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

LOL!!! Good answer jimmy!

Have a read

RBS or somesuch recommended to sell up early this year

I have cut right back on trading shares in the last few months ,it's becoming too unpredictable .I am still trading but no where near as much .

just maybe a clunking sell-off getting under way
dow is now down 80 though ftse only shelling 20

also, we have seen this on a few occasions recently, with a late recovery

midknight.......the interesting thing about the graph on your link is that if you are an investor and can wait, the market has always come back, so a crash isn't the end of the world imo. It's certainly worth holding some cash for the bad times, but most of the reputable companies do survive.

DOW
it recovered a lot but is now tottering back south - currently -40 - and dragging cash FTSE with it (-26 after hours) so worth keeping a weather eye during the evening if you are set up to do so

KISS mode today. Light volume due to Easter, markets tend to be volatile.

Closed FTSE short for 30 pts.

sure glad i sold over the last couple of weeks all bar a bare handful of stocks in my trading account

in my sipp, i have added no funds for about 2 months though i have switched one or two to more defensive holdings - eg BATS

whether chris is right that this is just pre-easter malaise, time will tell

I'm forecasting nowt cyners, merely pointing out markets may be volatile due to low volume.

a politician's response :-)

Closed my FTSE short too early ,however the last months it can't be trusted to do what you want.

6473 for April please...ops wrong thread

FTSE 100 not moved much over past few sessıons.

FTSE
just dipped below 6100 which has proved a decent support in recent weeks, but will it hold this time


S&P (cash)
now below 2040 so keep an eye on this too

so then ....

FTSE
closed just below 6100 and to be honest, never looked like breaking back north of that for most of the day


DOW
was decisively below 17,500 but now hovering just below that, and looking disinclined to go north from there


S&P
not doing much, but stuck at 2035



depending on market sentiment o'night, further falls could be in the offing ...... which of course really means heading north :-)

Yellen reiterates need for rates caution
Janet Yellen has reiterated the need for the Federal Reserve to "proceed cautiously" in lifting interest rates given unfavourable market conditions, weaker than expected overseas growth and an uncertain inflation outlook.
The Fed chair said recent declines in market expectations for interest-rate increases had helped cushion the US economy from adverse developments overseas, describing the moves as an “automatic stabilizer”.
But she stressed that the Fed has little scope to reverse course and stimulate the economy if the US unexpectedly hits the buffers, underlying the need for a gradual tightening of policy. She homed in on risks still stewing in China and the oil markets as she argued in a New York address for the central bank to move carefully as it considers when to lift rates again.

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

DOW
is up to 17,560 as a kneejerk reaction

GOLD
has perversely surged as well ........ all good logic innit :-)

Dow gettıng wıthın strıkıng dıstance of last years hıgh. 2000 odd Poınt swıng ın 6 weeks!!!!

absolutely bonkers, but wtfdik