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 closed earlier +25 and am looking for a break of 6,860 to look again.

added to short at 6608, so combined about 16555 which is now in the money

==============

TSLA
bit the bullet, and i note it's gone lower since
it was a bit of a silly punt in all honesty

Missed playing the DOW as not been at my computer. Should break and fall tomorrow anyway so I'll have another look before the open. FTSE surprised it didnt push up with the DOW, maybe an indication that no support at higher levels. Looking at the 225 8hr + daily are trending down. No reason not to be short indicies at the moment. Cable hourly also now confirming a short play. :-)

Missed playing the DOW as not been at my computer. Should break and fall tomorrow anyway so I'll have another look before the open. FTSE surprised it didnt push up with the DOW, maybe an indication that no support at higher levels. Looking at the 225 8hr + daily are trending down. No reason not to be short indicies at the moment. Cable hourly also now confirming a short play. :-)

TSLA, I was looking at it earlier. Under 160 I think is the price, problem is its trending long term a wide range and you bought at the upper end of the range. Difficult call trying to pick breakouts Cynic, you cant win them all.

+25 well done Skinny, I've had nothing but trimmings all week. I've only just made back this weeks FTSE divi!!

Thanks Shortie - more luck than judgement as I had to go out so put a limit in - it was filled with a couple of points to spare.

BP Proved to be a good ex-divi play this week for once, but then so would have BA. & ULVR!

Euro steadies after slumping on dovish Draghi comments

(Reuters) - The euro struggled to gain traction on Friday after dovish comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi the previous day sent the currency tumbling from a 2-1/2 year high.

The single currency held steady at $1.3839, having pulled back from a peak of $1.3995 set on Thursday on trading platform EBS, the highest since October 2011.

Draghi said the euro's strength was "a serious concern" and that the ECB bank might act to stem falling inflation at its June meeting, signaling possible easing.

Before Draghi's comments, the single currency had surged after the ECB on Thursday kept monetary policy unchanged as expected.

DP of IC's view on things today: "Once again, equities have failed to break up out of their recent ranges. These sort of markets are tedious and potentially costly to trade. As a trendfollower, I find it hard to operate when the indices merely chop in each direction. Probably the best course of action at this point is to wait for another rally from the bottom of the recent ranges, or a decisive escape to the topside. The best-looking chart right now is that of the FTSE 100, although I cannot see it building on its steady-looking uptrend if the US is not doing the same. In any case, I would keep positions small and not chase new ones for now."

Harry - he/she is so insightful!!!

My favourite play right now..

at least my dow short is in the money and i'll leave it running for now

:-) More than making up for a poor week trading indicies..

Nice!

Yep, 1.66 is the target although I've just taken 121pts profit as doubled down at 1.69742

I'm holding two small positions averaging 1.67772.

6819.5 short FTSE, average total short now 6756.7

at least my dow short is doing its duty today

And what about your PFC one? -):

Portsmouth Football Club....??

NEW YORK, May 9 (Reuters) - The euro's sharp decline from a 2-1/2 year high against the dollar extended into Friday, a day after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi did his best to sap the currency's strength by threatening more monetary stimulus. The U.S. dollar, meanwhile, traded at a one-week high against a basket of its major trading partners' currencies, pulling it off a 20-month low. .DXY Draghi warned after the bank's policy meeting that the euro's strength was "a serious concern" and that the ECB was "comfortable" with taking more action to support growth and raise inflation at its June Meeting. ID:nL6N0NU39F "The euro continued to fall overnight from Draghi's comments, but that move is starting to run out of legs," said John Doyle, currency strategist at Tempus Inc in Washington, D.C. "He has a number of times attempted to talk down the euro and yet they haven't done much. The testing of $1.40 on the euro was right, but until the ECB actually acts, I don't see a sustained rally in the dollar. The market has been calling Draghi's bluff," Doyle said. In mid-morning New York trade, the euro EUR= was down 0.46 percent at $1.3776, more than two full cents below highs reached on Thursday. "For me it is not a game changer. As long as quantitative easing continues in the U.S., we expect the dollar to remain under pressure. I would expect the euro to trade higher against the dollar next week," said Lutz Karpowitz, a currency strategist with Commerzbank in Frankfurt. JOBS DATA CLOBBERS CANADIAN DOLLAR Weaker-than-expected April employment data in Canada sent a wave of selling through the loonie. A loss of 28,900 jobs defied forecasts for a gain of 12,000, suggesting the labor market has stalled. ID:nSCL9GEAHP The loonie hit a four-month high on Thursday but has since pulled back to trade down 0.57 percent at C$1.0892, or 91.71 U.S. cents. In other trading, the U.S. dollar made a steady advance. Trading in a narrow range, it edged up 0.07 percent to 101.71 yen JPY= but was still not far from a three-week low of 101.43 yen set on Wednesday. Sterling shed gains, dropping 0.45 percent against the greenback to $1.6854 GBP= , having earlier in the week nearly touched $1.70, a level it has not broken since August 2009. Trading ranges narrowed in the last hours of the week ahead of the May 11 separatist referendum in Ukraine. Pro-Russian separatists voted unanimously on Thursday in favor of holding a referendum on independence, ignoring calls by Russian President Vladimir Putin to postpone the vote to open the way for talks with Kiev authorities.

i have my head in a bucket with PFC :-)
at least i don't hold WAND or BLNX