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

Cheers for that insight hilary, but that then goes against the theory that markets are always forward looking. I assumed they (equity traders) had looked at all of the probable consequences of tapering and positioned themselves accordingly. I have, so why can't they! ;o)

Harry,

The forums are littered with equity traders. You can probably count the number of them whose lift goes right up to the top floor on the fingers of one hand.

:o)

LUXEMBOURG--European Union finance ministers waved through Latvia's bid to adopt the euro currency Friday, clearing one of the final hurdles for the Baltic state to become the bloc's 18th member next year. In a statement, ministers said they agreed with the European Commission's assessment that Latvia has "achieved a high degree of sustainable convergence and therefore fulfils the necessary conditions for adoption of the euro." The small Baltic nation, an EU member since 2004, has been looking to join the common currency for several years. After a series of booms and busts--including humbling bailouts following a banking meltdown in 2008 that stymied its last euro-zone bid--Latvia looks on track to abandon its lat currency on Jan. 1 and take up the euro after receiving a green light from the European Central Bank and European Commission. EU leaders will make the final decision in July after consulting with the European Parliament.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 206 points on the day, and Treasurys sold off, pushing the 10-year yield up to a 15-month high of 2.308%. The market's highly negative reaction to what the Fed says it wants to do could, in fact, delay what the Fed says it wants to do. That's because higher interest rates and falling equity prices will be drags on the economy. Not enough to cause a summer swoon or to trigger recession worries, but the Fed's talk of tapering is based on its central-tendency forecast of 2.3%-2.6% economic growth for all of 2013 and a jobless rate just over 7% at year's end. Those targets will be harder to hit if financial markets remain off balance. Good news for the economy is now bad news for the markets. Consider how investors reacted to Thursday's positive economic reports. A jump in sentiment among Philadelphia manufacturers and a large gain in sales of existing homes supported the Fed's outlook. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose further to 2.406% by midday. The Dow slumped 200 points or so by lunchtime. Mortgage rates still aren't high enough to stop most househunters from buying. But the increase to monthly payments will limit how much a buyer can bid on a house, thus slowing the recent double-digit gains in home prices. At the same time, falling equity prices, if sustained, will hurt household wealth that has been a support to consumer spending and confidence. After tax hikes cut into take-home pay this year, consumers financed many purchases by saving less. The saving rate fell to 2.5% in April from a 2012 average of 4.1%. If markets remain volatile, households may become bigger savers again, and that strategy will slow spending. Smaller gains in home values and consumer spending will make the outlooks for economic growth and labor markets less robust. The Fed will have to keep those training wheels in place.

Below 200ma again.

Call that a chart Skinny, now this is the real thing. ps, nicked it from over the road LOL.

Most stuff still getting cheaper by the day.

Oh good I'll be able to afford that pole dancer soon then stan.,.

.

with the "fear and greed index" now firmly entrenched in "extreme fear", surely that is at least a reasonable reason to buy - or is that just rose-tinted specs?

Not sure about extreme fear or why it is a reason to buy now, a shake out in the summer is nothing new, so just fence sit until things become clearer is what I'm doing. Everyone to there own.

This is DP's view of things from Inv Chr:
"Both the DAX and the FTSE 100 are now at their most oversold levels on their daily charts in many months. I would stress that this is not a reason in itself to try and buy. Going by the spread betting positioning data I have seen, many do not agree with me here, with longs outnumbering shorts in each index. There may be a case for buying here, but only if you have a decent pain threshold. I would sooner wait until the turn comes and a strong rebound is actually underway. That said, I did take a 130-point profit on my latest FTSE short yesterday, although I am looking for more downside.

I switch my positive view on EURGBP to negative, and continue to seek DAX, FTSE, GBPUSD, gold and EURUSD shorts."

Well I agree with him on fiber and cable anyway.

I'm just a touch concerned that the commodity currencies look to be garnering a bit of support, John, which could lead to general greenback weakening across the board. I would also have expected fiber to have sold harder on the leaked Mediobanca client note and the better-than-expected US data.

Well, both a bit sideways at the moment, should really be sitting on my hands, however the highs are definitely getting lower so the balance is tipped downwards, just small positions though so not that confident!

You're right, everything is still pointing downwards with lower highs and lows, and I certainly wouldn't advocate a long just yet. I've gone flat for now and am going to re-evaluate tomorrow.

I've no spread positions at the moment... The Swiss has my eye though so may not be for long.

Dow and FTSE motoring upwards kneejerk over?

Or another kneejerk?

keep praying if you are short!