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 ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI 55.2 consensus 55.2 previous 56.1

Nikkei 11,463.75 416.83(3.77%)



BoJ’s Shirakawa to step down early

Asian shares recover on firm euro zone data, yen slips

TOKYO | Wed Feb 6, 2013 4:07am GMT

(Reuters) - Asian shares recovered on Wednesday as solid euro zone data calmed nerves jarred by potential political turmoil in Spain and Italy, while the prospect of a dovish new governor for the Bank of Japan dragged the yen to a new low.

Input from DP of IC:
"Market folk wisdom has it that volatility often features at the highs and lows of moves. If so, the last couple of sessions strengthen the case for a near-term top in equities and possibly in the Euro too. I was on alert for a change-of-trend in FTSE and DAX and to occur yesterday, but my selling-levels were not triggered. True, the German market did give a sell-signal on its swing-chart, but I did not follow it, occurring as it did in isolation.

The subsequent bounceback in equities and the Euro keeps my intraday focus positive for the moment. Given the leadership coming from the US markets, my instinct is that we can push a bit higher still. This will likely create some negative divergences on the daily charts, and heighten the risk of a more significant pullback before long. In the meantime, I am seeking small longs in FTSE and EURGBP especially, and a short in GBPUSD.

I currently see the markets as in a sort of no-man’s land. They have not quite entered short-term downtrends in most cases, but could very soon do so. I know better than to try and call big turns. Instead, I will await developments. If the markets quickly and strongly recover, I will seek further long positions. Renewed selling will turn me into a temporary bear. "

approaching the capital gains tax avoidance selling season.

CAD Ivey PMI 58.9 consensus 53.7 previous 52.8

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Worries over the political situation in Italy hurt sentiment across European markets on Wednesday, as the renewed popularity of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stoked fears of financial chaos in his country. Investors also stayed on the sidelines ahead of the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting on Thursday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.4% to close at 284.52, after putting in the best daily performance since early January on Tuesday. "There are clearly concerns that Berlusconi is going to be a big player in the election and markets are worried that it would be perceived as bad for the Italian economy," said Peter Dixon, strategist at Commerzbank. "There is certainly a risk that he will end austerity measures, and I think the market will view that as a negative. Investors are starting to display that nervousness and it's likely to continue until the election," he added. The FTSE MIB stock index slumped 0.7% to 16,602.85, with shares of UniCredit SpA down 1.7% and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA off 1.6%. On Monday, the Italian benchmark sank 4.5%, after Berlusconi vowed to reduce taxes if his coalition wins the Feb. 24-25 elections, fueling concerns that the country will diverge from its current reformist drive. The former prime minister in recent polls narrowed the gap with front-runner Pier Luigi Bersani to just 3.7 percentage points, Bloomberg News reported, citing a daily tracking poll by Tecne institute for SkyTG24. In early January, Tecne had Bersani leading with 14 percentage points. Other polls, however, showed larger gaps in the range of 5.5 to 8 percentage points. On Thursday, attention turns to the European Central Bank's monthly policy decision. The central bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold and refrain from introducing new measures. Japanese inspiration European stock markets had earlier traded in positive territory, taking inspiration from an upbeat mood in Asia. Japanese stocks surged to a level not seen since September 2008, as the yen sank amid hopes of aggressive easing measures following news of Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa's early departure. "This opens up the spot for a new governor who will be more committed to implementing the Bank of Japan's new 2% inflation target than Shirakawa seems to be. Market participants are now pricing an even easier monetary policy stance from the Bank of Japan," the Danske Bank analysts said. "The expectation of easier monetary policy in Japan, the U.S. and the U.K. certainly helps sentiment as does general optimism about the state of the global economy," they added. U.S. stocks traded mixed on Wall Street. House Speaker John Boehner threw cold water on President Barack Obama's plan to delay the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester, saying it should be replaced with different spending cuts and must not include tax increases.

That's the way to do it!

Anglo Irish Bank successor 'to be liquidated'

Emergency legislation to liquidate the former Anglo Irish Bank has passed through both houses of the Irish parliament.

It paves the way for a restructuring of Ireland's most controversial bank bailout.

The law was rushed through amid a rowdy late night and early morning sitting.

Under the plan the bank, now the IBRC, will cease to exist. Its debt will be transformed into a long-term bond.

The debt had been costing Irish taxpayers 3.1bn euros each year.


