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

6384.4 FTSE closed -1.1 pts

Just over two weeks to the St Leger. Lets hope things get a bit more active on the stock market. All a bit dull atm.

U.S. economy grew at 2.5% annual rate in second quarter, faster than previously reported by Commerce Department.
so will the markets perversely now run scared?

You'd think so Cynic, any tapering will cause concern that growth might stall.

Debating going short on the FTSE, already been short once today and closed at profit, looking for above 6500, 6520-6535 shows resistance

6506 short

6462 closed for +56

FTSE 100 Daily Below, tempted to go long but will wait and see what happens this afternoon.

Rate decisions are due from the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank Thursday, along with the U.S. ADP employment report, while nonfarm payrolls are out Friday.

I have sadly sold all my CSR shares after a terrific run; there's a buying opportunity for someone here :-)

FTSE short 6540

6491 FTSE position closed +49 pts.

Well done Shortie - I was short @6,532, went out and left a limit in for 6,507 (+25)!

10 min FTSE below.. Awaiting the potential rebound.

Skinny +25, at least its a profit, well done..

Thanks - sods law - it never seems to work the other way round!

I've been short more than long of late based on the Syrian situation, but it looks like the markets are starting to ignore it for now.

Can't see the Syrian situation having much effect on the FTSE, I think gold and oil will see the biggest shift if soemthing develops.

Anyone fancy gold?

Small gold @1368.95.

Gold 4 hr below, worth keeping an eye on as the recent trending has been long. I make 1348 the first downward stop if going long.

