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

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 ?

I don't trade commodities myself, but the two sites I have looked at and I keep for research are :

http://www.fastmarkets.com/thebulliondesk

http://www.goldbarsworldwide.com/

Both of them have a 'links' page which may be more useful than the website itself.

looks to me that dow could be in for a pasting today with 14,000 looking to fail once more as the bickering buffoons (aka posturing politicos) square up once more over the budget

FTSE support @6,306 being tested.

CAD GDP m/m -0.2% consensus -0.2% previous 0.3%

USD Core PCE Price Index m/m 0.1% consensus 0.1% previous 0.0%

USD Personal Spending m/m 0.2% consensus 0.2% previous 0.2%

USD Personal Income m/m -3.6% consensus -2.3% previous 2.6%

FX CHAT: US consumers lift spending amid income volatility

The monthly changes may look wild, but that's because of tax planning. Today's consumer report doesn't change outlook for steady but lackluster consumer spending in first half. Personal income plunges 3.6% in January, but that follows a 2.6% jump in December as dividends and bonuses were paid out early before higher tax rates kicked in. Consumers ignored the swing and lifted spending by 0.2%, a bit better than 0.1% gain in December.

USD Final Manufacturing PMI 54.3 consensus 55.2 previous 55.2

.
Wrong thread.

USD Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment 77.6 consensus 76.3 previous 76.3

USD Revised UoM Inflation Expectations 3.3% previous 3.3%

USD ISM Manufacturing PMI 54.2 consensus 52.7 previous 53.1

USD Construction Spending m/m -2.1% consensus 0.6% previous 0.9%

USD ISM Manufacturing Prices 61.5 consensus 57.3 previous 56.5

FTSE is bouncing around today!
Took my short off the table this morning faaaar toooooo soon but +18 points is better than nothing. Will have to wait and see how things pan out now for the next entry point.
TT