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

+44 on Facebook, short closed.

Got it all wrong today, now on a cable short which is fortunately in the money so far.

Nice one Shortie!

Two FTSE shorts for +21 today and staying short overnight from 6,507.

Also long on UU. from 666.5 earlier - ex dividend tomorrow @12.4p.

Considering HFD (5.2p) & MARS (4.1p).

Closed S&P also +5.6, not keen on these trades as you need to stake big to make your money..

Well done on Faceslap Shortie.

s+p is quite scary, with even a mini-contract running at $150 a point

Missed out on AAPL yesterday, Facebook looks like a short from the off though.

AAPL was only down $2.50 on a base price >$550 so i can't see that you missed much

Thats 250 pips in spread terms..

i didn't doubt your word but merely observed that there wasn't much movement to make much money

Not from an equity point of view no... 9170.5 gone short opn the DAX

Wondering if I should double up... or down as is the case.

I've just gone on the DOW @15,931.


on edit - closed +11

Not a good day on the DAX

skinny - gone where on the dow :-) ..... i'm certainly happy to stick with my short dow and s+p

Good spot - short! :-)

will the taper be just another storm in a teacup to create volatility and be quickly forgotten?

yes, but the markets will almost certainly initially react badly .... however, sober consideration should realise that the tapering is in response to the economy improving (even if fawlty and his pals would say it's bunkum)

I don't think Tapering is a response to the economy improving at all. It could well be a response to the dollar weakening. Hyman Minsky stressed that the FED should be a lender of last resort, rather than the owner of much debt which should reside in the private markets. When money supply starts to fall and is absorbed into the private sector and unemployment remains steady then you could argue that the economy in the US has begun to turn. At present growth is artificial rather than organic and requires its quick fix of monthly liquidity to keep it there..

11:04 EST - Odds are pretty even for the Fed to announce tapering today, but ED&F Man Capital Markets' Tom DiGaloma remains in the no-taper camp. He points to thin liquidity during the holiday season, saying "the year is over and I just don't see [that] bringing this type of action at year's end, how that really helps anybody." He said he puts the probability of tapering today at 20%, January at 40% and March at 80%. If the Fed holds off today, DiGaloma sees stocks finishing the year strong, while risk assets such as credit and mortgage bonds march higher.