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

nah! just sticky being a bit girlie

Which bank is going to loose and which one to gain?

- The European Union agreed on Thursday to force investors and wealthy savers to share the costs of future bank failures, moving closer to drawing a line under years of taxpayer-funded bailouts that have prompted public outrage.
After seven hours of late-night talks, finance ministers from the bloc's 27 countries emerged with a blueprint to close or salvage banks in trouble. The plan stipulates that shareholders, bondholders and depositors with more than 100,000 euros ($132,000) should share the burden of saving a bank.

I agree, now pay up you lot -):

Even the pro's get it wrong sometimes!!!
The daily view from DP of IC:
"Contrary to what I was expecting, equities rallied yesterday once more. Fortunately, they did not trigger my shorting entries at any point. The only thing for me worse than being wrong is being wrong and in a trade. My calls on GBPUSD and EURUSD worked out better, although I closed my short in the former way too early, halving the amount of profit I could have made. Oh well.

I am still not rushing to buy into this rally, despite the gains by the DAX and FTSE. They have not done enough technically to convince me that the move is anything more than a correction within a downtrend. Moreover, the fundamental reasons for this sell-off are still in place, i.e. the Chinese credit crunch and the prospective withdrawal of US QE. Should a decisive reversal lower today occur, I’ll go short.
The FTSE’s rally has looked less assured than the DAX’s, although it too is shortly to come up against its 55-fourhourly EMA. I see no reason for now to change my call for renewed downside, although I’d obviously await a reversal before shorting. I seek a return to the 5946 zone.

DAY: I’d likely sell a drop through the 21-fourhourly EMA (6147.6).

POSITION: I’d likely sell a drop through the 21-fourhourly EMA (6147.6).

Whatadya mean sometimes -):

Back abobe the 200ma for now.

cynic well we did get down to 6000 and subsequently there are a lot burning shorts, where to from here?

is it quadrupling witching tomorrow?

i'll get told off if i mention i bought back in ftse at 6082 (just sold at 6252) and 6122 (also just sold) and 6188 (still holding) and dow at 14628 (just sold at 15029) and 14755 (still holding) - so i won't :-)

at least that clawed back some horrid losses of the previous 10 days or whatever

===============

to be honest, both the success and the sucker(ed) punch were primarily on feel or similar so no clever study of charts or momentum

c
ill not tell you off, gf might. well done on your clawing back of some"horrid losses of past 10 days"
did you post them? the horrids that is?
i am a bit out of touch with all threads so i will assume you did, gf will know i am sure
regards
jkd

specifically? .... maybe not, though certainly alluded to

Wow - quite a candle into the close.

hmmmmmmmm! interesting to see what variance against current spot markers this will make.....

02:44 29/06/2013 Washington

CFTC struggles to finalize rules for cross-border swaps
Despite the approaching July 12 deadline, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is struggling to finalize a plan for regulating cross-border swaps. Unresolved questions remain, both between the CFTC and other international regulators, and within the regulatory commission itself, where several members wish to extend the deadline to give them more time to finalize guidance.

Even DP of IC can't make his mind up what to do! :
"While the DAX and FTSE remain in downtrends on their swing-charts, I am giving up on the bear case for now. I am switching to neutral on the German index, and bullish on the UK market. Sure, I have misgivings, not least of all the time of year and ongoing signs of strain in China. Rather than sit the rally out, though, my instinct is to play it in smaller size. Overall, I like the look of what’s going on over on Wall Street slightly more, and I’d be looking to get involved there too.

I continue to project weakness in GBPUSD, EURUSD and gold, and am seeking shorts.

EURUSD’s latest rally has gone a bit further than I expected, but that doesn’t change my bearish stance. I don’t see the action since 26 June as a potential bottom. Instead, I am looking for another imminent decline to and through the $1.3000 level.

DAY: I’d short a drop back through the $1.3014 level.

POSITION: Neutral."

.

FTSE looking ripe for a short...

I'm short for the second time today 6,408 closed +15 and now 6,425.

Short 6417 Skinny, just looking for a few points as also keeping an eye on the French Open...

An unexpected statement from the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Meeting on Thursday boosted stocks and weighed on the pound after the bank held policy steady. An equally dovish comment from the European Central Bank underpinned those gains. Chairing his first meeting, new Governor Mark Carney surprised analysts by including a statement with that decision, the contents of which analysts interpreted as a sign that near-term rate hikes were not on the cards. Adding to earlier gains, the FTSE 100 index soared 3% to 6,419.62, driven by resource and bank stocks. The index closed down over 1% on Wednesday, which was the biggest one-day percentage fall since June 24 amid geopolitical tensions. "In the United Kingdom, there have been further signs that a recovery is in train, although it remains weak by historical standards and a degree of slack is expected to persist for some time," the MPC said in the statement released on the Bank of England's website. The statement also floated the idea of using forward guidance at the next meeting in August. "The BoE doesn't usually release a statement alongside the rate decision but as this was Carney's first meeting in charge, they decided to make an exception," said Craig Erlam, market analyst with Alpari U.K. "The statement was definitely taken as dovish, sterling has still not recovered its earlier losses, while the FTSE is now 3% higher," he added in emailed remarks. "I would be very surprised now if we didn't see some forward guidance on interest rates at the next meeting in August." The British pound (GBPUSD) dropped 1.3% against the U.S. dollar to $1.50719, which some observers said was the biggest drop since February. Underpinning gains for London, ECB President Mario Draghi said euro-zone interest rates will remain low or go even lower for "an extended period of time" at a press conference. The central bank left key interest rates unchanged, but Draghi's comments rallied European markets and made a big dent in the euro versus the dollar (EURUSD). Heavyweight bank HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) rose 4.5%, and Barclays PLC (BCS), which was hit by a Standard & Poor's Ratings downgrade the prior day, jumped 5%. Mining stocks did plenty of heavy lifting for the index, with BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) up 4%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) surging 4.5%, and Anglo American PLC rising 5%. Those gains came as metals prices eased somewhat in electronic trading. Data in the U.K. showed house prices rising to nearly a three-year high in June. Home builders such as Persimmon PLC rose over 4%, while away from the main index, Taylor Wimpey PLC soared over 6%. News of an interim president appointed in Egypt and signs that Portugal's government may survive the current crisis also sent investors back into perceived riskier assets on Thursday.

Tomorrow's newspaper headlines: "Shock as billions wiped on to share prices"