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

USD Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment 71.3 consensus 75.1 previous 72.9

todays dow gap at 13597 has now been filled by low circa 13590
current price as i write circa 13610
regards and good luck
jkd
edit i notice new page please be sure to read prior page. ta
regards
jkd

I really can't resist a FTSE short at this level - just filled at 6168.

As a small reminder, we are now just one month away from potential tumult in the US. The $200bn “Extraordinary Measures” fund is due to run out around 15th Feb (not the end of Feb). The US will not default as tax revenue more than covers cash requirements but it is the point at which the US government would have to start shutting down non-vital services. This is what outgoing Treasury Secretary Mr Tim Geithner describes as “the catastrophic outcome.” Essentially technical default. As like as not the debt ceiling will be raised again, maybe after a couple of days of technical default (a historic event). According to the Bipartisan Research Center, the ceiling will have to rise by $1.1tr to end-2013 and by an additional $2.3tr to end-2014. i.e. by 1st Jan 2015 the US will have racked up six consecutive years of $1tr deficits. The Fed may have the financial markets’ back but the significance of this event should not be overlooked.

Investors should note that US short interest has plunged to early 2012 lows...and why not! The Fed has investors’ backs after all. A massive $220bn primary bank deposit injection, the routine crushing of volatility using futures, ongoing and aggressive QE etc. Quite hard to see how stocks can ever fall in such an environment although it’s equally worth pondering where equities might be were it not for gigantic central bank largess.

ECB: Number of Euro-zone Financial Institutions Down in 2012

FRANKFURT--The number of commercial banks, credit unions and other monetary financial institutions in the euro zone continued to decline in 2012, the European Central Bank said Monday. The descent marks the continuation of a long term trend in the monetary union, which has struggled in recent years to overcome a sovereign debt crisis and banking crisis. As of Jan. 1, 2013, the number of monetary financial institutions resident in the euro area was down 6% to 7,059 from 7,533 this time last year, the ECB said in a press release. Euro-zone financial institutions are down 28% since Jan. 1, 1999, the ECB said, despite the accession of Greece, Slovenia, Cyprus and other countries into the monetary union. The declines occurred across the whole of the euro area, but were particularly pronounced in Slovakia, where the number of institutions declined by 30%, and Luxembourg, where they declined 22%. France, Spain and Finland also suffered large falls, the ECB said. Germany and France accounted for 42% of all euro area institutions, approximately the same share as recorded this time last year, the ECB said. The number of monetary financial institutions also slipped in the European Union in 2012, down 55 to 9,076, versus the prior year.

I believe A. Merkel's future hangs in the balance today when lower Saxony go to the polls? Also quite alot of stuff happening this week on the macro front, so hopefully see the markets rise, though seems that the UK is closed for business due to a little snow!

Reality Bites at Long Last for Sterling

--Sterling got many passes as the euro zone struggled --It's losing them at last --Which could well be just what the U.K. needs By David Cottle Sterling has had the benefit of innumerable doubts. Ever since the financial crisis started driving wedges into the cracks between euro-zone member states, the U.K. has looked like a relatively calm alternative destination for investment; its decision to stay out of the euro wise. With a currency of its own, a central bank prepared to print lots more money and a new government elected in 2010 on a mandate of public-sector restraint, it was pretty good by comparison. How they must have wished they had the same hand in Athens, or Madrid, on occasion these past four years. The U.K. even held on to its triple-A credit rating when France and even the U.S. were losing theirs. Buoyed up by the pass given to them by the bond markets, which quickly rethought their earlier contention that gilts were 'sitting on a bed of nitroglycerine,' various Westminster politicians would at times lecture their euro-zone counterparts on how best to proceed. Oh how they must have loved that in Brussels. However, the shine has come off, and the lectures have stopped. Public-sector restraint was easy to trumpet but much harder to deliver. Even the government admits that eliminating the structural budget deficit will now take years longer than initially thought. An unbiased observer might conclude that it'll take decades longer, if it's even possible. Growth is also scant. We'll get the first look at the U.K.'s fourth-quarter performance on Friday, and anything better than a sullen 'flat' will be quite a result. That triple-A rating now looks doomed. Indeed, as seems usual in these post-crisis days, the rating agencies themselves will probably be the last to recognize it. And sterling is duly falling. Haven no more. But that is probably no bad thing. In truth, the markets had always overdone the U.K.'s attributes, wilfully deluding themselves in the process. Being in better shape than the euro zone was never an objective good thing. Even while the bond buyers were piling in, the U.K. remained just about the most indebted nation on earth. The scene just never looked right. And now, in the face of another worldwide round of competitive devaluations, a weaker pound one way or the other is going to be exactly what the U.K.'s exporters need. It might also help balance the books with the euro zone. The U.K's perennial trade gap with the bloc is one of the euro-skeptics' main reasons for wanting out. In the end, the markets were too willing to overlook the U.K.' shortcomings and believe a new government could deliver. They ended up mispricing the pound, and, although adjustment will be painful, sterling's level will be closer to harsh U.K. reality once it's over. And a dose of that is good for politicians.

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skinny - do you happen to know the symbol for the Construction and Materials Index? ...... comparing that with NMX3720 might be interesting and fruitful as one would have thought they would move hand in hand, but i suspect C+M has lagged, perhaps unfairly

NMX2350 (blue)

There's a rumour going round that ECB's Weidmann is to resign.... A similar story did the rounds last summer, but he had a 'change of heart' then.

If this story has got any legs it'll seriously dent the markets imho. DAX and euro are already coming off quite hard on it.

I wondered what caused the dip in the last half hour!

It's a fave old chestnut for a bit of manipulation, Skinners. I doubt there's anything in the rumour but, if you want to buy the market, you just tell the world and his wife that Weidmann's resigned. :)

Such realism cynicism in one so young! :-)

Well at least you got the young bit right... :)

thanks skinny .... rather bears out what i thought and am glad i manfully resisted the siren call to get back into NMX3720 yet again - it's served me well to date ...... looks as though we are heading for a quick consolidation sell-off, so i'll try to get my timing right for the next foray, though prob into NMX2350

Hils Lol!

Off topic, just nipped to Morrisons for red wine for beef casserole - Hardy's Aussie Shiraz @£3.99 - now the dilemma!

Thanks for the explanation Hilary - I, too, wondered what was going on... closed my short while I could do so in profit.

Skinny: save some for later!

Just seen this rather more 'official' explanation for the earlier nosedive:

' European stock markets struggled for direction in early trade on Tuesday, as investors digested the latest policy decision from the Bank of Japan, which said it would introduce open-ended monetary easing and a formal 2% inflation target.'

Mistress - a successful w/e cooking ..... dinosaur casserole very yummy and rib-sticking; marmalade good and bitter to match my personality