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

bit the bullet on ftse long, but that is somewhat tempered by an existing short on dow and s&p ...... cashed in some other bits and pieces too, though as usual a bit late in the day and not heavily enough ..... still, not a bad (fiscal) year so far

just opened a small ftse short at 6432.5 .... let's see whether or not a foolish move

.

In answer to your comment h, here's D. Picarda's take on things from IC:
"Daily market outlook 13 December 2013
Our stock market seems to be sticking faithfully to the seasonal script. As I set out in last week’s column, the widely-awaited Santa Claus rally is an end-of-December phenomenon. By contrast, the fiftieth trading week of the year - in 2013, that ending 13 December - has tended to be rather weak, with the FTSE 100 more likely to fall than rise. As if to prove a point, the UK large-cap index gave a repeat sell-signal on its swing-chart on Friday 6 December.

FTSE's repeat sell-signal
A bit of weakness now is frankly just what the doctor ordered. My only complaint is that the US is looking so robust. The S&P gave a repeat buy-signal on Friday 6 December, while the Nasdaq 100 is actually rather overbought. Another pullback on Wall Street, say to the 21-day exponential moving averages, would set up an end-of-year rally - and make a great buying opportunity.

S&P's buy-signal
The fear of the day seems to be that the Federal Reserve is about to pare back its money-printing bonanza. I agree that will likely be bad for stocks once it happens. But I don’t really see it happening at the Fed’s 17-18 December meeting. In fact, I think that it might even wait until once Janet Yellen has taken up the reins in February. Continued easy money and positive seasonality tilt the odds in favour of fresh highs in the US."

FTSE100 1HR

USD/JPY back down to support around 103.30. Ready for the next leg up?

13603 - meanwhile s&p continues south, whereas dow limps north

FTSE pretty quiet, where is Santa and his rally?

Just thinking the same.

I don't know, went long on a FTSE 100 Mar Fut this morning at 6377 and now 6415 + 38

S&P triple top could actually be bullish

Some market technicians have been pointing out a "triple top" on the S&P 500 as a warning sign that the rally could have peaked and be over. Pulling back and looking at a longer-term picture gives, in my opinion, a different and more bullish perspective.

Don't spoil it for me skinny ,i was thinking this was the santa rally starting.

i am already short s+p and also have a small ftse short .... this latter i may well increase

I'm short FTSE DFT, and S&P DFT closed my long FTSE 100 Mar Fut yesterday for a profit have also now exited DAX shorts..

DFT?

Daily Funded Trade, I can hold these short against a long future in the same market. Or vice-versa..

so is that a restricted day trade only?
never heard of it before, and just curious

Just a normal S/B.

Typically yes although you can roll it over from one day to the next. You pay and overnight fee for doing so plus receive/pay any dividend due. The DFT is nearest to spot, the below shows FTSE bets.

My eyes will be mainly on AAPL today, a favourite to short...