Last rites read for Anglo Irish Bank - - the damned builders' bank

The last rites were effectively read early on Thursday morning for Anglo Irish Bank - - the damned builders' bank - - when the Oireachtas voted for its liquidation. However, the dénouement of the defunct bank that had been rebranded as the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) in recent years, will extend for several decades when the resultant public debt of over €30bn will be repaid.

i have a note of the "codes" somewhere, but not here in AD airport ..... however, the 2 indices of C+M and and HG+HC have served me very well of late, even if scarily volatile at times ...... i think they are both very good sectors to be following at the moment

...again it looks as though I was premature in closing my short - and I am still not back into the market. I dont think I am skillful enough to play this market - have had a couple of lucky runs - but when I am out contemplating a move - I seem to get it wrong - so will continue to sit on my (very clean) hands for time being. Good luck to you professionals - I do read your comments with interest - and indeed learn something new each day.

I've been rather busy playing 5, 10 & 15 minute charts the past week. 28 trades made yesterday on UKX and EUR/GBP. Making nice profits though and I much prefer this volatility than a stay put long or short. I still think utimatly the FTSE is too high but with upside potential still in the market its not worth guessing where to short from. More fun going with the trend and cashing in small profits regularly. Have lost on a few positions mind but overall I've ended each day in profit...

Unfortunalty you can't post these trades for others so explains why the thread has been quite recently.

ANGL. the epic if I remember rightly Skinny? remember trading them a few times and despite the 1% Stamp Duty quite successfully.

Yes that's the epic - Thread and Chart.

I went long earlier @6,237 and got stopped @6,217 almost a trade for the sake of a trade and got the result I deserved I guess.

FTSE @40/42 as I type - hey ho!

FTSE 100 1hr chart, support and resistance, may come in handy if your trading 15min charts today..

Thanks for the chart Shortie.

I've been wearing my shorts from DOW 13990 several times this week, and it's worked well -except that of course I've been taking (small) profits far too early. I'm currently short from 13950, and another set at 13980.

Not sure how far the FTSE will go today. I'll maybe set a short at 6280.

I feel we've seen the top of both for a while - but who knows, I may be entirely wrong.

Seconded Shortie.

Heres a 1hr Wall St also, 13990 short off resistance was a good move and you might get another chance at it. Note support though 13943. It's treading a tight range at the moment and unless it opens up more it's a 50/50 punt at best I think. Worth watching to see if the green upwards support line reads true though...

DAX Daily Chart looking like it might be worth a short future though! Anyone know if the German Trade Balance figure due out today has been announced yet?

Maybe not then!

FRANKFURT--German exports increased in December as the 2012 volume of total exports hit a fresh all-time high of well over 1 trillion euros ($1.339 trillion), the federal statistics office said Friday. Trade was brisk with countries outside Europe, particularly the U.S., Asia and Latin America. The blockbuster result however, masks weak exports to neighboring euro-zone countries, although manufacturing orders data published earlier this week indicate that euro-zone demand is starting to recover. German exports in 2012 expanded 3.4% to EUR1.097 trillion, while imports increased 0.7% to EUR909.2 billion, another record high, the statistics office said. That makes Germany one of the world's largest exporters and analysts expect further gains this year. Germany's 2012 trade surplus came in at EUR188.1 billion, the second-highest on record. Germany's BGA federation of exporters and wholesalers predicts an increase in exports of "up to 5%" to around EUR1.158 trillion in 2013, while imports should rise, too. German exports in December recovered somewhat, rising 0.3% on the month after falling 2.2% in November, the statistics office said. The monthly data are adjusted for seasonal as well as calendar effects. But an annual comparison appears less favorable: German exports were down 6.9% from December 2011, as exports to all regions declined. German imports in December meanwhile, were down 1.3% on the month and declined 7.3% on the year. As a consequence, Germany's trade surplus in December widened to an adjusted EUR16.8 billion from an upwardly revised EUR15.6 billion in November, beating analysts' forecasts of +EUR14.6 billion. The current account surplus came in at EUR17.3 billion in December, below expectations of +EUR18.0 billion.

Those are strong figures from Germany! But I have read a few analysts suggesting shorting the DAX - however, I shall stay out of that one for now.

Thanks for the DOW chart, too. If you look at it over a slightly longer period, I see 13900 as the current support - and we dived below that yesterday; but of course I'd closed my short well before then!

I'd agree the DAX from a technical point of view is a short play, tempted to just go for it as those figures are most likely already priced in... DOW 13900 on the longer charts is the support point, but for daily plays we've seen the bounce at 13945 ish before which being the mid-point of a current 13900/13990 play is also worth noting.