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

EUR German ZEW Economic Sentiment 48.5 consensus 47.9 previous 48.2

EUR ZEW Economic Sentiment 33.4 consensus 43.7 previous 42.4

1Hr FTSE 6436 seams to be current support, I'm hoping for it to break.

1HR EUR/GBP, maybe some short term support here, 50DMA cross with 100DMA both on downwards track is interesting. I'm short expecting furhter to go..

Euro-Zone Construction Output Falls Sharply

By Alex Brittain Output in the euro zone's construction industry fell sharply in January, wiping out a modest improvement in December and adding to signs that the bloc is heading for another quarter of economic decline. Construction output in the European Union as a whole--which also includes non-euro-using nations such as the U.K., Sweden and Poland--fell to its lowest level since January 1997. Eurostat, the EU's official statistics agency, said Tuesday that construction output in the 17 nations that use the euro fell 1.4% in January from December and was down 7.3% from the corresponding month a year earlier. The month-to-month drop was the steepest in four months and follows a modest 0.3% increase in December. The fall in year-to-year terms was the most severe since May 2012. Output was likely to have been hit by heavy snow in parts of Europe in January. The figures come after Eurostat's measure of factory output in the currency bloc also fell in January. Together, they show the region's economy made a poor start to 2013, lengthening a 15-month economic downturn that has exacerbated its fiscal crisis and pushed unemployment to record levels. Tuesday's figures showed construction output rising 3.0% month-to-month in Germany, but falling 4.0% in France, underscoring the divergent fortunes of the euro zone's biggest two economies. While Germany looks set for a relatively quick recovery, boosted by its strong exporting industry, France is expected to struggle for growth as its government pushes through measures to curb borrowing levels.

Inflation last month at 2.8% and the best rate for savers is now.............2.8% (ISA)....and base rate is 0.5%........someone is making money out of this, but is sure isn't me atm. (Best 5 yr fixed rate ISA is currently 3.1%. What a con!)

CAD Manufacturing Sales m/m -0.2% consensus 0.7% previous -3.1%

CAD Wholesale Sales m/m 0.3% consensus 0.4% previous -0.9%

USD Building Permits 0.95M consensus 0.93M previous 0.90M

USD Housing Starts 0.92m consensus 0.92M previous 0.89M

February home construction rises modestly

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Construction on new U.S. homes nudged up in February with modest gains for single-family residences and apartments, as longer-term trends signaled a housing market that continues to strengthen, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Tuesday’s report also showed substantial gains in building permits, which indicate future demand.

Construction on new U.S. homes rose 0.8% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 917,000, the highest level since December. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected construction starts in February to rise to a rate of 913,000 from an original January estimate of 890,000. On Tuesday the government upwardly revised January’s starts rate to 910,000. See economic calendar.

Starts for single-family homes rose 0.5% in February to a rate of 618,000, the highest level since June 2008. Meanwhile, starts for structures with at least five units increased 0.7% to a rate of 285,000, the highest level since December.

Might be a good'ish afternoon. DOW +50 start.

Harry - don't forget the DOW is open @1:30pm atm.

he he he ha ha ha...ohhhhh dear Harry. Slipping old lad, slipping.

It looks like the Cypriot vote is scheduled @4pm out time, but may be delayed again.

Cyprus considers zero tax on smaller bank deposits

Ah, looked at Bloomberg futures page and forgot time difference. Duh!
Feelgood factor didn't last long though for the DOW.

We all do it Harry dont worry bud

Just funny when you see it happen.

My warped sense of humour.

Glad its not as bad as cynics though.

Cynic reckon you havent gone far enough here.

Surely it should be trade the FTSE 350.

i've never followed FTSE 350 at all .... for that matter, i don't even trade FTSE 250 as it's far too scary

meanwhile, today is very odd indeed, - and indeed not very nice either as far as i ma concerned, even though it's quite warm and sunny here

btw, i don't have a warped sense of humour - i'm warped through and through!

true true

crazy day ...... this morning, i banked my profit in HG+HC and thought i had been too hasty, but it hs suddenly dropped sharply ..... my Dow short was beginning to look a bit sickly, but fortunately i stayed with it, and it is now handsomely in the money (again)

Shortie - 19 Mar 2013 10:12 - 11445 of 11460


Nice trade...

German PPI m/m -0.1% consensus 0.2% previous 0.8%