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

I think we do need to be careful though, that what's happening in the Eurozone will likely have an impact in the US before too long

Thanks Toya - I've closed the short -2, looks like a breather and more?

We've just hit 14000

Still long on the FTSE, not closing just yet.....

and couldn't quite hold, so have sold balance at 13993 .... thank you very much, says the bank manager

You should be fine with that Shortie - it often gets a power-surge at around 16:30!

4 HRs DOW chart if your looking to short off the upper range...

Thanks for that!

Well held Shortie - I had 6318 as resistance and closed as it dithered.

5 minute chart excellent over the past 50 or so minutes.

On edit :- just seen your DOW chart - thanks.

Coming @5:30.

Holding for 6360 on the FTSE before reversing, so expect to go overnight again...

Keep yer Eyes on AAPL.... I'm fancying a long position off support here..

And thats all the plays I've got at the moment, pretty short on ideas here..

I'm off to Circuit Training - will check the DOW when I get in tonight, by which time it may all have turned back on itself...

UPDATE: U.S. Durable Orders Fell 5.2% in January on Defense, Aircraft

-- Defense spending dropped 69.5% in January, the biggest change since July 2000 -- Civilian aircraft orders fell 34% -- Durable goods orders, excluding transportation, rose 1.9% (Update includes analyst commentary starting in the fourth paragraph.) By Sarah Portlock and Eric Morath WASHINGTON--Pentagon spending on long-lasting manufactured products fell the most in more than a decade, leading to an overall drop of durable goods, but the underlying numbers showed signs of modest business manufacturing growth. Orders for durable goods--products designed to last at least three years--dropped 5.2% for the month from December to a seasonally adjusted $216.98 billion as defense spending fell 69.5% and demand for civilian aircraft plunged 34% as part of a routine order slowdown, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The overall decline came after a strong run-up in December orders, rising a revised 3.7%. But outside of defense and aircraft categories, there was underlying strength. A key measure of business investment--nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft--rose 6.3%, the best increase in more than a year and a sign of increasing confidence among businesses. "The volatile defense capital goods and civilian aircraft categories heavily skewed the overall result," said economist Joshua Shapiro with MFR Inc. "It is much more important to look at the underlying detail of this report rather than the headline change--in January, the underlying detail in the report was robust." The drop in defense capital goods orders was the biggest percent change since July 2000. In December, military spending more than doubled, which reflected spending ahead of deep cuts to military budgets that were set to take place at the start of the year. Congress and the White House reached a deal to avoid significant tax increases at the last minute, but delayed spending cuts. Those budget reductions are set to begin on Friday. The overall drop in Wednesday's report also included a steep decline in the highly volatile civilian aircraft category. A Boeing Co. spokesman said the January drop is due to the nature of long-term planning in the industry rather than indicative of fears over the Dreamliner, which is under scrutiny after the lithium-ion batteries used in its construction caught fire in two planes. In January, Boeing had only two airplane orders, compared with 183 in December and 164 so far in February. Of this month's orders, 42 were for the company's Dreamliner, the spokesman said. The increase in capital goods, excluding aircraft and defense orders, suggests businesses may ramp up spending in the coming months now that uncertainty from the so-called fiscal cliff has been removed, economists said. That jump, the largest in January since 1995, "was particularly unexpected given that this series tends to be quite weak in January," said Michael Feroli, an economist with J.P. Morgan Chase. New orders for machinery rose 13.5%, the best gain since May 2010. Unfilled orders, a sign of future demand, decreased 0.2% last month, while shipments dropped 1.2%.

I'm glad I didn't set up a short position from any point - the DOW is still motoring!

Anyone following this guy? He's turned 30k into 60k in 2.5 months. Not sure I like his level of risk, but he's taken 15 off the table and now wants to do the same, turning 45k into 90 in the next 12 months!

http://barefootspreadbetting.blogspot.co.uk/

phew! just got home from the cinema to see Argo - go see it all; it's absolutely brilliant and gripping

got out of dow too early but with a really good profit so no gripes that for sure ..... looks as though 14,000 barrier may really be smashed at long last

Thanks Chris C - have been riding my luck and recovered all of my losses and some with a combination of FTSE and Gold spot spread bets with a 5 digit profit. Am currently long on FTSE (since 6275) and just opened a long on gold at 1595. Have set stops to guarantee a profit - but I continue to watch and learn

Oh look - I got the 11111th post!!!!