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

Strange action today DOW opens down over 100 pts and FTSE is slightly up.

Yeah unusual but what's Oil doing today James?

Nothing much at the moment Stan ,around evens although can change rapidly .

Thanks James, stand by your beds then for a while.

DOW
almost certainly upset by AAPL's dismal results, but not happy to see a blip below 16,000
fingers x'ed that is but temprary

DOW
what a very interesting session here today
having been down as much as 175, it is now down just 55 and slowly ticking north
it would be very jolly if 16,200 was broken before close ..... it's still a litte way off (16,115), but far from impossible

All catching fire now took a small DOW long earlier

let's hope there's no tears before bedtime

I'm out for 50 points ..

what stance or news is expected or hoped for from yellen tonight?

just been reading it up .....

anyway, will this be an opportunity to "sell on the news"?
certainly if we get near 16,275 i shall be tempted

obviously others decided to put caution before greed :-)
having been as high as 16,230, it has now slipped all the way back 16,160 to show a very small loss on the day

hmm
must go to see what was said ...... market doesn't seem to like it much, but given the topsy-turvy day and times, nothing is much of a surprise

here you are .....

"Economic growth slowed late last year," the Fed's committee said in its statement, noting that the job market had improved.
In a widely expected decision, the Fed's committee also decided not to raise its key interest rate. Just a month ago, in December, the Fed raised rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
Despite its worries, the Fed stopped short of saying that the volatility in January will change its plans to raise rates at least four times for the rest of 2016. The committee noted that it's "monitoring global economic and financial developments."
It's worth remembering that after stocks tanked in late August, the Fed didn't raise rates in September. So far, the Fed hasn't indicated it is is changing its mind.
U.S. stocks fell after the Fed's statement was released. The Dow, which was up about 10 points before the release, tumbled over 100 points.

==================

i'm sure the fed's response was right
had there been an indication that rates wouldn't rise, it would (or at least could) have been interpreted that things were even more dire than published

btw, worth noting that despite its tumble, DOW is holding above 16,000
check same at close

also
WTI is $32.50 =scarcely changed and BRENT is $33.80

DOW has now dumped more than 250 which i think is nuts, so have had a little dabble

i agree with the IG analysis per below .....

Markets got the more dovish tone they were hoping for, with the Federal Reserve noting slowing economic growth and tipping its hat towards the idea inflation won't rise towards 2% as fast as it thought in December. This doesn't mean a March move is out of the question, but the reference to global economic developments means there will have to be plenty more improvement in the US economy before one is a definite possibility.

With the risks to the economy no longer seen as 'balanced' this is a Fed committee drawing in its horns. It was never going to admit that December's move was a mistake, but today's statement acknowledges it is not time to get carried away with rate hikes.

The market reaction was muted but it seems the way is clear for more upside for stocks and FX, while the dollar will struggle to make much headway given the trimming of expectations for rate hikes. The rally, it seems, has more life left in it.

You staying long overnight cynic ???

no .... i'll certainly remove half at a small profit, and maybe all

Maybe smart ,their seems to be no rhyme or reason at the moment.

You can say that again.