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

... and once I'm satisfied it's turned, Harry, I'll start trading it the other way. But, until then, I'm not going to worry about a load of ifs, whats, whens and maybes.

Hils - is that a mixed metaphor? :-)

I can see 6,400 being hit pdq here.

Duly noted, hilary! I shall stop trying to second guess the market and follow the trend.
"... and once I'm satisfied it's turned......." I think it may happen pretty quickly though. (Damn.....second guessing again......)!

I hope you are out of AAPL - currently @451.26 - 12.2%

Make you own mind up!


Samsung profits up 76% as mobile earnings double

Samsung Electronics said its profits surged 76% in the last three months of 2012, on the strength of its booming smartphone business.

Net income rose to a record 7.04tn won ($6.6bn; £4.2bn), up from 4.01tn won in the same period a year earlier, beating analysts' expectations.

The Korean firm said its mobile profits more than doubled over the same period.

Last year, Samsung became the world's biggest smartphone maker, overtaking Apple, its main rival in the sector.

"Overall its earnings momentum remains intact," said Lee Se-chul, from Meritz Securities in Seoul.

Samsung Drops After Warning Won May Cut Earnings $2.8 Billion

Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) fell to the lowest in almost two months in Seoul trading after saying the strengthening won may cut operating profit by at least 3 trillion won ($2.8 billion) this year.

The world’s largest maker of mobile phones, TVs and computer-memory chips dropped as much as 2.4 percent to 1,418,000 won, the lowest since Nov. 30. The 2013 forecast overshadowed a better-than-expected 76 percent jump in fourth- quarter profit to 7.04 trillion won.

Apple’s Growth Slowdown Fuels Concern of Shift to Value Stock

Apple Inc. (AAPL), after years of hyper growth that made it the world’s most valuable company, is starting to look more like a value stock, according to some analysts reacting to the iPhone maker’s financial results.

At least 20 analysts lowered their price targets after Apple on Jan. 23 reported its slowest growth rates in years and said the trend will continue. The stock fell 12 percent yesterday, and has dropped more than 35 percent since September.

Those ifs, whats, whens and maybes can sometime weigh very heavy, Skinners, doncha know! :o)

Hils - I thought it was 'ifs buts maybes' or if 'ifs and buts were pots and pans' bwtfdik :-)

Hmmmm. You're right, although I wasn't even thinking of said expression when I posted.

Would that really make what I said a mixed metaphor though?

No, I was probably being obtuse!

All quiet atm - a bit out of Euro land @9.

Can you be skinny and obtuse at the same time. Or is that a double entendre? :o)

merely a hidden meaning!

lol

Apparently I can! :-)

Reminds me of Johnners "The Batsman's Holding, The Bowler's Willey" or similar.

don't start talking about 'double enders' please, its 'hard' enough trying to trade as it is...

Ok then, a few more - Amusing "Double-entendre's"

German Ifo Business Climate 104.2 consensus 103.1 previous 102.4

hehehe, read them before, but always good for a chuckle... )

You need to listen to the confusion that sometimes accompanies Samantha

Excellent and timeless :-)

Today's comment from Dominic Picarda of IC:
"EuroI do understand why so many spread bettors went into yesterday short of the FTSE. The UK index and various other markets were all already pretty stretched as of early Thursday, and therefore ostensibly ripe for shorting. As I said in yesterday’s Outlook, however, overboughtness should be treated as an amber light, rather than a red one. It should alert us to the fact that a trend may have gone too far, too fast, rather than actually prompting us to head for the exits. The markets subsequently surged even higher, burning those that had made their sell-bets.

What now? The FTSE is now what I’d describe as really overbought on its daily chart. You have to go back to the blithe, pre-credit crunch days of February 2005 to find another occasion where it was this stretched. I am therefore increasingly cautious, but still willing to take small longs after intraday pullbacks. And I will remain so until there are definitive signs of reversal, not just overboughtness."