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

@£16 per £ short charge.

if ftse drops back to 6500, i'll assuredly be a buyer .... meanwhile, i'll try to avoid itchy fingers!

Overnight charge on FTSE, ouch... Shame I didn't read your post yesterday evening Skinny.. £14.40 per £ I was charged..

European stock markets staged broad-based losses on Wednesday, tracking both U.S. and Asian stocks lower, after Federal Reserve officials said a reduction in asset purchases is likely later this year. Investors were also waiting for the Bank of England's quarterly inflation report and whether the central bank will reveal a framework for forward guidance.

Charles Evans, President of the Chicago Federal Reserve said late Tuesday the economy should improve enough in the second half of the year to allow the central bank to scale back its $85-billion-a-month asset purchases. The comments came after Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, told Market News International that the tapering process could begin at any of the three remaining FOMC meetings this year. The U.K. central bank was also in focus in Wednesday's trade ahead of the Bank of England's quarterly inflation report. Apart from laying out the bank's inflation projections, Governor Mark Carney is also expected to outline if and how the central bank will deploy forward guidance on monetary policy. "We expect the likely announcement of a more aggressive approach to monetary policy -- either via a time- or state-contingent commitment -- to anchor short GBP rates and to weigh on sterling," analysts at Danske Bank said in a note.

excuse me guys, but does that mean that every single night you get charged +/-£14 for every £ (short only?) position you have open? ...... that doesn't sound a very good deal to me!

Yes - bit of a bugger.

I've closed and am waiting to re-enter.

No only overnight on a Tuesday, 99% of shares go ex dividend on a Wednesday - essentially you are charged to cover the dividend amount weighted to the FTSE.

Conversely, if you are long an ex-dividend share, you get the dividend - as I did with BT.A.

All depends on the amount of stock going ex dividned, sometimes the payment is very small and sometimes quite heavy like the one last night. Must get back in the habit of checking this though... Mind you its only ever a small set back.

I'm making the upper resistance point 6660, on the dailys. Seams to be some support at 6600, could break either way right now. I've set a short for 6610 as I'm thinking double top 6400 support needs to be confirmed.

148.504 I've also just gone long on the GJ, I'm hoping for support and a move back to 150's.

very short-term you may be right, but looking forward, assuming the eurozone economies also start to perk up - i recollect seeing a few days ago that spain surprised on the upside - then ftse will recommence its upward trend towards 6900/7000

Asian stock markets ended lower Wednesday after overnight losses in the U.S. on monetary-policy concerns, with Japan shares falling the most in nearly two months as exporters took a heavy hit from the yen's advance. The blue-chip Nikkei Stock Average plunged 4% in Tokyo, its worst one-day percentage loss since June 13, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.9%, and South Korea's Kopsi gave up 1.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index also retreated 1.5%, while the Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.7% after a swinging in and out of gains. The moves came amid seasonally thin trading, with Kim Eng Securities strategist Andrew Sullivan predicting "light volumes to remain." He noted some market holidays this week in Southeast Asia for the end of Ramadan likely to make volumes "lighter still." "Summer doldrums seem to be upon us," he said. The weak tone in Asia followed a second day of losses for U.S. benchmarks, with the S&P 500 (SPX) sliding back below the 1,700 level after ending the day down 0.6%. Concerns about the Federal Reserve's stimulus outlook helped drive the drop on Wall Street, after Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said he expects the central bank to begin tapering its asset-purchase program by the end of the year. Japanese equities took an additional hit from the yen, as the U.S. dollar (USDJPY) fell as low as Yen96.74, according to FactSet, after having traded above the Yen98 level just over 24 hours earlier. The higher yen hit exporters, which have benefitted from a weaker currency. Among them, Sony Corp. (SNE) lost 4.3%, Tokyo Electron Ltd. (8035.TO) retreated 6.7%, and Olympus Corp. (OCPNF) slid 4.7%. Shares of Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd. , which debuted in Tokyo last month, gave up 2.9% of their value despite almost doubling its fiscal first-half profit. Audio-tech firm Pioneer Corp. (6773.TO) tumbled 8.7% after reporting a wider quarterly loss and slashing its fiscal-year profit outlook by more than 90%. But on the upside, energy major Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. surged 3.7% after hiking its own fiscal-year profit outlook by 85%. In Sydney, the key mining and financial sectors were both heading lower, with Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCMGF) sinking 4.2% after benchmark Comex gold futures lost their grip on the $1,300-an-ounce level in Tuesday trade. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FSUMY) and uranium extractor Paladin Energy Ltd. (PDN.T) also helped lead mining-share losses, dropping 4.6% and 7%, respectively. Banks extended their weakness after the Reserve Bank of Australia's Tuesday interest-rate cut, with National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAUBF) off 1.7% and Macquarie Group Ltd. (MCQEF) lower by 3%. Chip shares traded lower in Seoul, where Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF) fell 2.6%, and SK Hynix Inc. (HXSCL) lost 3.6%, following a 0.7% drop for the Nasdaq (RIXF) . Among Hong Kong stocks, the energy shares were a weak spot after crude-oil futures lost 1.2% during regular trade in New York. Cnooc Ltd. (CEO) slid 1%, and PetroChina Co. (PTR) surrendered 2.7%, while China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. -- better known as Sinopec (SNP) -- saw a 2.4% decline. Casino shares were mixed, with Wynn Macau Ltd. (WYNMY) rising 0.7%, but MGM China Holdings Ltd. (2282.HK) dropping 4.6% after posting a quarterly loss.

6610 sold for 6568, very quick trading right now

Well that was nice!

Edit - you and me both Shortie +29.

Cynic, regarding the FTSE reaching new highs this is only feasible whilst the cash discount rate remains low and is perceived to be held low into the future.

GJ bounced the wrong way for me though but is recovering

GJ closed for a small profit, no doubt will re-enter. FTSE short at 6574

Long @31.

German Industrial Production m/m 2.4% 0.3% -1.0%

Long Skinny, brave move

BOE Carney: Inflation, Not Unemployment, Rate Is MPC's Target

Profiting again