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

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!!!!

6360 and I see this morning my sell order on the FTSE has been actioned. Mystery why the reversal didn't go through though.... Not showing in my orders either so user error I suspect.

Shortie - I was tempted @6,370 last night just before 9 with the DOW north of 14,100.

I'm now also short @6,360.

A raft of Economic Stats today - GDP @1:30pm.

EUR CPI y/y 2.0% consensus 2.0% previous 2.0%

EUR Core CPI y/y 1.3% consensus 1.5% previous 1.5%

Hopefully I be short FTSE by this afternoon, shorting EUR/GBP at the moment..

Snapshot: -Euro, yen weaker vs dollar; Treasury yields lower; stock futures flat; ICE April Brent up 20c at $112.07, Nymex April crude down 20c at $92.57; gold down 0.3% at $1,592.22 -Watch for: Jobless claims, GDP, Chicago PMI, BTMU, Kansas City Fed Manufacturing, DJ Economic Sentiment Index, Fed Swap Lines; earnings from Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Sears News: Euro-Zone Inflation Falls Closer to ECB Target; Spain 2012 Current Account Deficit Shrinks; Eurocoin Points To Shallower Euro-Zone Contraction Markets Outlook: Forex: The euro hit a day's low of $1.3106 against the greenback Thursday after Italy's FTSE MIB dropped into negative territory, evidently unimpressed with European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi's pledge to defend the euro currency area and still smarting after the inconclusive results of the weekend's elections. "We are committed to preserving the integrity of our currency, in the interests of all people of the euro area," Mr. Draghi said at an event in Germany late Wednesday. The ECB chief was addressing fears that the return of Europe's debt crisis could call into question the cohesion of the euro zone. Italy's election produced a hung parliament, raising doubts about its ability to pay down its huge debt. The Japanese yen was also a focal point for the session, after the prime minister nominated Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda as head of the Bank of Japan. Mr. Kuroda shares the government's sympathy for continued efforts to stimulate Japan's deflationary economy. As a result, the yen remained weaker against the dollar. Around 0652 ET, EUR/USD was lower at 1.3120 from 1.3139 in late New York trading, while USD/JPY was 92.15 against 92.23 and GBP/USD fell to 1.5990 from 1.6023. Bonds: Treasurys edged a fraction higher in London trade but price action and turnover were very limited as investors waited for further political developments in Italy. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stressed that a "significant majority" of the committee still supports his current policies, arguing that there is still "a good bit of slack" in the economy, which is the basis for Fed's accommodative policy, according to RBS. At 0405 ET, the June Treasury contract was 3/32 higher at 131-170 and the 10-year cash yielded 1.89%. Corporate CDS indexes opened tighter following on from a positive session in the U.S. and Asia. Markit said the iTraxx Europe index was 1 bp tighter at 116 bps, while the Crossover index was 7 bps tighter at 447 bps. The focus in Europe remained on the deadlock in Italian politics following the election. Equities: Stock futures were flat, with investors still focussed on Ben Bernanke's continued defense of the Fed's ultra-loose money policy in his semi-annual report to Congress. "Bernanke's two day testimony has been well timed and the continued commitment to stimulus measures - specifically to support housing, autos and other parts of the economy - has given the bulls a new lease of life," said Fawad Razaqzada, Strategist at GFT Markets. "The fact that those budget cuts will come into effect tomorrow seems somewhat immaterial to markets for now and it's going to be factors such as the revised 4Q GDP data and personal spending & income data tomorrow that now stands to provide the next pieces of directional information." Commodities: Brent and WTI could see small pullbacks and have little chance of a sustained rebound, said Andrey Kryuchenkov, vice president of commodities research at VTB Capital. The latest Iran talks are set to continue into the spring months and this could ease the risk premium, he said. "On the downside, Brent is still well supported at $110 should the market finally slip below USD 112.5 in our preferred scenario," he said. Wednesday's gold price retreat is attributable to a U.S. stock market rally and the testimony of Ben Bernanke, said INTL FC Stone analyst Ed Meir. Although Mr. Bernanke did not say anything particularly new, noted Meir, he spent considerable time talking about the Fed's "end game" for it quantitative easing measures which have supported gold as an inflation hedge. A third pressure on bullion is upcoming U.S. budget cuts, he says. Expecting a delayed reaction to the "more painful ramifications," of the cutbacks, he said they do not provide a conducive backdrop for higher gold prices. Meantime, BNP Paribas lowered its average price expectations for gold prices during this year and next year, citing a disappointing performance from the yellow metal of late. The bank lowered its gold forecasts down from its previous forecast Jan. 31, trimming this year's price expectation by 6.7%, and slashing more than 10% from its 2014 average gold price forecast. It now expects gold to average $1,670 a troy ounce in 2013, down from $1,790/oz, and $1,595/oz in 2014, down from a previous forecast of $1,775/oz.