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've had quite a good day today, which sure makes a change of late, and i have already banked some juicy profits from dow and ftse longs
indeed, i'm wondering whether dow has now shot its load, so to speak, and if a short might not now work profitably for (at least) the rest of the evening

U.S. January Nonfarm Payrolls Due 8:30 a.m. ET; Seen +189K

came up short @ +113k

it's strange that dow has gone a bit stronger, having dumped on the announcement

following lower than expected jobs number less chance of a further reduction in QE

need to put a housebuilder in my pension
does anyone have a strong view between TW. BDEV, PSN or perhaps PAG?
any other fave?

yes TW.

PAG from the above but I'd also consider GFRD (Galliford Try) or RDI (Redifine)...

Redifine 6.15% yield
Galliford 3.18% yield
Paragon 1.92% yield
TW 0.87% yield
Barratt 0.76% yield
Persimmon 0% yield

Anatole Kaletsky ‏@Kaletsky 52m
While US payroll growth of 113,000 disappointed, household survey showed huge growth of 606,000 new jobs! May explain resilient markets.

have taken a few chips off the table ahead of the weekend.

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5 min chart looking good for a short.

I was short @6,550 closed +8 now watching.

On edit - it's 11.2 points tonight.

Oh dear, thats gonna hurt....

Should fall away this afternoon, so my crystal charts tell me..

Down to BP & RDSB!

The U.S. economic outlook would have to take a distinctive turn for the worse before the Federal Reserve considers halting its ongoing reduction of bond purchases, Chairwoman Janet Yellen said Tuesday. "I think what would cause the committee to consider a pause is a notable change in the outlook," Ms. Yellen told lawmakers. Asked about January's weak employment report, Ms. Yellen emphasized that the Fed would look at the long-term pattern and consider a wide range of indicators. "I was surprised that the jobs reports in December and January, the pace of job creation, was running under what I had anticipated. But we have to be very careful not to jump to conclusions in interpreting what those reports mean," Ms. Yellen said. Recent bad weather may have been a drag on economic activity, she added, saying it would take some time to get a true sense of the underlying trend. Ms. Yellen said in her testimony that if the data continue to come in as expected, the Fed will keep reducing the pace of its bond purchases in measured steps. It has lowered the amount it is buying by $10 billion each month to a current $65 billion.

6674.8 gone short

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