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

Wish I had a tidy desk :S

wish i had a desk...!

and i wish i was a smart arse every day of the week; then i could retire disgracefully!

Just seen how the DOW finished!
Sub 6000 for the FTSE tomorrow???
Question is, which sector is going to be worst hit? Financials?

gutted i've been out all day and missed a good profit in POG, whats the betting all the profit will be gone by 8.00am...?!

i confess i am totally and utterly bewildered by what seems to be a significant turn-around by Dow indicators in the early hours of this morning ..... when i went to bed, Dow was still 12740/750 or thereabouts .... this morning, it indicates to be 100 points stronger but for no obvious reason that i can perceive

portfolio currently all flat and one green...!

both my Dow and FTSE shorts got shut, so though i made a very nice profit, it was only about half of what i thought i had in hand when i went to bed!

to be honest, i still find it very hard indeed to believe that the Dow will open as strongly as currently showing

now i know the answer ...... Abu Dhabi has thrown several billion $ into Citigroup ...... psychologically this is pretty important, but for how long the sudden euphoria lasts remains to be seen

Mabe the devil is in the detail though.....

FT Alphaville: Junk Citi

Strawbs

now what????
Dow initially charged back to about 12850, but once the Consumer Confidence figures came out, the whole gain was virtually wiped out and Dow is now hovering just below 12800.

it seems to me that unless the markets can regain their bottle during the rest of the trading day, we may not see 12850 again for quite a while

Dunno Richard, playing with FX at the moment, will put some lines a chart though, fwiw.

attention turning to the S&P where 1400 a crucial number

plenty of gamblers! left it seems

a couple of key US data announcements made today ......

Consumer Confidence Index fell to 87.3 from a revised 95.2 in October. The reading marked the lowest level since October 2005 when its was 85.2. Analysts had expected 91.5.


Home prices have fallen steadily since July 2006, but plunged even more steeply in the third quarter, according to a report released Tuesday by S&P Case/Shiller. According to the group's index, which covers 20 local markets, third-quarter home prices dropped 1.7 percent from the second quarter.

Shot through 850 with some determination, having a good go at 900, if it can get through there I suppose 13000 is on the cards.

confess i called it all wrong, so bit the bullet and reversed ...... bloody fool that I am!

Looks like 13000 is a distinct poss now.

Just for information try using a RSI support / resistance line on the 10 min or 15 min chart, seems to work a treat :)

Sorry to hear it Cynic - but gives you a good excuse (if you need one!) to open one of those lovely bottles of wine you told us about! :)

Failed to make 13000 by 8pts. Had my finger on the short trigger but failed to take the trade, too many distractions I think. Anyway, managed to convince myself in the end for +66 to round off a rather good day. A good start to my first full week of what is supposed to be full time trading whilst taking three months off work. Golf tomorrow so will be taking a break of sorts.

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