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

By Ilona Billington LONDON--The pace of decline in the U.K.'s manufacturing sector was little changed in March from February, which means the performance of the sector in the first quarter of this year was weaker than the fourth quarter of 2012, a survey showed Tuesday. The data--which showed demand remained subdued, while prices increased and job cuts continued, suggest that the sector likely weighed on output as a whole over the first three months of the year. That means that the services sector, which accounts for 77% of the U.K.'s economy, must post a strong performance in order to avoid a second straight contraction in gross domestic product in the first quarter of this year. Data firm Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply's monthly Purchasing Managers Index for the manufacturing sector rose to 48.3 in March from February's 47.9, but remains below the key 50 level which separates expansion from contraction, confirming that the sector continues to shrink. Markit also said that the average manufacturing PMI for the first quarter was 49.0, below the average 49.2 in the fourth quarter. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires last week estimated that the PMI improved to 49.0. "March PMI data indicate that the U.K. manufacturing sector contracted again during the opening quarter of 2013, to remain a drag on the broader economy," said Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit. "The ongoing weakness of manufacturing and the hard to estimate impact of bad weather on first quarter growth suggest that this is still touch-and-go and that any expansion will be disappointing nonetheless," Mr. Dobson said. The weaker than expected figures also increase the likelihood that the Bank of England could extend its bond-buying programme, otherwise known as Quantitative Easing, when it makes its monetary policy announcement at midday on Thursday. Economists surveyed last week by Dow Jones Newswires forecast rates and policy will remain on hold.

4HRS WALL ST. New high being recorded

Ironically I've just gone short FTSE @6,478.

I debated going short on the FTSE Skinny, with the data out it should be a fair play but looking at the Euro this morning the markets have a mind of their own..

Breakout or a potential short here on EUR/GBP, resistance and support lines added. Maybe worth a punt.

I must be honest, it was almost a 'flip of the coin' (technical term) decision.

Plenty of big guns outperforming the index this morning, so it might have some legs....

2 HR FTSE chart for you, range is looking narrow if tradable.

Thanks Shortie - just debating whether to add to VOD, which is one of my bigger SIPP holdings atm.

Yeah I hold VOD also in a ISA, good news this morning regarding the tip off but I'm just gonna hold. An offer of around 40% premium to the current price sounds too good to be true, I'm holding a nice profit anyway so don't want to risk averaging up on the likelyhood this is all nothing but smoke.

Vodafone M&A talk lifts FTSE

LONDON | Tue Apr 2, 2013 11:36am BST
(Reuters) - The FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday, with a surge in telecoms group Vodafone pushing the index back towards 5-year highs reached at the start of last month.

Traders added that technical indicators pointed towards the likelihood of more near-term gains for the stock market, which in March matched a record streak of 10 consecutive monthly gains.

The FTSE 100 index rose by 0.6 percent, or 36.35 points, to 6,448.09 points - moving back towards the 5-year peak of 6,533.99 points reached on March 12.

USD Factory Orders m/m 3.0% 3.1% -2.0%

USD IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism 46.2 46.1 42.2

6,500 so far.

Quite so Skinny - lol!

My Short FTSE is looking very red :(

I was too late to ride the upward DOW earlier but am not sure I'm brave enough to short it either!

1 Hour Wall Street below.. 14680 running short.

sooner or later there has to be a pretty serious correction, he said with buttocks clenched

I went short at 14670 in the end - fingers crossed

Cynic - a 100+ fall now/overnight would be handy and a bounce back here by opening.

Nordic equity markets end firmly higher, as risk appetite strengthens amid reports that lenders will ease the terms of Cyprus' bailout package. OMXN40 closes +1% at 1176.30, with Oslo's OBX +0.8% at 437.85. Defensive stocks such as Denmark's Coloplast and Novozymes outperform, gaining 4.5% and 3.5% respectively, while Swedish and Finnish cyclicals post declines; Assa Abloy ends 1.3% lower, Outokumpu down 3.5%. Wednesday's focus will be on the US ISM non-manufacturing survey [1400 GMT] and before that the ADP employment report [1230 GMT], ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls. (niclas.rolander@dowjones.com)