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

Oil freeze: volatility likely



On Sunday 17 April 2016, most of the world's oil producing nations will gather in Doha in an effort to stabilise prices by discussing freezing output.

Should the freeze be agreed, markets may be extremely volatile from Sunday through to the European market open on Monday morning, with the potential for unusually large market moves or 'gapping'

I love gaps Claret :0). Gold had a comeback attempt yesterday, worth keeping an eye on in the coming weeks to trade up and down.

not up with the news, but both sunday dow and sunday ftse are down sharply - 75 and 45 respectively

normally there is little movement either way

Doha - no agreement.

No agreement means uncertainty which the market doesn't like, and we all no what that means don't we.. another down day at least to KO with.

Gaps down.

Opened down 60 but suspect more to fall.

london residential
this almost certainly applies to most regions across the country, though inevitably SE will be worst hit

market reports are that completed sales have virtually dried up completely as people hold off or withdraw offers until the result of the referendum is known

it follows that if the result is "stay" as is surely 95% certain (not my vote!), then estate agents from FOXT to SVS must surely be likely to surge

DOW
i really do not know why the sharp recovery - currently +65 at 17963 after -115 at 17775 - but this is now close to an established resistance

if you're brave enough, perhaps a chance to short for a quick profit

I expect someone over there has spotted Elvis again.. a good enough excuse for an up day as any I suppose.

18000

2% from all tıme hıgh.

the markets say otherwise, but pundits for some time have been saying along the lines of the following ......

Time to ‘Sell in May’ as Brexit looms and storm clouds gather over FTSE 100
Investors are best advised to keep their cash in the market for the long term as the bulk of returns come from dividend income reinvested.

However the advice from The Telegraph today as Quester Editor John Ficenic is that this summer you should sell in May as Brexit risk looms and the credit cycle turns.

The old adage goes that investors should “Sell in May and go away; don’t come back till St Ledger’s Day” to avoid the turbulent summer trading when volumes are low and negative news can result in a wild moves.

This year should be an absolute corker because just as bankers head for the beach, the UK will go to the polls to decide whether to stay in Europe. The International Monetary Fund has said a vote to leave could pose a threat to the global economy.

The FTSE 100 has struggled to make any headway this year inching ahead just 1pc, and is still down 10pc from an all-time high of 7,104 last year.

The “price to earnings ratio” or P/E – a popular way of measuring relative valuation in stock markets – now stands at 17 times. The long run average P/E for the FTSE 100 is 15. So, shares are already looking expensive and don’t price in the risk.

Gold testing 1250 again.

Almost there for a new hıgh on the Dow. An amazıng turnaround sınce Feb 11th.

Can't keep going like this can it ?

.

DEFYING GRAVITY
everything still feels wrong with these markets
i don't think there's a pundit anywhere who disagrees but for now the markets have blinkers

i am virtually out of trading stocks and my sipp now has a good proportion of high quality, high yield stocks - eg BATS, IMPS and BVS

though the markets continue their merry way, i want to sleep at night!

Yes, I agree, though I still think it's worth being in a few stocks (Gold, diamonds, miners) as they are still going up. The nearer we get to May/June I will try and reduce my risk (Low Beta stocks).

I also agree, nothing much except daily bad news and the market go's up. Reckon they are trying to suck people in the market only for it to drop like a stone around May time and the rest of the summer.

I think the DOW/FTSE is a short for May June ,if it doesn't take you out first on the way up .