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

What a frustrating day, started off scalping and did OK, but then I Kindly gave all my gains back to the market, looking at the days grapth it should have been a very good scaping day. Even my longer term short went against me today.

Interesting to read earlier post about the article re Spain, Italy and Ireland rumoured to unhappy with the Euro. I read over the weekend that Spain needs a 2 point cut in interest rates now. There property prices are believed to be 20% lower in last 12 month's and falling fast, against official government figures of 7%.

The problem they have is that Interest rates are mainly influenced by Germany and France still, staying out of Euro is one dicision the UK got right.

This must be the least volatile day of the year, at least it makes it more difficult to lose a fortune

Will the Euro stand the test of time ?, history says it will not !, it could collapse like a pack of cards if a country like Greece or Portugal decide through a referendum that they want to pull out....you would see other countries leaving as well...but a small northern european currency with only 3 to 5 entries might stand the test of time...with the benefit of having gained a lot of experience through the Euro.....there might be second time round a lot less pitfalls to look out for !

This from Reuters:
UK Feb factory output grows faster than expected
09 Apr 2008 - 09:30

LONDON, Apr 9 (Reuters) - British factory output grew faster than expected in February and at its strongest annual rate in more than a year, official data showed on Wednesday.

The Office for National Statistics said manufacturing output rose 0.4 percent on the month in February, above forecasts for a 0.1 percent gain. On the year, factory output rose 1.9 percent -- the strongest annual rate since December 2006.

Industrial output rose 0.3 percent on the month and 1.3 percent on the year in February, also beating analyst forecasts and the strongest annual rise since November 2006.

The figures are unlikely to alter expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 5 percent on Thursday, but suggest British industry is holding up in the wake of the global credit crunch.

However, economists expect the economy to cool this year as the credit squeeze spreads out from the hard-hit financial sector and as companies struggle with rising raw materials costs.

The ONS said the rise in factory output in February was driven by gains in the food, drink and tobacco, chemicals and metals sectors.

I think some other data due out at 10:30 this morning - March BRC shop price index? (not sure what BRC stands for but the data will be important I'm sure)

I think some other data due out at 10:30 this morning - March BRC shop price index

British Retail Consortium, Toya.

Thanks for the heads up Toya - I wondered what had changed the sentiment with the FTSE starting to gain ground

UK SHOP PRICE INDEX MARCH 2008 - FOOD PRICE INFLATION SLOWS
April 9, 2008

Year-on-Year: The BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index (SPI) reports annual shop price inflation of 1.1% in March, marking a twelfth consecutive month of rising annual prices. During the last six months the retail market has experienced relatively steady inflation ranging from 1.0%-1.3% with March proving no exception.

Month-on-Month: On a month on month basis overall shop prices rose 0.2% in March, a relatively small reduction in comparison with February when prices increased 0.4% month-on-month. There was no reported growth in the price of food products from the previous month, the first time since August last year; however non-food prices increased 0.3% in March, slightly less than February (0.4%).

BoE rate announcement tomorrow, HBOS downgraded today, could well be a messey day for the banks...

indices have been pretty scary today, but if Dow manages to hold above current 12600, or even powers ahead during the rest of the evening, then that wuill be very jolly indeed.

meanwhile, my suggestion was looking oversold vs has so far proved to be correct .... whether or not today's recovery will prove more than a one day wonder remains to be seen

Just got back from Tenerife yesterday and have to say when working out prices, you tend to just shrug your shoulders and accept its not far off parity!!! i changed up some stirling before leaving and only got E120 for 100, certainly refrained from buying electricals, as it worked out more expensive than buying them here in Blighty...

Been out all day but left my short in place - damn and blast the FTSE looks like it dropped about 100 points at one stage - and I was not here to take advantage - never mind - will have to roll it over again . I guess I should have set a target at which to sell at - I keep on learning

very dangerous leaving indices running without monitoring ... suggest you have both stop and limit in place

I definitely had stops in place - but not limits - thanks for advice

Cynic, do you think euro/ rate was anticipating 50 point cut? It would be very lucky to be at the top of a huge reversal!

Bhunt, have watched it all day did not drop enough to take my long running short out, so if it's your long running short you couldn't have got out in credit. Did come very close though Maybe tomorrow:o)

UK Feb Construction Orders -5%, SVS now under 3 and looking overweight.. UK Feb GDP 0.5%.. ECB keeps rate at 4% Cynic I expect to see EUR strengthen further againt GBP

Thanks Maggie - just had myself a quick run on the dow and made some money - but came out too early - never mind - it cheered me up