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

on the other hand, interest rates rise when the economy is strong, so it's a matter of sentiment and perception

for the brave, it may be worth keeping an eye on DAX (and DOW), for even in bear markets, nothing goesdown in a straight line .... certainly DAX is close to a potential suppport at 12,900

Not looking too good again going into weekend.

On Friday, Trump escalated concerns about a full-blown trade fight by tweeting "trade wars are good, and easy to win."

so now you know why DOW is going to head heavily south once more

what can you do with this man?????
he really is a total liability

madman dt upsetting the market once again with his threats and promises of import tarriffs on steel and cars and, by the bye, making life difficult for britsh airways and virgin after brexit

I no longer know what to do! Making money on the index due to the swings but am starting to feel very nervous about holding positions.

Still long FTSE but have closed some from lower down for a profit. At the moment minded to close once I have a small profit on the rest rather than hold out for a big move up.

DOW - have opened a small short, but may well close that later

US Markets gapped lower.

Mr T advisor on his toes.

Hope you cleaned up Cynic.

I looked at my phone last night at around 12:30 and was shocked to see Dow smashed to pieces.

Took a FTSE long at 7079 which doesn't look so shabby right now.

it was fortunate that i did not close that short until about 07:30 this morning
at least that nice gain helps offset some of the pain from my volatile stock holdings


my view is that very sharp overnight fall on DOW is heavily overdone
if i have read it correctly, it is primarily because of cohn's protest resignation as dt's senior economic advisor

it remains to see whether or not these threatened, lunatic, penal trade tariffs will actually be enacted
i'm not sure whether one house or another can block them, for most sane legislators will be fully aware of the potentially severe consequences

I've close my long from the early hours for 55pts. Still got one from 7188 which I'll continue to run..

My perception is that the European markets are a bit fed up with the US volatility and are starting to find a base.

europe has its own serious problems - aka brexit negotiations

Nothing compared with the UK.

Apologies wrong Fred.

8-)

what's the madman done this afternoon that has collapsed DOW once more?

Breathed!

I'm like shaking my head and getting a little frustrated. I know this is how it works and we haven't yet reached the point of maximum frustration but it would be nice if things would go up for a few days.


Anyways, stuck in the middle now for me. Not low enough to go long from lower down and not high enough to close the trade I've got open.

Fortunately investment portfolio is starting to look like it's going in the right direction regardless of Dow antics.

you're right fred .... time someone stopped him so doing

U.S. Added 313,000 Jobs in February; Wage Gains Slow to 2.6%

markets seem to like at least for now
the slowing wage gains will make the need for a rate rise less urgent

DOW - watch 25,050 where market is now hovering

DOW
latish friday i opened a small short at 25,225 on the basis that i thought the rise had been too far too fast

by this morning, that position was looking a touch sick
now it is back in profit, albeit not by much

the point is merely to emphasise just how impossible the markets are to read

Does anybody trade this index, any thoughts I never have just wondering if trading it worthwhile as a hedge to a few Aim stocks I own? Anybody.