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

Today has been like an inverted crash! Can't quite understand why it has gone up at all with UBS writedown and another 400 billion still in the pipeline but then again the lunatics are running the asylum

Greatly so, thanks Cynic - I've just been riding another of those lovely waves on the dow. And your good self?

almost vicarious as was cooking and then having dinner, but a pleasurable smile to the the wrinkled and toothless was most welcome .... very fine pouilly fuisse too by the way

well I have been completely wrong on this all day - and my short is still open. Views on tomorrrow ??

Hang Seng & Japan almost certain to trade higher and momentum will carry on to FTSE tomorrow.

Do I let my short run - or take the hit ??

Painful dilemma bhunt. I have generally run my losses far too long, though yesterday's luckily turned around for me at the last minute. I try to make myself accept the pain sooner rather than later now, on the basis that I am then free to trade again with a good chance of recouping the loss.

shut out of Dow at 12610, but more than happy .... so long as Dow stays strong to close, then FTSE profit should also be assured .... nous verrons

Bhunt got the same problem - a short open. Toying with idea of moving stop well out of harm's way on the premis that what goes up (quickly) must come down (hopefully equally quickly) Also setting a break even limit in case it drops overnight when I'm lying in bed worrying about the short!!!!!!!

nothing is going to drop overnight .... F/E will inevitably follow US, and thus FTSE likewise .... whether or not Dow can burst through 12650 remains to be seen

Tomorrow will be important on the DOW, look at the chart at todays finish 12654 it is still lower than the two most recent lower highs, 12700 on 26th Feb and 12720 on 2nd Feb. If it can rise above these levels it will be past last resistance, if not it may resume bear channel.

Whatever happens I will just trade the trend. I must admit I don't understand the strengh in the indices at the moment. It does seem a classic case of euphoria when markets rise and extreme pessimism on falls. Have never experienced markets like these before. Strange days indeed.

These two may put a damper on things after 09.30 hrs wed:
"UK Feb BSA mortgage lending data (0930 BST) UK Feb consumer credit/mortgage lending data from BoE (0930 BST) "
But it's almost impossible to tell in advance if the figures are already factored in & whether they are better or worse than expected.
I am hoping to sell a few stocks at a small profit before that time, just in case.
Most 'Experts' seem to think the U.S. is now in the early stages of recession, so today's bounce may be just a blip on the downward trend.

This from Reuters today:

"European shares are seen tracking stellar rallies in Asia and the United States.
U.S. stocks shot up on Tuesday after strong demand for a Lehman Brothers share offering quelled fears it was headed toward a fate similar to Bear Stearns and raised optimism that the worst of the credit crisis may be over."

Maggie: If at all possible I try and close down all my positions in the evening, however good or bad, so I don't have to lie in bed worrying about it - just such an awful feeling. Hope things go better for you today!

Toya Know that's the more senisble thing to do but hate to take the loss incase it turns and goes my way! Need to learn to cut losses. Still got my short but away from computer today to resisting doing anything else. Hope I'll be in profit this PM so market needs to fall.

OOps sensible!

no direction today, ftse seems to be trading a tight range between 5800 and 5900, I will try scalp today, but favour shorting from 5870 range.

Can't see UK Feb BSA mortgage lending data (0930 BST) yet, may wait for this first.

Hi Maggie - I am in same boat - set my stop loss to make sure I did not get stopped out whilst away from PC today and still nursing a large loss - wiped out all the gains I made this week. I will hold a little longer to see if market falls back - may have a better chance tomorrow to recover losses - but I need to get back down to 5820 level - tall order. Only just got in so releived to see that it did not power further ahead - although looks like it dropped some at one stage today.

A hard way to learn how to play the indexes.

Hi Bhunt - Have also just got in, bit gutted as I was sure it would drop back today but like yourself going to hang on in there I need around 5835 which we just missed today. PS It's not a loss til you cash it in you haven't wiped anything yet so fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Hope you'll be ok Maggie and bh. I was lucky in that I went 'long' on the ftse this morning, panicked while watching it go down, but then was relieved when it recovered before I went out. Set my 'sell' limit just below 5900 and made a good profit while enjoying a good lunch - wish life could always be thus! Now reluctant to risk losing it all on the Dow, so may not do any more today.

Dow is directionless today and trading very tightly ..... currently determined to stay above 12600 though struggling to break and stay above 12650

Hi Toya I also enjoyed a good lunch but the afters aren't quite so palatable. Nevermind there's always tomorrow. Haven't traded the Dow yet and don'y think tonight's the time.

If you look at a minute-by-minute candle chart, the Dow looks to be in a downward trend since 16:00 today. It just seems to have broken out of that channel so perhaps it might go up now?? Who knows - not sure I want to scare myself tonight!

PTH seems to have gone awol! He's a wizz with charts