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

FTSE 6508 gone long

6532 position closed +24

Well done Shortie.

Intraday double top on the FTSE.

Cheers Skinny, I'm hoping this will be range bound for most of the day making life nice and simples..

6535 gone short

ISM Manufacturing PMI at 3pm.

6524 position closed +11

By Paul Hannon and Ilona Billington Europe's factories had a busy start to 2014, with some of the strongest improvements seen on the borders of the euro zone, in countries that have long been hobbled by its fiscal and banking crises. Activity in January also picked up in some of the currency bloc's troubled southern members, with Greece's manufacturing sector expanding for the first time since August 2009. By contrast, manufacturing activity in Russia fell further, while activity in Turkey slowed, developments that will add to the challenges faced by policy makers as foreign investors withdraw their funds, weakening the ruble and the lira. Surveys of purchasing managers conducted by data firm Markit published Monday pointed to a pickup in manufacturing activity in the euro zone, but an even more marked acceleration in central European and Nordic nations that have close trading and financial links with the currency area. Markit said its purchasing managers index for the euro zone's manufacturing sector--based on a survey of 3,000 firms--rose to 54.0 from 52.7 in December, signaling the fastest expansion since May 2011. The reading was slightly above the preliminary estimate of 53.9 released last month. A reading above 50.0 for the Purchasing Managers Index indicates an expansion in activity. The euro zone's rebound was led by Germany, whose PMI rose to a 32-month high of 56.5 from 54.3, but was also aided by an acceleration in Spain, while Italy's manufacturing sector slowed slightly and the contraction in France eased. "Perhaps the most important development in the report is the further revival of manufacturing in the region's periphery," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit. "The Greek PMI's rise above 50 for the first time since August 2009 is an important signal of how even the most troubled member states are returning to growth." The revival in the manufacturing sector also appears to be aiding the jobs market, with purchasing managers reporting that new jobs are being created for the first time in nearly two years, and more widely across the currency area. The surveys will reassure the European Central Bank that the recovery it expects to see this year remains on track. But there were also some worrying signs for rate setters ahead of their Thursday meeting, since the prices charged by manufacturers rose at the slowest pace since October. Figures released Friday showed the euro zone's annual rate of inflation fell to 0.7% in January from 0.8% in December, further below the ECB's target of just under 2.0%. Data released for the first time by the European Union's statistics agency showed the combined deficit of the euro zone's governments fell to 3.1% of gross domestic product in the three months to September, its lowest level since the third quarter of 2008, and another sign that the currency area may be on the mend. The euro zone's still fragile return to growth is good news for its neighbors, whose manufacturers often have close ties with their counterparts in the currency area, particularly in the automobile industry centered in Germany. Grupo Antolín, a Spanish car part manufacturer with more than 14,000 workers in 25 countries, saw robust growth last year and has kept up the pace in January, Chief Executive José Manuel Temiño said in an interview. "We had a very good year in the U.S. and in Asia, while in Spain it appears that the economy is turning a corner," he said. The group, which specializes in making car interiors for Ford Motor Co, Volkswagen Group, Renault-Nissan and other brands, is opening four factories this year in Missouri, Spain, Russia and India, Mr. Temiño said. He said the group, which had EUR2.74 billion in sales last year, expects to grow its revenues by an average of 5% a year in coming years. Grupo Antolín is also benefiting from a solid recovery in Spain's car-making sector. Just Monday, Spain's association of car manufacturers Anfac said car registrations in January rose 7.6% from the same month of 2013, to 53,436. Anfac said it is anticipating sales of over 800,00 cars this year, up 11% from 2013. The surveys of purchasing managers recorded the strongest expansion of Czech manufacturing activity since mid-2011, while Poland's PMI hit a three-year high, and the measure for Hungary surged to 57.9 from 50.5 in December. There was a similarly big jump in Sweden's PMI to 56.4 from 52.2, while Norway's PMI rose to 52.8 from 51.4. Europe's broad revival contrasts with the slowdown recorded in some previously fast-growing developing economies, and reflects a rebalancing in the drivers of world growth. According to a survey of purchasing managers released Thursday, China's manufacturing sector contracted in January, while the PMI for Russia released Monday showed activity there was the weakest since June 2009. Turkey's manufacturers continued to increase output in January, but at the slowest pace since August 2013. "January's manufacturing PMI data provide further evidence that the economies of central Europe are enjoying a decent recovery, but that manufacturing in emerging Europe's two largest economies, Russia and Turkey, is struggling," said William Jackson, an economist at Capital Economics. In the U.K., the PMI fell to 56.7 from 57.2, but continued to record a strong rate of growth in one of Europe's better performing economies.

U.S. manufacturing activity stalled last month, dragged down by a drawdown of inventories, according to data released Monday by the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM's manufacturing purchasing managers' index dropped to 51.3 in January from 56.5 in December. A reading above 50 indicates expanding activity. December's reading, along with the rest of 2013 results were revised with new seasonal factors on Jan. 29. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected the latest PMI to come in at 56. "A number of comments from the panel cite adverse weather conditions as a factor negatively impacting their businesses in January, while others reflect optimism and increasing volumes in the early stages of 2014," the report said. The ISM report showed a broad pullback across many components in the factory sector. The ISM new orders index slipped to 51.2 in January, from 64.4 in December. The employment index fell to 52.3 last month, from 55.8. Inventories sank deeper into contractionary territory to 44 from 47, now at its lowest reading since December 2012. Only supplier deliveries and prices positively contributed to the January result. The prices paid index jumped to 60.5 last month, from 53.5 in December.

next FOMC meeting 19th March so possibly no further tapering for a while which may allow the markets to settle.

Not showing any sign of letting up just yet..

Toying with 15,500 - 200ma looms close by.

It does look the obvious long play off the MA... Tough call, 15450 I think for me to make up my mind and go long (maybe).

6453 gone long

Snap (6,450.8)

with dow tumbling through 16500, that sounds quite brave
i'm far too old and slow :-( but eventually got round to shorting dow at 15552
there is certainly a temptation to reverse that again now dow has (already) dropped to ~15450, so shall try to pay attention :-)

15440 debating a DOW long also now..

so banked that juicy profit and opened small(er) long at 15457

dow dithering at this level, so fingers x-ed that a sharp bounce is the next move and not the reverse

I haven't bothered with Wall St. Think I'll double check that 200 DMA line again as not convinced we'll see a bounce. It looks alot more aggressive than it did back in October.... Note MACD and RSI pushing on rather than confirming support in the above chart...

Skinny, any ideas??