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 in the bank is always good. Better than having paper profits and then losing the lot - as I have done several times !!

I think this rally might still have some legs on it so am still in - but I have brought my stoploss closer so that I dont loose all my profit on a sudden change of direction.

Richard, I posted earlier that I thought the DOW would have an up day, however I am trading much shorter time frames off 3 and 5 min charts. My longer term charts have resistance at 12310 and 12320, hence looking for a short trade. Must admit though looking quite strong right now and if I was long I wouldn't be in a rush to close.

12310 broken -look like 12320 could also be broken

I think the DOW could possibly recover to as far as 12346-12388 (for what it's worth). Will try to take small profits as it goes up, just in case it falls back on me!

As soon as I posted the above, it turned - typical!

I have closed my Ftse long - I will let the voices of experience guide me - thanks

toya -likewise - as soon as I closed it, it went up.

Still managed to bank 75 on that last foray into the market - not a lot by your guys standards - but enough for me

Still looking quite strong to me, although 20 held......just

bhunt: I tend to trade in and out in small steps - find it scares me a lot less than hanging in there for a long time. And it's surprising how several little profits of just 25 (sometimes less) or so add up in a day.

Looks like we hit a high at 12329!

??

Having just shed 30 pts in ten minutes I feel the DOW needs to stage a smart turnaround if today's gains are not to be wiped out, possibly an over-statement :))

it's a pretty difficult call i agree .... have already set a stop on my Dow so shall at least get shut out at a profit if it gets hit

Question for you - I trade with barclays - and they charge me 12.50 per trade - hence why I am trying not to do lots of little trades. having said that - I have traded 12 times today - so cost me 150. Is that expensive - or are there cheaper options ?

Well, I've stopped looking for short positions and have drawn an up channel for this afternoon's activity, sitting right at the bottom as I type so plenty of room for more upside...............if it goes up :S

Dropped out of the channel

PTH: thought you'd have your short running now

Toya, I have been short, long and just about everything else!!! Unfortunately I keep picking the wrong moments to close trades by losing faith in my own analysis :( 12320 was the pivot for that particular move and I should have stayed with it rather than closing for a small profit.

Not reading this at well today, so unless my befuddled brain cell wakes up, I won't be trading again this evening

I've not done well either, which is v annoying as the ftse did everything I wanted of it this morning!

dow down to 12,280 - might just be time to climb on board - but I promised I was going to sit on my hands tonight - so I wont be investing.