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

Lol Hilary, well played, my exit was premiture. No doubt this will be another short play soon.

Closed at 1.5931

15 minute FTSE, small long in play 6335.3..

Good luck Shortie - I got stopped for +40 and now debating what to do.

I think the long side is favourite now - famous last words!

think that'll do for being long ftse.

Yes I've closed (from last night) - its all a bit surreal atm!

I know, gone short 6400.3, which ever way you look at the last few days we're still trending down so might as well be with the trend. Current rally looks overdone also.

Ironically, I've closed a short for +5!!!

I still think the long side is favourite - unless its not! hmmm

Maybe a case of great minds then Skinny.... I'm currently +10pts but will leave it running.

Short @6,424 - just a breather?

Back to plan A :-)

House Republicans to Unveil 6-Week Borrowing-Limit Increase -- Sources

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, has outlined a plan to fellow conservative Republicans to raise the debt limit for four to six weeks, as part of broader deficit-reduction talks, The Wall Street Journal reported. President Barack Obama will meet House Republicans later Thursday, after meeting with House Democrats on Wednesday, in an attempt to break an impasse over government funding and raising the nation's borrowing limit. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.707% from 2.652% late Wednesday. Yields move inversely to bond prices. Front-month October gold futures fell 0.6% to $1298.70 an ounce. Chris Bertelsen, chief investment officer at Global Financial Private Capital, which manages $2.3 billion, said he tends to be skeptical until he sees an actual agreement, but he is happy to see signs of a thaw in Washington as an agreement will allow the market to get back to business as usual. "We're getting signs of a thaw. It does make us feel better," Mr. Bertelsen said. "Now we can look to see how earnings behave." Initial claims for jobless benefits in the latest week shot up by 66,000 to 374,000, the most seen since March and sell above expectations of 312,000. Most of the rise reflected continued reporting problems in California. Jobless claims can be reported during the partial government shutdown, which has entered its 10th session, as the data is mostly compiled by the states. Earlier, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew reiterated in his testimony to the Senate Finance Committee that the deadline to raise the debt ceiling was Oct. 17, and warned of dire consequences if the nation's borrowing limit wasn't raised in time.

I'm Staying short...

6435.5 added to short position

That's funny - I've just closed my latest long @6,437!

6435.5 closed at 6427

Well done Shortie - I'm out atm.

no sign of the fat lady yet!!