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

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

More on Merlin Group, worth a read if your considering buying.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/shares-and-stock-tips/10421860/Why-you-shouldnt-buy-shares-in-Legoland-owner-Merlin-Entertainment.html

Shortie,
Questor doesn't mince his words does he. But I must agree his comments appear to be well thought through and compelling.
Maybe Merlin is a short from the start then?!

Merlin isn't for me despite my childhood love for Lego. I'll wait for direction before making a play... Twitter yesterday, a loss making company with half its registered users inactive and a obvious short is a great example of how illogical markets can be..

A week later than originally scheduled, but it's Jobs Friday as US economic data continue to catch up following the shutdown. Because of the estimated temporary impacts from that on the federal workforce, October's job growth is seen being muted--and that's compared with the ongoing slowdown that's been seen all year. Thursday's GDP report may have fanned some taper fears in the equity market (something always needs to be blamed when profit-taking happens), but it's not likely the employment data will provide Bernanke & Co. with much to feel that upbeat about regarding the labor picture. With the Dow industrials having undid Wednesday's rally yesterday, futures are up 13 and the S&P 500 gains 4.

i may well short TWTR this morning, depending on what the employment numbers look like and market's reaction

meanwhile have taken a few small profits on some trading positions in uk shares, merely as insurance against a few days retrenchment

U.S. economy adds 204,000 jobs in October - well ahead of expectations; Unemployment rate steady at 7.3%.
markets, being contrary beasts, didn't like this for all the usual nonsense reasons
imo, it will have no effect at all on any tapering decision, so have added back (cheaper) the long dow i encashed this morning

The big upside surprise in jobs growth caught bond bulls off guard. Long bets are unwinding. "It is a very strong report no matter how you look at it. Taper in December is definitely back on the table," says Jason Rogan, managing director of US government bond trading at Guggenheim Securities. Rogan says the 10-year yield likely rises above 2.75% in the coming week as the market also faces $70B in fresh debt supply. The 10-year note is 31/32 lower, yielding 2.727%.