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 banked the (long) profits yesterday evening on both DOW and DAX as this catalonia unrest is becoming unsettling though i doubt any free vote will go the way of independence .... that leaves me with a small short on DAX

however, the brutal actions of the police a couple of weeks ago will have done nothing to enamour the populace and will have certainly pushed catalans to react emotionally to support independence

a friend of mine who weekends about an hour outside barca says everyone down there is panicking, withdrawing money lest there is a run on the banks, and even some shops are closing (not sure if that means early or going out of biz or what)

Spain may have the legal right and the military might, but it seems to me that this has gone beyond the point that that matters. Better to sit down and discuss the separation if not the divorce. Use a third party mediator, if necessary. a la George Mitchell.

the real issue is the fragmenting effect on the whole eu structure

This can be stopped short of independence. IMO. Spain has not been very smart in handling the situation and new elections on its terms will hardly resolve the matter.

anyway, very glad i banked my index profits on friday, per above

Tues Bank of Japan, Wed FED, Thurs BoE....interest rate decisions.

Another side ways day on the footsie.

BoE base rate increased to 0.5%

DAX continues to collapse after the close - cash now showing 13,130 (-70)
DOW not looking very chipper either at 23,345 (-195)

tin hats beckon

When markets try to justify a move with unfounded political rumours, you can normally smell rocking horse poo.

Not the best 2days of gambling I have had.

Some of the after-hour postings suggest Up day tomorrow.

Maybe.

Well there were only two after-hours posts, Fred.

Reading between the lines, Cyners said he was bottling it, and I said I'd just filled my Louboutins.

Your trading must be reaping rewards Hilary. Average price around £500 !
Quite a lifestyle change from Peckham to Sud de la France.....à la Imelda Marcos! ;o)

I left France at the beginning of this month, Harry. Can't spend too long there at a time.

cyners stayed put and actually made a nice 57 point turn on DAX which was banked before bedtime

DAX has collapsed in a very bloody heap and other markets are not doing much better
glad my trading exposure is (always) light

Seems it's something to do with the proposed US tax legislation which is getting diluted. Markets were confident that DT could get the job done. Now they appear less sure. Coupled with that, the Health Care bill in the US, designed to replace Obama Care, is hitting shed loads of obstacles, as each State has it's own requirements.
Having said that, surely markets are due a correction at some point anyway???