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

If it's as high as 200,000 then we'll definitely see some upward movement

Looks like the FTSE isn't done yet as it bounces around the 6300 level.
Stuck here sitting on my hands as I really want to short it but my brain says not yet.
It's a waiting game.... But I could be waiting a while.

I hope this doesn't encourage them at Twickers tomorrow!!!

Scottish economy out of recession after third-quarter growth of 0.6%

The Scottish economy moved out of recession between July and September, growing by 0.6%, according to official figures.

On an annual basis, Scottish Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.4%.

The Scottish government said output in the services industries grew by 0.3%, but output in construction contracted by 0.4% during 2012's third quarter.

During the same period, the whole UK economy grew by 0.9%, helped by spending on the Olympics.

USD Non-Farm Employment Change 157K consensus 161K previous 155K

USD Unemployment Rate 7.9% consensus 7.8% previous 7.8%

USD Average Hourly Earnings m/m 0.2% consensus 0.2% previous 0.3%

I completely fail to see how the market can react so euphorically!

The averages have been revised up.

Toya - Yazz or so it seems!

Ah right, here's the explanation:

The U.S. created a modest 157,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9%, but the economy added one-third of a million more jobs in 2012 than previously estimated, with a large chunk coming in the final months of the year.

Yeah-yeah-yeah Skinny, let's dance and make merry!

'NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Treasury yields turned lower on Friday after U.S. government data showed weaker-than-expected job growth in January and a rise in the unemployment rate.'

The above statement makes more sense than that rocketing DOW!

U.S. Jan. manufacturing PMI 55.8 vs flash 56.1

I expect the DOW will find this positive, too

I am still running with my short albeit at a loss atm. This just cant keep going against he news- can it??

bhunt - 4 minutes to find out! :-)

USD ISM Manufacturing PMI 53.1 consensus 50.8 previous 50.7

USD Construction Spending m/m 0.9% consensus 0.6% previous -0.3%

USD ISM Manufacturing Prices 56.5 consensus 56.3 previous 55.5

.

Harry - I know its apples and oranges, but :-

Small short @6339

I like charts, so don't feel guilty about posting variations. Shame there isn't one in the header so that I don't have to keep posting them.

Harry - one of my favs.

Wow - what a chart! I hope this is not the way the DOW will go 'cos I've just gone short at 13990 - simply irresistible. My earlier short from 13930 is not looking so happy but I'm sure it will cheer up soon...