINGTON | Thu Dec 20, 2012 2:28am GMT

(Reuters) - The conflict over the stalled "fiscal cliff" talks grew more heated Wednesday and threatened to become even more so Thursday when the action is expected to shift for the first time to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In the absence of a bipartisan agreement, the Republican leadership of the House plans to move a bill of its own to the floor Thursday to avert the steep tax hikes and budget cuts set for January.

Under pressure from PM-elect, BOJ boosts stimulus again

TOKYO | Thu Dec 20, 2012 6:30am GMT

(Reuters) - The Bank of Japan delivered its third dose of monetary stimulus in four months on Thursday in a prelude to more aggressive action next year, as it faces intensifying pressure from the country's next leader for stronger efforts to beat deflation.

It also signalled setting a higher inflation target at its next meeting in January, when a new government will be in place ready to negotiate with the central bank.

FTSE stumbles on fresh U.S. budget concern

LONDON | Thu Dec 20, 2012 8:18am GMT
(Reuters) - The FTSE 100 index fell on Thursday as investors used renewed tensions in U.S. budget talks as an excuse to lock in profits.

The FTSE 100 was down 5.01 points, or 0.1 percent, at 5,956.58 by 8:06 a.m. British time, having closed up 25.69 points, or 0.4 percent, at 5,961.59 on Wednesday, scaling fresh nine-month highs.

Sentiment towards riskier assets turned negative overnight, hurting U.S. shares, while mining stocks and banks were pressured on Thursday as talks to avoid a "fiscal cliff" of planned tax hikes and spending cuts in the United States stumbled yet again.

I seem to lose all the profit I make on the DOW and FTSE because I mess up about as often as I get it right. I'm beginning to think that I'm wasting my time - though it is fun when things go right!