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

i have no index positions at the moment
i got whacked and got out so now just playing very gently indeed while i get my composure and touch back

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it must be reasonable odds though still pretty brave to assume that both FTSE and DOW will firm up sharply b4 they close as positions are squared away

however, as i showed last evening, working the timing and/or stop position is difficult, not least because supports/resistances are currently meaningless

One problem today is Oil is going in to the 20's .

Going to be a wretched end to a wretched week..

i wasn't remotely tempted to put my money into the indices this morning, as it's a certainty i'ld have called it wrong had i done so

DOW is swiftly heading towards 15,900
and FTSE for 5765

Very hard to call right now .

Another possibility for your defensive portfolio Mr C..........ULVR seems to have weathered the storm quite well. Divi around 3%.

Pharma carries it's risks...:
"One person is brain dead and five others are seriously ill after taking part in a medical drug trial at a pharmaceutical firm at a clinic in north-west France.

The French health ministry said the six patients had been in good health until taking the oral medication. The ministry did not say what the new medicine was intended to be used for. French media reported that the trial was for a cannabis-based painkiller.

The health minister, Marisol Touraine, said the six had been taking part in a “trial of an oral medication being developed by a European laboratory” in Rennes, Brittany."

Indeed, markets closed Monday. UKX at the mercy of the Dow and will follow. Odds are if oil falls lower the trend at the moment indices (DOW) keeps it company. Scary times. This too shall pass, who knows when?

No appetite to buy or trade stocks so far for me right now. So either left with sitting on sidelines and doing nothing or scalp DOW or UKX. Foreign country for me scalping either for the last eight years because easier to trade stocks in a Bull market. Trading Dow scares me to death always has done. This week I have just had a dabble at scalping UKX long and short, new ball game for me so only risking on the spreads 0.50p per point. Problem with trading either at mo is you daren't risk leaving the screen, constant threat of algo's spiking price in either direction when your not looking. All good fun, wish it was April at least get outside and play some golf. :0)

you're right ..... at the moment to trade the indices you have to be glued to the screen and be prepared to have nimble fingers at the wrong point

I saw a news item last night were a golf course had installed floodlights in order to encourage people returning from work & school to play a round. Seems membership is dwindling in the sport.

Why can't you just set a stop loss/gain to your advantage if you can't watch the screen?

you can, but with the indices spiking both up and down at a moment's notice, it's very difficult to set levels that won't get hit - usually when you're in the other direction!

Ah so stop losses are not guaranteed are they? unless you pay extra is that right?

DOW futures -300?

Does the DOW hold 16000 ,the FTSE 5800 , oil is 29.50 ,this is crazy .

And dollar index is down too, now 98.6 from 99.2

QE unwinding, is that right DJ down 350.
2517

US retail sales figures doing the damage it seems.
DOW futures now -400

Gone long FTSE 100 5783

well i've just got back from the gym and truly delighted i had nothing running while i was out!