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

I have not been doing my homework for a while - just back from a holiday - why the sudden 100 pt drop in wall st and 50 drop on FTSE.

I know - I know - I should have checked before I put my long on - impetuous me !!

bhunt,

Seriously, you need to Google news for BoJ and Kuroda.

In a nutshell, equity markets have been rising since the back end of last year because Japan has been printing money big time. In their recent statements going back over the last month or so, their rhetoric has changed, and the intimation is that they're trying to dampen the moves (possibly because their trade partners are getting a bit p!ssed off with them). Yesterday, they came up with nothing new, and the market is reacting accordingly.

Earlier Today :-

Japan's Nikkei slips but off day's low

(Reuters) - The Nikkei average slipped 0.2 percent on Wednesday, extending the previous session's decline on disappointment that the Bank of Japan offered no fresh measures to quell bond market volatility, which was sparked by its massive stimulus program in April.

The Nikkei .N225 ended 28.30 points lower at 13,289.32 after trading as low as 12,994.08. The index trimmed losses in the afternoon, with traders suspecting the central bank was buying exchange-traded funds to support the market.

The broader Topix .TOPX index eased 0.4 percent to 1,096.54.

Yesterday :-

Asian shares hit 2013 lows; Nikkei slips as BOJ disappoints

TOKYO | Tue Jun 11, 2013 7:33am BST
(Reuters) - The U.S. dollar fell against the yen and Japanese stocks sagged after the Bank of Japan held off from taking fresh steps to curb bond market volatility, while Asian shares hit 2013 lows amid worries over slowing growth in China and continued uncertainty on how long the U.S. stimulus will remain in place.

European stock markets are likely to follow suit, with financial spreadbetters predicting London's FTSE 100, Paris's CAC-40 and Frankfurt's DAX will open down 0.4 percent. A 0.1 percent drop in U.S. stock futures also pointed to a cautious Wall Street start.

Kuroda’s April-Was-Enough Message Faces Markets Wanting More

From a technical viewpoint, USD/JPY has been making lower highs and lower lows on the hourly charts since the end of May. It's currently approaching the last low formed on 7th June and, if that goes, you've got to go back to the beginning of April for any meaningful support.

6000 looming, sold in May?

Thanks for your feedback guys - looks like I may have jumped the gun here - appreciate your comments

Not sure what to do here - - I am inclined to let it run with a stop of 6250. Ho Hum

Hovering over the buy button

bhunt,

I don't think you'll find anybody here willing to advise where to put your stop. It's a decision for you to make alone, and it should really relate to the reason you entered the trade in the first place.

If it helps, there are four reasons why somebody would buy a market (go long). I would suggest you figure which of the following reasons applies to you and set your stop accordingly:

Reason 1 - The market is going up

In this situation, the stop should go just under the last low on the timeframe you are trading. If the market is indeed going up, it won't go below the last low. If it does go below that level, you really wouldn't want to still be in the trade. Alternatively, if the market has been going up for a while and the price is moving within a clearly defined and rising channel, then the stop should be just below the lower bounding line of that channel. If the price drops out of the channel, your reasons for entering the trade would no longer apply, and you should exit the trade.

Reason 2 - You bought the market because you felt it was cheap and you saw value

In this case, there's no guarantee that it won't get cheaper still. It could even go to zero. You should fund these trades with real money, rather than margin. You shouldn't use stop losses at all, and you should be fully prepared to lose everything.

Reason 3 - You bought the market by mistake

Maybe you hit the wrong button by mistake. It happens. If that's why you're in the trade, you should rectify the mistake immediately and close out. Even if that means taking a loss.

Reason 4 - There is no logical justification for the trade

Maybe you flipped a coin. Or perhaps you just fancied it. There are countless reason why traders lose all sense of rationale from time to time. If that's what's happened here, you are essentially just gambling, and all professional gamblers will tell you that you should never risk more than you are prepared to lose. In order to stay in the game longer term, most people seem to think that an appropriate amount to risk on any single trade is around 3% of your account balance. In that case, you should set the stop sufficient distance away according to your position size, so that you are only risking what you are prepared to lose.

Hope that helps.

Hmmm - personally, its normally 3 or 4.

FTSE was fleetingly below 6,200 - not for the last time today I suspect.

Especially for you then, Skinners

Hester on R4 atm.

That's for geriatrics. What's wrong with Kiss?

Gives you Glandular Fever.

I'm probably the "stupid"! of "ss".

Here's some figures for you to watch today:

USD/JPY: Bids 93.80/90 likely sell stops below ahead of bids/tech support 93.55/65 (93.56- 38.2% retracement of 77.11-103.73 rise). A break here will open a look down at 92.55/70 lows of early April. Offers initially in the 94.40/50 zone but larger up at 94.90/00 likely buy stops on a break ahead of offers 95.50/60 and daily cloud base at 95.96.

edit - currently 94.06

Mr Jackson I presume!

BOJ’s Shirai carefully watching financial markets

Still room for stock risk premium to fall further
A gradual rise in Japan’s long-term interest rates would be desirable
Expects Japanese inflation to be near 2% by end of fiscal year 2015
Expects 1% price growth in FY 2014
Wants stable developments in stock market ( what… like we have now?). Stocks level wasn’t too high before
BOJ won’t stop easing policy abruptly, key will be price growth stabilization
Differing views on inflation contribute to bond volatility

Yep, that's the one skinners.