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

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

Think I'll trade the 5 min FTSE chart today..

Housing bubbles have become as quintessentially British as warm beer, milky tea and cricket. Unfortunately. Take the latest data. The December Nationwide house price index rose 1.4% on the month and 8.4% on the year as the market gained momentum--prices had been up 0.7% on the month and 6.5% on the year in November. That's the fastest pace of annual house price appreciation since the summer of 2010. In some parts of the country, the latest bubble has outstripped the previous biggest bubble, which peaked in 2007--London prices are 14% higher than they were then. Mortgage approvals have motored to their strongest level since the start of 2008, while gross lending has also hit new all-time highs. This isn't an accident. Policymakers have engineered this boom as a means of reviving the U.K. economy. The Bank of England's Funding for Lending Scheme together with the government's Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme have helped to reflate prices. Rising house prices, meanwhile, have spurred a sharp rise in consumer credit, which, in turn, has fed consumer demand. At the same time, construction has also boomed. The latest construction purchasing managers' survey remains near at least decade-long highs, signalling robust levels of house building. Those who remember the housing boom and bust of the late 1980s/early 1990s and then again the run-up to the financial crisis are uneasy about the latest surge in prices. Average valuations for London and its commuter belt are already on more than 10 times average earnings, double what might be considered healthy levels. The Bank of England's policymakers shrug, arguing that they set policy for the benefit of the whole British economy and not just with an eye to central London and that while mortgage growth has been rising, it remains at historically low levels with net lending little more than flat lining. But the greater London area makes up between a fifth and a quarter of the British economy. What's more, there are increasing signs of overstretched valuations in the regions, even if they're not back to 2007 peak levels. Even where the BOE acknowledges risks of possible excesses in prices, it places great faith on macro-prudential policy to keep the market in check--among which is the possibility of tightening leverage ratios on home loans. Recent experience of the effectiveness of macro-prudential policy tools however is less than encouraging. In both Sweden and Canada the central banks have tried to lean against over-inflated property values without raising interest rates and have had little success. There's an irony in the fact that Bank of England Governor Mark Carney got his job in part for helping the Canadian economy from suffering the worst of the U.S.'s post-crisis meltdown. That's because one of the ways he did so was by supporting an already inflated domestic housing market and then fuelling further price rises. If, as seems likely, the Canadian property market is suffering a bubble of its own, one that macro-prudential regulation is failing to restrain, it too will eventually go pop. Depending on how far along the U.K.'s bubble is at the time, the Canadian experience may well inform Mr. Carney's future policy approach.

if that is along the lines of what keynes recommended, and i think it is, then sticky must surely applaud

Lets not do Keynes again.. lol.

Milton? :-)

not me :-)
as i said earlier, i think the market(s) are looking o'bought and frothy ..... so am somewhat surprised to see MKS order book looking so strong

I've long thought the markets were overbought, analysts predicting 7000+ on the FTSE seams ludicrous to me.

expect more M&A activity in 2014.

it's always difficult to judge when you'll actually be pissing downwind, though you seem (are) remarkably good at calling very short-term short trades

Go on then Skinny, "Inflation is taxation without legislation".

Cheers Cynic, well not over the last 24 hrs in NXT hey lol, although I did make some money there before Christmas so not all bad...