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

MarketWatch LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets were little changed on Thursday, as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of policy decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, and waited for the first estimate of U.S. third-quarter economic growth. The Stoxx Europe 600 index stuck close to the break-even mark around 232.20, after gaining 0.4% on Wednesday. Shares of Commerzbank AG rallied 8.3% after the German lender reported better-than-expected profit for the third quarter, boosted by improvements in cost cutting, a lower tax rate and lower loan-loss provisions. The main revenue driver, net interest income, also exceeded expectations. Siemens AG (SI) climbed 2.5% after the industrial major reported a slight drop in fiscal fourth-quarter profit, but announced plans for a share buyback. On a more downbeat note, HeidelbergCement AG lost 3.3% after the cement maker said it will become tougher to reach its financial targets as currency effects are weighing on operating income. More broadly, investors were waiting for potentially market-moving events on both sides of the Atlantic later in the day. In Europe, the ECB was likely to claim the spotlight, with its rate decision and monthly news conference on tap. The central bank has left monetary policy unchanged over past meetings, but after a weak inflation reading for October out last week, analysts started speculating that a rate cut could be on the cards at Thursday's meeting or in December. The rate decision is out at 12:45 p.m. in London, or 7:45 a.m. Eastern Time. The main event, however, is likely to be Draghi's news conference at 1.30 p.m. London time. Read: Don't take your eye off the European Central Bank and Mario Draghi "We think it will not unveil any new measures, although -- with an eye on the markets -- Draghi's rhetoric will certainly be dovish. But while some members of the Governing Council had already favored further policy easing before these latest CPI data, the majority seems unlikely to be panicked into taking any new action," analysts at Daiwa Capital Markets said in a note ahead of the meeting. The Bank of England is expected to keep policy unchanged. The decision is due at noon local time. At 1.30 p.m. in London, the first estimate of third-quarter gross-domestic-product growth in the U.S. is out. Although economists surveyed by MarketWatch predict the U.S. likely expanded by 2.3%, some see growth as high as 2.7% while others predict 1.7% or even less. U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street. Back in Europe, Germany's DAX 30 index inched 0.1% higher to 9,046.48. France's CAC 40 index was flat around 4,286.46, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index dropped 0.2% to 6,727.27.

bhunt, I'm currently running a long FTSE March 14 Future and short DFT's, currently weighted short. I think having a 6700 stop is a little high, I think bullish sentiment will remain as long as the market closes above 6680.

I've got AMER on watch and will have a look at IRONveld (thanks for the tip)...

Cyners and co........

IG Markets....

David Jones ‏@DavidJones_IG 4m
Our busiest day so far in terms of volume for the Twitter grey market - not surprising. We are seeing two-way flow, implied price around $43

ps, cyners do you think we should have a twitter thread like the post office one?.

that's a hefty premium!
however, i'm off to golf shortly so won't be around for NY opening

Me neither off out fishing.

I'm still yet to even sign up to twitter or create an account.

Shortie, just about in the same position as you.
I have an account which I opened last year to check on travel problems caused by snow. Haven't a clue what to do though. Can't see what all the fuss is about!
TT

I've never had an account. From what I gather though you follow other people on there like celebrities, businesses, tipsters etc. When they tweet it appears in your news feed, I suppose its a PR marketing tool really for those that wish to maintain some kind of social status. I wonder if the queen is on there tweeting away every hour, can't see it personally..

FRANKFURT--The European Central Bank unexpectedly cut its main interest rate to a fresh record low close to zero, reflecting heightened worries in Europe that dangerously low inflation threatens the region's tepid economic recovery. The Frankfurt-based central bank cut the main interest rate at which it lends to banks to 0.25% from 0.5%, and slashed its emergency lending facility by 25 basis points to 0.75%, the ECB announced Thursday. The governing council decided to keep the deposit rate on bank funds parked at the ECB unchanged at zero. Market attention will now turn to ECB President Mario Draghi's monthly press conference, due to start at 1330 GMT, for an explanation of the central bank's surprising decision and what effect it will have on the euro and the bloc's recovery hopes. The ECB had kept the main interest rate unchanged since May, preferring instead to rely on the forward guidance it issued in July to keep interest rates at current or lower levels for "an extended period of time." The vast majority of economists had expected the ECB to stand pat Thursday. But a worryingly low inflation reading for October, reported last week, caught investors and government officials off guard and may have put pressure on the ECB to take action sooner rather than later. The rate cut suggests the governing council decided it couldn't tolerate such low inflation in the euro zone, and had to act fast to prevent the recovery from losing track. The lowering of its key rate leaves the ECB in a precarious position. Since rates can't go much lower, its traditional monetary policy tools are virtually exhausted. Should inflation and the strong euro continue to plague the euro zone, the central bank may be forced to resort to non-standard, but more controversial measures, such as more long-term loans to banks, a negative deposit rate or large-scale asset purchases to increase the money supply. Consumer prices in the euro zone rose only 0.7% in October from a year earlier, down from a 1.1% increase in September, and far below the ECB's target to keep inflation close to, but below 2%. The October inflation rate marked the slowest pace of consumer-price growth since the depths of the global financial crisis, fueling fears that near-zero inflation could squeeze profits, burden households and ultimately result in a "lost decade" in Europe. Making matters worse, a strong euro is undercutting euro-zone exports, threatening to derail the region's nascent recovery and irking government officials. On Tuesday Italy's finance minister called on the ECB to rein in the strong euro and do more to tackle stagnant prices. France's industry minister last month also said the central bank must combat the currency's appreciation. The ECB's rate decision may not have a lasting effect on the euro or inflation. Record high unemployment in the euro zone is pressuring wages and spending, and banks are still reluctant to lend to the real economy, another key source of growth. For these reasons, inflation may remain low for some time, economists have said.

Twitter shares jump to more than $45 as trading starts

Shares in the micro-blogging site Twitter opened at $45.10 each in the first minutes of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

That is a 73% jump from the initial asking price of $26 a share, and it means the company is now valued at a little over $31bn (£19bn).

More than 13 million shares were traded once they became available an hour after the stock exchange opened.

It is the biggest technology listing since Facebook in 2012.

Shortie - I took (half) your advice and moved half my stop down to 6675 - but you were right and half of me was stopped out at 6700 - when will I learn. Any way still have half running so hope you are right

Shortie yep the Queen does tweet on twitter.

Your missing out a lot by not joining up. You get the finincial and stock market news that comes out 2 to 3 hours later on the financial sites and B/Boards.

A leg up on everyone else.

Your just better copying someones elses followers, in fact if you want... copy mine and you have an instant stock market community. About 780 followers at present on my personal account.

Couldnt do without it now, although at first found it strange trying to just do 140or so characters, although you can add on add ons.

amazed TWTR has performed so strongly in a weak market .... was tempted to short but happily only thought about it

.

Triple top on that DOW chart.

Hope it doesnt get as bad as this but it looks like 6400 support on long term FTSE100 chart which corresponds with horizontal support at August 2013.

6680 is roughly where I put FTSE bullish sentiment, if we remain above. US Taper fears drove yesterdays fall after better than expected Q3 data. Todays unemployment figures will either fuel the fear or quash it.

After cashing in some of my short DFT's I'm now weighted long...!

Forget Twitter! Pricing set in the float of the year, shares in Merlin, owner of Sea Life, Legoland and pricey car parks, will be 315p