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

i expect the markets to remain difficult to read for 2014, with a fair amount of volatility
i'ld guess that QE will gather pace with the inherent threat of rising interest rates in its wake ......
both of these will make the markets jittery, though for no really good reason, not least because they will be indicators of strengthening world economies
that said, some of the eurozone countries will remain (very) weak with france proving its foolish election of a left-wing president with his lunatic high taxation regime to be a total disaster
germany may continue to get away with its smoke and mirrors

Volatility ,,now that's a word i like to hear ..

End of February or early March the US is expected to hit the debt ceiling again. The below are worth a read when you have a few minutes spare.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/budget/treasury-secretary-jack-lew-to-congress-we-ll-hit-the-debt-ceiling-by-early-march-20131219

http://www.marketminder.com/a/fisher-investments-13-risks-that-werent-in-2013/dfaae341-d652-4103-af6f-ef504ba01e98.aspx

.

got to say ftse santa's rally has been magnificient, couldn't ask for better year ending:).all good for all

No where near as good as the DOW's though!

I think asos £1 to £61 has got to be good, now wheres that hob nail boot for kicking arse's gone I need to remind myself not to sell tooooooo early. happy new year.,.

Charles Stanley traders Bulletin back after xmas break............

features on header of Chart Attack Thread.

http://www.charles-stanley.co.uk/traders-bulletin

Interesting chart in that link...

Balerboy agree, more like looking for gun..:) as far I remember you got out at some 400....see what your 6000 shares would be now...and next year..and next..:)

I think a lot did it ,i'm even worse ,was in asos early under a pound and out with what was a nice profit then . ;( ..

Skinny - this time it's different.

:-)

Certainly seems to be for the S&P!

Not before some profit taking first though..

http://www.cityam.com/blog/1388677533/full-steam-ahead-us-manufacturing-sector

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Stocks on Wall Street started 2014 sharply lower after data pointed to a slowdown in manufacturing expansion in China and the United States. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped 87.97 points, or 0.5% to 16,488.20. The S&P 500 (SPX) shed 10.44 points, or 0.6% to 1,837.88. Broad-based losses on the S&P 500 were led by the technology and energy sectors. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) dropped 29.20 points, or 0.7% to 4,146.46. The Dow and S&P 500 both ended 2013 at record highs on Tuesday and U.S. markets were closed on Wednesday for New Year's Day. Thursday's losses came as data raised some concerns about manufacturing growth. China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index fell in December to 51.0 from 51.4 in the previous month, pointing to the difficulties facing exporters. In the U.S., the Institute for Supply Management reported that its closely followed manufacturing index slipped to 57% in December from 57.3% the month before. The level indicates a slower but still-healthy pace of expansion. Upbeat data on jobless claims did little to cheer investors. Initial weekly claims for unemployment benefits fell by 2,000 to 339,000 last week, the Labor Department reported. "Today's jobless claims and manufacturing data were positive and show continued momentum in the economy," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. "The ISM headline number was not spectacular, but if you look at the details, new orders were sharply up. The improving economy is also reflected in 10-year Treasury yields, which are marching higher. All this bodes well for stocks, so we see today's pullback as profit-taking and consolidation." Yields on the 10-year Treasury note (10_YEAR) traded near 3%. "Retails investors, who are usually the 'morning' traders, are readjusting their portfolios after great returns," Krosby said. "We will be watching what happens at the end of the trading session carefully, particularly 'buy' orders from professional money, such as pension funds, which usually take advantage of such dips." * Stocks move on analysts ratings: Apple Inc. shares dropped 1.2% after Wells Fargo downgraded the iPhone maker to market perform from outperform. Losses in Apple shares dragged the technology sector as well as the Nasdaq Composite down. * Sprint Corp. shares fell 3% after Cowen & Co. downgraded the firm to market perform from outperform. However, analyst Colby Synesael raised the price target to $8.25 from $7.50. "We still believe Sprint is a 'concept stock' and that valuation is more subjective, but using our assumptions it is fairly valued," Synesael wrote. * Urban Outfitters Inc. climbed 3.3% after Jefferies analysts upgraded the stock to buy, citing it as a top pick for 2014, according to the Analyst Ratings Network. * Twitter Inc. shares rose 1.9% after a volatile December. The stock surged over the month, despite a tumble in some of the final days. * The comment: Nouriel Roubini -- a.k.a. 'Dr. Doom' -- is getting optimistic. The respected New York University economist has been pivoting toward a more optimistic outlook over the past few months. Now, his latest 2014 outlook definitely bolsters his nascent bullish credentials.

Roubini's guess is as good as anyone else, just another useless economist.

Ralley before the bell maybe??

Charles Stanley morning traders bulletin.

its in the header on chart attack thread.....for future use.............if you want it each morning.

http://www.charles-stanley.co.uk/traders-bulletin

it really does make an excellent, readable and sensible analysis ... that one may not necessarily agree with its conclusions is irrelevant