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

cash dow somewhat mysteriously shows +56 to 16663 even though usa is shut as is uk ..... and as far i can see, european markets have not moped greatly either

probably rashly, i have therefore opened another "small beer" short = average 16586.5
fingers x-ed :-)

Short FTSE @6,843.6.

And again @6,855.4.

short 9929 on Dax

Anyone think we are heading for a downturn ? it just looks overheated to me .
I have gambled and taken some profits on a couple ,if i'm wrong they will probably carry on up without me .

it can never be wrong to bank a profit .... wish i listened sometimes :-)

1 point off the FTSE tonight for ex dividends.

Yep, I've already covered that trading today, no need to hedge.

I bought MKS first thing for the dividend may tempted to close now as its well in profit.

6845.3 large short

6833 closed half, +12.3

6845.3 large short again

LONDON, May 28 (Reuters) - British retail sales grew at a slower pace this month, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry suggested on Wednesday. The CBI's monthly distributive trades survey's retail sales balance eased in May to +16 from +30 in April and below economists' forecasts of +35. The survey of 136 firms showed retailers predict a pick-up in sales next month, with the index for expected June sales at +29. "Although that growth was at a slower rate than expected, the fact we've seen a steady increase for six consecutive months is a sign we're heading towards sustainable growth and strengthening consumer optimism...," said Barry Williams, Chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Survey Panel. Consumer demand, buoyed by a strengthening housing market, has been the main driver of Britain's rapid economic recovery. In the CBI's quarterly survey, the business situation index was +13 in May, down from +18 in February.

6845.3 large shorts closed at 6842.8 +2.5

A good read when you get 5 mins..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27026704

Tiffany & Co short on the cards ...maybe...

:-)

Its funny where ideas can come from. Think I'll follow the Tiffany & Co one with interest.

http://www.nationaljeweler.com/majors/market-developments/In-Tiffany-vs-Costc-2565.shtml

Looks good for a short right now!! :-)

Hmmm - do you know what caused the gap up?

Not a clue, only came accross it after reading the BBC article which I though was good and decided to post here as a potential short play.