MARKETS: FTSE 100 6529.00 -3.44 -0.05% FTSE 250 14945.63 -31.71 -0.21% FTSE AIM All-Share 764.75 +0.21 +0.03% London Stocks Pare Losses After Data, BOE 0849 GMT [Dow Jones] FTSE 100 is down 0.05%, paring losses slightly after UK data but still firmly in the red as investors remain focused on the US nonfarm payrolls report due at 1230 GMT. Industrial production came in flat for July against forecasts of a 0.1% increase. "Today's IP figures suggest some stabilization in activity at the beginning of 3Q 2013, after the solid upswing registered in June," says Annalisa Piazza at Newedge. Manufacturing output rose 0.2% in July, slightly off forecasts of a 0.4% increase. At the same time a BOE survey showed the percentage of Britons expecting a rate rise is at its lowest since November 2008 and that annual inflation expectations fell to 3.2% in the year-ahead vs 3.6% in May. TOP NEWS: Fewer Britons Expect Rate Rise After BOE Guidance - Survey The percentage of Britons expecting interest rates to rise within a year fell in August to its lowest level since 2008, according to a Bank of England survey Friday, in a sign the central bank's rate-pledge strategy is bearing fruit. UK Economy Gets Off to Slow Start in 3Q The U.K. economy made a slow start to the third quarter, official data showed Friday, with industrial production stagnating in July and exports to countries outside the European Union falling at the fastest rate in over four years. UK House Prices Rise for Seventh Straight Month - Halifax U.K. house prices rose for a seventh straight month in August, according to the latest house price survey from U.K. lender Halifax, suggesting government programs continue to support demand and adding to concerns a bubble could emerge. COMPANIES NEWS: Glencore, Mubadala and Trafigura Have Made Offers for Brazil's MMX -Sources Swiss mining firm Glencore Xstrata AG (CLNCY, GLEN.LN, 0805.HK) has made a firm offer to buy Brazil's MMX Mineracao e Metalicos SA (MMXM3.BR), controlled by Brazilian businessman Eike Batista, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. ICAP in Advanced Talks to Settle U.S., U.K. Libor Probe -Sources ICAP PLC is in advanced negotiations with U.S. and British regulators to resolve a longstanding investigation into the interdealer broker's involvement in alleged manipulation of benchmark interest rates, according to people familiar with the settlement talks. Tullow Oil Makes Breakthrough Oil Discovery at Wisting Central Well Independent oil & gas, exploration and production group Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) said Friday the Wisting Central exploration well [7324/8-1], offshore Norway, has made the first ever oil discovery in the Hoop-Maud Basin in the Barents Sea. Shell to Negotiate for Settlement in Nigeria Oil Spill Case Negotiations between Royal Dutch Shell PLC and the lawyers representing 15,000 Nigerians claiming compensation for two oil spills that occurred in the Niger Delta in 2008 are set to begin next week, in a bid to end litigation against the company in the U.K. Character Group Sees FY in Line with Views; to Swing into Profit Character Group PLC (CCT.LN), a developer of toys, games and giftware, said Friday that Group's trading performance in the second half of the financial year ended Aug. 31, was satisfactory, adding that it anticipates that the results for the year will be in line with market expectations. British Land Raises GBP200M in US Private Placement Transactions British Land Co PLC (BLND.LN), a European real estate investment trust with total assets, owned or managed, of 16.9 billion pounds, said Friday it has raised 200 million pounds in U.S. private placement transactions. OTHER NEWS: U.K. Discusses Further Support With Syrian Opposition Leader U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said Thursday he had discussed ways Britain could provide further non-lethal support to the main Syrian opposition with their leader Ahmad Al-Jarba. BROKER COMMENTS: Citigroup Remove Vodafone From Focus List 0834 GMT [Dow Jones] Citigroup removes Vodafone (VOD.LN) from its European Focus List, pointing to the passing of the Verizon Communications (VZ) catalyst and some concern about near-term technical factors relating to the capital distribution to shareholders. Says Vodafone shares could be held back near term as some investors are put off by having to manage their exit from the Verizon exposure, which is now around 38% of the Vodafone share price. Still, says the sale of the stake is attractively priced and notes an improvement in the core business outlook. Lifts price target to 235p from 230p to reflect value of the disposal proceeds. Buy rating. Shares down 0.2% at 210p. Morgan Stanley Lowers Kingfisher To Underweight 0815 GMT [Dow Jones] Morgan Stanley downgrades Kingfisher (KGF.LN) to underweight from equalweight, with a target of 300p. Says Kingfisher has become a play on the UK housing market. Still Morgan Stanley sees little correlation between an improving house data and home improvement spending in the UK. Says B&Q's troubles can't simply be explained by a weak housing market and the struggle to generate like-for-like growth is more structural than cyclical. Says a cyclical upturn will likely demonstrate that the group faces significant structural headwinds. Notes shares have re-rated to all-time highs, and risks of disappointment from here look much greater than prospects for positive earnings surprises or a further re-rating. Shares drop 1.3% to 401p. Citigroup Reinstates Diageo at Buy 0810 GMT [Dow Jones] Citigroup reinstates Diageo (DGE.LN) at buy from neutral with target to 2320p from 1830p. Says shares have declined almost 10% since early August on emerging markets and currency concerns, underperforming most consumer staples. Says on a 12-month view it is confident Diageo's growth will be resilient, despite weakening emerging market economies. Sees 7% organic EBIT growth in full year 2014. On a medium- and long-term view the company is best positioned to capture the excellent growth opportunity for international spirits in emerging markets. Expects the company to re-rate over the next 12-months to trade in line with peers AB-InBev and SABMiller (SAB.LN). Diageo +1.3% at 2005p, AB-Inbev +0.2% and SABMiller +0.3%. Barclays Ups Tullow Oil Target on Wisting Discovery 0654 GMT [Dow Jones] Barclays raises Tullow Oil (TLW.LN) price target to 1525p from 1500p following the discovery at the company's Wisting Central Well. Says the discovery at Wisting opens up a new basin in the prolific hydrocarbon region and demonstrates the value created from the recent Spring Energy acquisition. Notes the discovery could be sufficiently large to more than offset the cost of this acquisition. Maintains Tullow at overweight. Says the investment case for Tullow is based on its exploration portfolio, which it considers the most attractive in sector coverage. Shares closed Thursday at 1033p. Morgan Stanley Downgrades Sage To Underweight 0652 GMT [Dow Jones] Morgan Stanley downgrades Sage (SGE.LN) to underweight from equalweight, noting 9% downside to its unchanged target price of 320p. Says the valuation looks stretched given the group's growth profile. In addition, says the cash return benefit is already in the price. Says Sage has outperformed on the back of expectations for a capital return. After a special dividend, the Sage is now at its net debt/Ebitda target of 1.0x and so Morgan Stanley expects any cash return to be more limited in future. Shares closed Thursday at 352p. Credit Suisse Ups Lancashire To Outperform 0628 GMT [Dow Jones] Credit Suisse upgrades Lancashire Holdings (LRE.LN) to outperfrom from neutral and cuts target to 860p from 920p. Says Lancashire's recently announced Cathedral acquisition appears to have triggered some concerns about the persistence of future special dividends. However, CS reckons such concerns are overdone. Says the capital efficiencies resulting from the deal, as well as the already strong capital position pre acquisition, should allow Lancashire to pay a special dividend in 4Q13 and 1Q14. Shares closed Thursday at 738p.

Closed gold 1392.70 +23.75.