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

the volume and volatility in late trading will be even more extreme as it's quadruple witching today...

sold out too early today, having been unable to trade this morning jumped as soon as I could ( on iweb) when the ftse was up 6% not expecting too much more and also thinking it would pull back. so now sitting without anything and wishing iweb hadn't let me trade for much longer into the day - no pull back and no idea where this is going...

Likewise. don't be too hard on yourself because this is impossible to judge

DealerDear,

Thinking about it logically I would probably hold long positions until Monday at least. The US will no doubt go through the same rocket fuelled rise the FTSE has been through, and come Monday (after weekend news) I've no doubt the "make money quick" brigade will plough in and push prices up even further. Unless some bad news comes out over the weekend, I suspect the current Euphoria will last for some days yet. No guarantees though, but that would be my guess.

In my opinion.

Strawbs.

I suspect you're right Strawbs. I've got that itchy trigger feeling in my fingers cause i am desperate to sell but it is usually a sign I'm getting out too quick.

The alternative is to lock in the profit then buy back in but then you are a sitting duck if the market falls.

A profits a profit. Depends how greedy you want to be I guess. ;-)

Strawbs.

true. I haven't had lunch so I'm feeling very greedy!

price went up so decided to sell one but although a massive company it is over market size and they can't do it on the phone either.

Crazy times!

I bet they were happy to let people buy this morning..... just don't want them selling any back this afternoon.

Strawbs.

I can't even buy 50 = 200 of them!

Strange. Can't buy, can't sell. What kind of market is that.... LOL :-)

Strawbs.

just tried to buy 10 TW. without success!

Christ!

Right we're back in business

let it roll ..

Ah I see. Now they've all made their money they're going to allow us plebs to trade.

Kind of them to think of us inadequates at this difficult time for them.

let's hope they don't suffocate in the money they're all rolling in ...

;-)

In answer to your post #2742 Greyhound, the on-line maximum that can be traded varies hour by hour for every stock, but you have the opportunity usually to phone the on-line broker & get them to execute any size trade by talking to a trader. The cost is still 12.50, but is an execution service only, no advice is given.

now we have the recently unusual situation where one has to work out how much puff the markets have left in them ...... if memory serves me aright, last recession time around, once the markets started recovering, they just kept on going ...... however, i just have a feeling that we could have a sell off in NY in the last hour or trading, not so much from fright but while awaiting over the w/e the thoughts of the so-called gurus as to what lies ahead over say the next 4/6months

Slightly off topic. I've been looking at spread betting accounts, and was thinking of giving ODL a try. Main reasons being they have a limited risk style account (so I can only lose whatever money I put in the account) and it looks like bets from 50p upto a max of 5. I've always avoided SB/CFD accounts as they seemed a bit dangerous if used carelessly. Does anyone use ODL, and if so, any comments.

Thanks

Strawbs.

Cynic, don't know if you can access the On-line Shares Mag, but well worth reading Russ Mould's article. I know it's only an opinion, but most of the points he is making seem to be pretty valid to me. You mention 'last recession time round' but we haven't actually been in recession for more than a month! Bit quick for a turnaround don't you think???
"Lehman is not the low point
Published date:Thursday, September 18, 2008
It is time for the markets to calm down so a bottom can be called with confidence
by Russ Mould

The collapse of Lehman Brothers, rescue takeover of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America and turmoil at AIG has prompted suggestions markets will soon bottom out. Shares, however, is not so convinced as high levels of volatility point to further falls ahead. Shares research shows equity market volatility has now exceeded the levels seen in 1998, during the Long Term Capital Management Crisis and 2000, when the technology, media and telecoms bull market was in its death throes. This is a bad sign and suggests we have yet to reach the bottom of the current bear market. Only when the markets cease to flip around from day to day, chasing news, can a bottom be called with any confidence. Etc Etc........

i've actually got shares mag but have not got round to opening it yet as am too engrossed with playing our own club's version of the ryder cup and watching the real thing ...... actually, sounds as though i may well agree with what the mag says, and for all our nerves, we could do with a few weeks or relative inaction and boredom

meanwhile, have opened a small short on Dow, but shall try not to get too greedy, if i get the chance

How is this for foresight, I have pasted a extract from David Dreman who writes in Forbes magazine and is a well known Contrarian investors. Article written on 17th July. See below...........

(The government is under intense pressure to avoid additional bailouts like the one of Bear Stearns (nyse: BSC - news - people ), even if it has effectively guaranteed that it will keep Fannie Mae (nyse: FNM - news - people ) and Freddie Mac (nyse: FRE - news - people ) afloat. But benign neglect will not do. A run on an investment bank such as Lehman Brothers (nyse: LEH - news - people ) could lead to panic, as trillions of dollars in derivatives guaranteed by investment bankers, banks and hedge funds threatened to collapse. A single big investment bank's default might make its competitors seize up too, since nobody can unravel who owes what to whom.)

I have been following his comments, and will be watching him closely for further insight.