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

Wall Street ends higher as gold rebounds, earnings help

NEW YORK | Tue Apr 16, 2013 4:13pm EDT

(Reuters) - Stocks jumped more than 1 percent on Tuesday, a day after their worst decline since November, as gold prices rebounded and earnings from Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson improved the outlook for first-quarter results.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI shot up 157.58 points, or 1.08 percent, to end unofficially at 14,756.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 22.21 points, or 1.43 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,574.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC climbed 48.14 points, or 1.50 percent, to close unofficially at 3,264.63.

+97 point on FTSE this morning - 6,332 -> 6235, now reversed :-)

.

Out +40 - "whores drawers" of a morning so far.

tell me about it ..... bought into HG+HC and put in too short a stop .... it got hit and then of course rebounded back to where it started :-(

Jobless @9:30.

GBP Claimant Count Change -7.0K 0.0K -1.5K

GBP MPC Meeting Minutes 0-0-9 0-0-9 0-0-9

GBP Unemployment Rate 7.9% 7.8% 7.8%

GBP Average Earnings Index 3m/y 0.8% 1.4% 1.2%

CHF ZEW Economic Expectations 20.0 previous 2.3

Still sitting on my burnt fingers.

Gold has recovered well - but nervous about all these reports that it will drop further. Good luck to you guys.

Bit chilly on the beaches in S. Wales at this time of year or at any time of year come to think of it

10:33am EUR German 10-y Bond Auction 1.28|1.6 previous 1.36|1.6

impossible to read these markets .... i see dow cash is now -100

Waiting for GJ to get back to around 149.7 before going short again...

Wall St Suppost/Resistance below, I think 14650 will be taken out this afternoon putting us in a 100 pip trading range.

FTSE Daily below, looking at the high/low points the chart suggests that a downtrend is being established. Waiting to see if this breaks below 6220 to close.

This moring the FTSE peaked @R3 and bounced @R1.

Doesn't look that out of place on the 30 minute, are you looking for a return to the 20DMA @ 6290 this afternoon Skinny?

After my "luck" this morning, I should go for a walk - but I'm looking for a move to the upside short term.

I wonder how many will be at their desks after lunch in the city today?

There is money to be made out there - if you can read these markets - I AM STILL OUT

Reading the charts is the easy part, understanding them is another matter.

I'm guessing a lot of city boys will be otherwise engaged this afternoon after Maggie's funeral.