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

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.

USD Prelim GDP q/q 0.1% consensus 0.5% previous -0.1%

USD Unemployment Claims 344K consensus 361K previous 362K

USD Prelim GDP Price Index q/q 0.9% consensus 0.6% previous 0.6%


CAD Current Account -17.3B consensus -16.9B previous -18.9B

CAD RMPI m/m 3.8% consensus 1.4% previous -2.0%

CAD IPPI m/m 0.0% consensus 0.2% previous 0.0%

USD Chicago PMI 56.8 consensus 54.6 previous 55.6

Chocks away!

Ha, ha, ha, my internet connection drops just at the right time. :( Only the bounce from 6350 to 6362/3, but frustrating.

U.S. Stocks Fluctuate After GDP, Jobless Claims Reports

U.S. stocks fluctuated between gains and losses after government data showed gross domestic product grew less than forecast at the end of 2012 while jobless claims fell more than estimated last week.

Limited Brands Inc., the owner of Victoria’s Secret chain, rose 3 percent after profit jumped. J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) tumbled 21 percent after saying its net loss widened to $552 million.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.2 percent to 1,518.62 at 10:13 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.23 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 14,074.14. The measure is less than 1 percent away from its October 2007 record. Trading in S&P 500 (SPX) companies was about 24 percent below the 30-day average at this time of day.

“There were no real surprises here,” E. William Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia, said in a telephone interview. His firm manages about $115 billion. “The economic numbers tell you that the pace of recovery is still sluggish. But they also give you signs that the recovery may be more durable.”

Gross domestic product grew at a 0.1 percent annual rate, up from a previously estimated 0.1 percent drop, revised figures from the Commerce Department showed today. The median forecast of 83 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.5 percent gain. Federal military outlays declined at a 22 percent annual pace, the biggest decrease since 1972.

Very good day shorting EUR/GBP

I just admit I closed my short on the Chicago PMI @6352 because I was expecting another run up - I may as well of not bothered.

Well done on your EUR/GBP.

EUR German Retail Sales m/m 3.1% consensus 1.1% previous -1.6%

GBP Nationwide HPI m/m 0.2% consensus 0.2% previous 0.5%

EUR Spanish Manufacturing PMI 46.8 consensus 46.3 previous 46.1

EUR Italian Manufacturing PMI 45.8 consensus 47.6 previous 47.8

EUR Final Manufacturing PMI 47.9 consensus 47.8 previous 47.8

EUR Italian Monthly Unemployment Rate 11.7% consensus 11.1% previous 11.2%

EUR Italian Quarterly Unemployment Rate 11.2% consensus 10.8% previous 10.6%

PMI back below 50!!


GBP Manufacturing PMI 47.9 consensus 51.0 previous 50.8

GBP Net Lending to Individuals m/m 0.6B consensus 1.1B previous 1.7B

GBP M4 Money Supply m/m 0.9% consensus 0.3% previous 0.7%

GBP Mortgage Approvals 55K consensus 57K previous 56K

EUR CPI Flash Estimate y/y 1.8% consensus 2.0% previous 2.0%

EUR Unemployment Rate 11.9% consensus 11.8% previous 11.8%

EUR Italian Prelim CPI m/m 0.1% consensus 0.3% previous 0.2%

Not a good day for me yesterday - held gold long too long.

How much further could it drop

What is best site to observe commentary on gold traders ?