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

the worry for the dow is if it closes below 17,700
the fact that is currently sitting at 17,660 is not a happy sight for any bulls

The start of negotiations in Greece, over a new financial bailout for the country, have been delayed. It seems that representatives of the lenders - the European Commission, the European Central Bank and IMF - are worried about their physical security and want somewhere safe, out of the public eye, to meet

Five day losing streak on Dow. Not even a slight rally. Not had a week like this for a few months even through the Greek shambles.

potentially 17,500 (dow) now next stop

now 17,580 and falling

yep - loads of bad news and sentiment out there aside from greece - the hard question is how much further to fall then the inevitable bounce - if some more resistance broken the drop may be much harsher - we shall see - personally been trading in and out and got lucky so far - just dont want to hold anything too long at the moment - cost me more profits but rather be safe on smaller profit atm than at a loss

atb sincerely hope you guys doing ok

choppy waters!

haven't been around to pay much attention, for better or worse
one would like to think that 17,500 would be the bottom at least for now as in truth, chinese economy apart, the news is not really that bad
however, as we all know, once sentiment switches, the devil takes the hindmost

to my surprise, 17,500 was hit only on/about 9th july, from where it zipped straight back to over 18,000 ...... must have been the greasies coming to their senses or somesuch

forgot about this little bit of good news :-)

US new home sales fell 6.8% to reach an annualised pace of 482,000 in June, well below the 548,000 expected by the consensus. Nevertheless, despite those numbers Barclays kept its tracking estimate for US second quarter GDP growth at 3.2%.

nice one :-)

Cash restrictions for foreign trips were eased in Greece today, with Greeks now allowed to take up to €2,000 - or the equivalent in foreign currency - out of the country, per trip. Meanwhile, Greek officials say they now expect eurozone negotiators to arrive in Athens this weekend, with a view to starting talks on a new, third, bailout for the country early next week.

will be interesting....................

what time was that announcement?

public - around 9pm or a bit before last night
gl

A bit of a turnaround this week to finish off the month?

well not sure for end of month but i am short ftse,dow & dax - making a decision when to cash in probably imminent

gl

UK factory orders expanded at their weakest pace this month in two years, according to a survey by the CBI employers' group, as the strong pound's impact on manufacturing exports took its toll. The CBI's industrial order book balance fell to -10 this month, its lowest since July 2013, from -7 in July. "Manufacturers are continuing to feel the pressure from the stronger pound," said Katja Hall, CBI deputy director-general. Earlier this month, sterling hit a seven-year high on a trade-weighted basis.

A strong report on German business confidence (the latest Ifo report) has given the euro a lift this morning. It is up 0.8% against the dollar at $1.1067. However, Nomura currency strategist, Yujiro Goto warns: "Any positive impact from Ifo on the euro will be brief. Over the medium term we expect the dollar to gain the upper hand."

DOW 17440. How far more can it go?

BLIMEY!!! just got back from holiday. Are we at war? THIS TOO SHALL PASS! :0)

well it is very difficult to tell but i cashed in my ftse dow and dax shorts and took profits this afternoon just in case - a few a bit early probably but heyho it was getting a tad too choppy and i was getting bored lol!!
many worrying things happening globally - but the single most unsettling item is china obviously - could well be some more saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfffffffffffffffffff! lol
so unpredictable in a similar way to china index doubling in under a year.......... lets see what occurs............

hope you had a good holiday chris

Cheers del, every cloud could be in with a shout FTSE comp LOL!!

ha ha lol chris - like it! you must need a new cardigan then!? :-D

china:
China's top securities regulator, China Securities Regulatory Commission, has said that China would continue to buy shares to stabilise the stock market. The move, which comes after Chinese shares slid more than 8% on Monday, was made to dispel "rumours that the national margin trading service provider has backed off from stabilising the stock market," said state news agency Xinhua. Shares fell after weak economic data raised concerns about the health of the world's second largest economy.