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

FTSE short closed and gone long @ 6298

CAD GDP m/m 0.3% consensus 0.2% previous 0.1%

CAD RMPI m/m -2.0% consensus 0.9% previous -1.9%

CAD IPPI m/m 0.0% consensus 0.1% previous -0.3%

USD Unemployment Claims 368K consensus 362K previous 330K

USD Core PCE Price Index m/m 0.0% consensus 0.1% previous 0.0%

USD Employment Cost Index q/q 0.5% consensus 0.6% previous 0.4%

USD Personal Spending m/m 0.2% consensus 0.4% previous 0.4%

USD Personal Income m/m 2.6% consensus 0.7% previous 0.6%

Dominic may well be right from an investors point of view.which i am.or he may not
i do like a dabble occasionally in the indices short term only. his views are of no use to my dabbles. so traders beware.
i am currently short the dow current price 13883 as i write rallying from a low of 13872
i usually get the dow wrong anyway but have to keep trying.
never know one day i might get on the right side of one of those moves.
current stop loss above yesterdays high of 13976.4 ( entry price 13936) may take some profit at just below break even.
good luck to all
regards
jkd

DP from IC is a chartist (s/better - CFD trader?), not an investor, which without causing offense, would seem fairly obvious from the posts I have made.
Perhaps if you usually get the DOW movement wrong, you might try following his advice! You never know............!!! ;o)

thanks H its certainly looking that way at the moment
current price 13934 as i write.
im still holding position at moment .not sure for how long though.)
i just may try a contrary.)
regards
jkd

looks scary for me and i am sorely tempted to sell out but have sold half only at break even
however i did plan the trade so have decided to trade the balance through to completion.
fortunately it is within my budgeted and money management limitations.
wont be happy if i have to take a loss however. but sometimes we just
have to.we cant be right every time. ill catch it one day.-)
regards and good luck
jkd

Still holding on to my FTSE short from 6345, aimimg for 6250,dropped my SL to 6300 for a guaranteed profit

I'm done and out

thats a tight stop loss b
but good luck
regards
jkd
ps as i wrote but now hit ?

another crossed post
please ignore mine.
ta
regards
jkd

Dow
4hr fibonacci support at 13882 sh.
regards
jkd

it would be nice for me if price could break down through this level.
but it also wouldnt suprise me if it made low and rallied from here
lets wait and see.
regards
jkd

we have a gap up at 13912sh too many gaps for for me in my opinion that
need filling be careful of a sharp up rally.current price as i write13873sh
ill do what i do/ take no notice of me as i am posting after the event in many
instances
regards
jkd

signing off now
no more watching price movement
just going to run my position. win or lose.
good luck to all
regards
jkd

stopped out - oh well good while it lasted u were right - too tight

Yen crosses hitting fresh highs. Shinzo must be working the night shift!

Lol Hilary - I'm picturing the night shift literally!

U.S. borrowing bill gets final passage without familiar drama

WASHINGTON | Fri Feb 1, 2013 5:47am GMT

(Reuters) - Completing a major Republican retreat from another messy showdown with President Barack Obama, the U.S. Senate on Thursday passed legislation to allow the government to keep borrowing money at least through May 19.

The measure has already passed the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and its next stop is Obama, who is expected to sign it into law.

gone short again at 6308 with tight sl at 6320

moved my sl down to 6305