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

Blimey. What happened! I've been mainly trading the Dax & Dow these last few weeks, only getting a fraction of the moves but more than happy, given that I trade for less than an hour a day usually.

edit - I see it's those Swiss gnomes to blame.

My Euro shorts are looking rather 'phat' right now and quick plays on the FTSE this morning have been gggrrreeeaaaaattttt!

never seen anything like it
just made a quick 30 point turn on long dow, but it could have been a small loss or even a 70 point gain if i hadn't blinked!

if you're going to play these indices, you cannot be doing anything else at the moment, for the movements are dramatic in seconds - or even less

One to watch following the world bank cutting its forecast yesterday..



An of course if markets and metals are volatile gold does well.. Note last resistance, this may imply we'll see some support on the markets soon. FTSE I'd hazard a guess 6166 is the next big test.

I just had a dabble, down 56 at one point. Recovered to -16. Going to sit on my hands now until later.

just made another small turn, but haven't really got the time to play today even though good money to be made in both directions

And of course good losses if you get it wrong!

copper
an analyst's thoughts this morning for what their worth ....

The biggest loser was copper, which is often interpreted as a red flag for the markets regarding a deflationary environment, and in turn is bearish for gold prices. However, currently trading at $1,228, price action is being supported by an intermediate area of support at $1,224. If this is held we may see a third attempt at rallying through $1,244 – a move supported by gold’s relative strength index at 60.6.

Should its intermediate downside of $1,224 fail, the next clear downside target could come into play at gold’s 200-period moving average at $1,218.

shortie - very true which is why my bets have been pretty much at the bottom of my usual exposure ..... would also (probably) be happy to hold if necessary

Which analyst' said that?

Swiss catch markets off guard
In mid-morning trading the FTSE 100 is down 30 points at 6350, as the Swiss National Bank removes its 1.20 currency ceiling on the euro.

The Swiss are known for their neutrality, but today’s move by the Swiss National Bank is far from neutral.

The sudden abandonment of the floor by the Swiss central bank has sent the markets into a tail spin.

Equity markets have been shaken out by the Swiss move, and dealers are seeking the safety of the US dollar. Markets are still struggling to puzzle out the full implications, but the sudden drop in equity markets as well in the FX sphere shows that the move caught everyone off guard.

chris beauchamp (IG)

i've got to go out in a sec, but dow is now in an interesting area 17330/17300

support should be good especially at the bottom of that range, but such are the markets at present, that nothing should be taken for granted .... hence, i haven't the balls to buy and leave, or even sell and leave

I like the video clips from IG. Very informative, though mostly just another opinion, but well presented and clear to understand.

and while pottering about getting my bits and pieces together, another nice turn made ...... wish i could do this every day, successfully that is!

And a little bit more made over lunchtime to turn it into a profitable day.

DOW
just logged back in and was interested to see that ~17340 provided support and bounce point yet again
i wasn't around to take advantage, but worth remembering, and also that 17300 may be a stronger point

The LPs were really struggling to make a market in the CHF on the news that the SNB would no longer defend the 1.20 euro peg and liquidity dried up totally for a while, with no counter-parties willing to take the other side.

It took a while for players to come in and for the market to stabilise, but there's a lot of folk who will have been short swissie ahead of the SNB who won't have been allowed out of their positions.

Betcha Kashya Hildebrand was long. :o)

Same thing happen in 2012 when pegged against the USD. Their experienced in insider trading and would have hidden their tracks well. I doubt there will even be a ker-fuffle..

She couldn't possibly know Hils, could she .......? :-Q

Any banks taken a big hit?