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

that's a minor prob for the moment

fun with Dow this evening ..... yippee! .... but would only play it monitoring 100%

many stocks have been hard hit of late, which is scarcely a surprise ...... however, with the US bailout 95%+ certain to be finalised by late evening tomorrow, monday could reverse an awful lot, albeit that it may be relatively temporary.

meanwhile, have left a relatively heavy long open on Dow, which should get monday off to a jolly start .... or jump over Beachy Head!

I assume you have a sensible stop in place. It's highly likely the proposal won't be passed in it's original form, although I dare say it will be in the same spirit, with phased chunks of money instead of 700 billion upfront, oversight etc. Expect the unexpected. Market reaction will no doubt depend on how fickle participants feel on Monday.

Many are expecting a big rally and easy profits, but if everyone is long into the weekend.... who's going to buy on Monday? Just a thought.

In my opinion.

Strawbs

strawbs
my very thoughts also. i do hope cynic has a parachute.
we would all miss him.
respect to you.
you have been saying through all the rises of 07 that you were fence sitting.
thats proven foresight, not hindsight.
and it is proven.
best regards to you
jkd

Thanks Jkd,

Cynic will no doubt remind me though that money in the bank may not be as profitable as money in the market. No way to be sure of course, but the right decision for me. People who can follow market movements all day may be more sucessful timing trades, but I still prefer the lazy route of following a trend until it ends. Volatile markets, and ones that move counter prevailing wisdom will only lead to money being lost as I see it. As someone once told me, protecting your money is sometimes the best investment you can make.

In my opinion.

Strawbs.

strawbs
i once read somewhere, cant remember exactly, or i would acknowledge and give due credit.
anyway, it was something along the lines of this,
if you think trying to make money is hard and stressfull, wait until you've made it.
then compare that to trying to hold on to it.
regards
jkd

i'll let you all know, but don't be surprissed if i take at least some profit on Dow before even london opens ..... just for the record, i have stops in place which, even if hit, will leave me level from friday evening's trading

Too true,

Probably the ultimate reason that markets crash.

I've just been reading back through some of my previous postings to see if I really had much foresight! Think I wasn't alone, and I've clearly been cynical for a while. :-)

Hadn't realised I'd written this though:

Dubious Sell-Off Thread: 30 Jul 2007 16:02 - 714 of 1563

I think all these sharp corrections are the ripples of a much larger event waiting somewhere over the horizon. I'm not sure what it is, or even when it'll arrive, but I'm pretty sure it's coming. Everything up until now has been pretty much "predictable", meaning those that can, have been ready to short when oppertunity comes. The "crash" event will be unforseen though, probably something linked to credit (debt) in some way, but not necessarily obvious. With each of these ripples, investor sentiment is slowly erroded away, and with it market support. When the support has gone, even the smallest events can cause a crash. In my opinion......

Strawbs.


Question is. Are we there yet?

In my (still cynical) opinion.

Strawbs.

Strawbs, of course every comment you post (unless in parentheses) is 'in your opinion', do you really have to add the disclaimer to every post? Apart from that little irritation I find the comments on this thread very useful and generally informative. (PS I'm just naturally grumpy)

Sorry PT,

Just become a habit...

In my ..... :-)

Strawbs

Strawbs, you're just trying to wind me up now :-)

IMHO

Looks like there will be a positive announcement with rescue package before Asian markets open tonight, and with the BB. looking certain to be nationalized, with confirmation expected before the markets open in the morning, we should see a big bounce tomorrow.

Be ready for trading platforms to fail again, I will place limit orders tonight which was the only way I could trade on 19th September.

if you trade the indices, you should be able to activate orders around 10 pm this evening.

at this time, my inclination is to open a long in FTSE which looks to be dragging somewhat behind Dow .... but be prepared to take your profits as tomorrow is likely to be frenetic

CNBC: Lawkmakers May Vote Today on Bailout Bill

So will tomorrows headlines be "Markets Soar on Bailout Deal" or "Markets Collapse as Bailout Disappoints". You know they'll make up an explanation no matter what actually happens... :-)

Strawbs.

do i believe intervention works?
well, no i dont.
but it seems to have done when it bailed out banks way back in whenever, and it seems to have worked then.
do i believe history repeats?
well yes i do.
this then leaves me in a quandary,
are we at blood running in the street time yet, or not?
i dont think we are.
so i think we have at least one more ' leg down' to go.
maybe two.
those that know know.
it seems to me that when jo knows and feels then thats what matters.
us jo's arent yet suffering enough... just yet.
thats what is currently being attempted to avoid and prevent.
those that know know we will be soon enough, unless some action is taken.
so will this intervention do the trick?
i dont know, but if pressed on it i would suggest another leg or two.
the pain is not yet great enough.
history in the experiencing.
regards
jkd
ps just my opinion.

oh well .... i was wrong, but overall broke even

Once something is known to the markets, then it's normally discounted by current price action. The only "unknown" would've been a failure to agree a deal, which in the current hysteria seemed unlikely. I suppose all those disappointed speculators will now switch the other way..... :-) Although I dare say B&B could also affect market sentiment.

Strawbs.

you're right Strawbs about the anticipation and arrival syndrome, but even if the US bailout terms have been changed somewhat ....... my inclination is still to venture long Dow (as i can monitor it all day), and at least i can buy vback in lower than where i was closed out

FTSE looks a little sick at present, I was tempted to leave a long order today expecting a bounce later, but might be best to leave alone until the dust has settled. And as I'm just leaving to play Golf, I really need to be here to monitor.

Just had a buy order triggered for BP, but will go on sidelines for now and must try not to overtrade.

I know where I would rather be today .But good luck if trading today,