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

NMX3720 has been largely helped by RB. over the last few days.

EUR Flash GDP q/q -0.6% consensus -0.4% previous -0.1%

Thanx Cynic :)

NMX3720 now 100 off its earlier high - again mainly due to RB which is 63 off its earlier high.

Nearly recovered yesterdays losses on the FTSE, have S&P shorts in play also..

like i said previously, both of these indices are scarily volatile ...... meanwhile my Dow short from last night is now doing what it was meant to do :-)

USD Unemployment Claims 341K consensus 361K previous 366K

Shortie - if you are about, any chance of a FTSE chart?

Currency wars come to Moscow as G20 spars over yen

MOSCOW | Fri Feb 15, 2013 6:09am GMT

(Reuters) - It may not be hand-to-hand combat, but 'currency wars' came to Moscow on Friday as finance officials from the Group of 20 nations sparred over Japan's expansive policies that have driven down the value of the yen.

The G20 forum, which put together a huge financial backstop to halt a market meltdown in 2009, is back in the spotlight after a week in which the Group of Seven rich nations tried, and spectacularly failed, to speak on currencies with one voice.

Muto leads as Japan PM close to choosing nominee for Bank of Japan chief

TOKYO | Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:43am GMT

(Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is close to selecting his nominee for central bank governor and Toshiro Muto is the leading candidate in a honed down list of names, sources close to the process told Reuters.

If confirmed, the choice of Muto, 69, would suggest the Bank of Japan would step up its monetary stimulus to reflate the economy but probably refrain from some radical steps advocated by other candidates that could unsettle financial markets and risk heightening tensions with Group of 20 nations.

JPY Revised Industrial Production m/m 2.4% consensus 2.5% previous 2.5%

EUR Italian Trade Balance 2.16B consensus 2.22B previous 2.36B

GBP Retail Sales m/m -0.6% consensus 0.5% previous -0.1%

I expect the markets will spin those figures into a positive!

15 Minute FTSE Chart

1HR FTSE Chart

Watch your stops it's Expiry day 10 30

C+M index (NMX2350) - as it has dropped about 175 points since i sold (just over 200 from its intra-day high) only 2/3 days ago, i have just bought back in - probably foolishly, history will no doubt show

From DP of IC:
"I was caught out by yesterday’s weakness in the FTSE and EURGBP. No matter, though, as the downside was hardly significant in the scheme of things. A poor GDP figure from Germany was the main cause of the negative tone. It came as a stark reminder that the Eurozone remains in poor shape, even in its economic fatherland. The recent strength of the Euro will be doing little to alleviate the bloc’s difficulties, either.

For my part, I still fancy the FTSE to make further upwards progress in the very near term. The UK index is definitely to be preferred over Germany’s DAX right now. Meanwhile, I would be looking to short the end of any intraday rallies in GBPUSD, as I think worse is in store for sterling."

Iain - it was all over by 10:15.

CAD Manufacturing Sales m/m -3.1% consensus -0.4% previous 1.7%

USD Empire State Manufacturing Index 10 consensus -2.1 previous -7.8