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

Although the asian market was down, it would seem to be an orderly decline rather than the blood letting expected, so hopefully the FTSE will follow their example.
Randgold about the only stock heavily in the blue, which is to be expected.

Japan and HK were down barely 3% o rperhaps a bit less, though I can tell you that at 22:00 last night IG were predicting >6% and Dow was down a further 150 points after hours .... terrifying!

Anyway, Dow is now indicating +50 or thereabouts (a turnaround of 200) and FTSE is only down about 70, having indicated >200 at 22:00 last night ...... Obviously all is very fragile, but at least the jugular has not yet been cut

The world hasn't fallen in yet then. I think Japan could actually be a good place to put your money right now. The Japanese banks are ultra conservative (after the 1990's mess), and probably won't suffer in the same way Western banks have. Still, any slowdown in the West will affect Asian economies too.

In my opinion...

Strawbs.

Hmmm. Could be tricky selling the bail out plan now if the markets go back up again. The public will no doubt see it as another Wall Street sham. By the time the cracks start to appear though, the bailout plan will probably be too late.....

In my opinion.

Strawbs.

wouldn't be surprised if those sovereign wealth funds are using this opportunity to acquire stock in quality companies for the longer term.

Or I suppose it could just be a dead cat bounce....

Strawbs.

more likely DCB, as assuredly the need for the bailout has not disappeared ...... don't forget that though Dow is currently indicating +100 or so, it fell 700 last night

I guess everyone was expecting the sky to fall in today, so I guess a bounce of any kind is a little surprising (in the context of Wall Street overnight anyway).

Strawbs.

Unfortunately can't stay on the SM today but I have now seen it all!

Expected massive crash and here we are up. Extraordinary. DCB possibly but I'm gobsmacked.

How can you trade these markets when they seem to do the exact opposite of logic.

On second thoughts, I'm glad I'm going out. I shall seek medication whilst I'm there ...

DOW now +212. I'm speechless!

You know what they say. Everyone loves a bargain.....

Still. Todays bargains, tomorrows millstones.....

Strawbs.

jesus i go away for a day of frolicing in Batam to get over the demise of bb. and come back and the world has caved in. Guys you need to move to Asia...or atleast outside of singapore, HK and Japan as this completely passed me by. Im so pleased i missed it

more happy news from US ..... Home prices in July plunged a record 16.3% year over year , according to the S&P Case-Shiller 20-city index, AP reports.

a bit more ...... Stocks open higher, with the Dow bouncing back from a record point decline, as investors await the government's next bailout move.

DOW drops 777 points when the bailout plan is rejected. Now that the modified plan has been approved (by those that matter), wouldn't some kind of immediate recovery seem on the cards? BUT DOW futures currently showing -77 !!!

Think they're worried about House Of Rep. vote on Friday

It still has to go before the people that rejected it last time. On Friday I believe. The markets will no doubt shift around according to who wants to gamble the most.... e.g. the shorts or the longs. Cash is probably the safest position to be in at the moment.

In my opinion.

Strawbs.

Bloomberg headline today is that DOW futures look bleak as jobless stats come in below par. As unemployment is likely to increase in western economies, this is likely to be a trend, imo.
Sentiment seems to be that the House of Reps will pass the bill, though a certain amount of hedging going on no doubt, but are you DOW/FTSE traders expecting an equivalent bounce up, after the 777 point drop (though some has already been recouped)? Some serious money could be made if so.

Could be a great trading opportunity going long.

US markets appear to be putting a lot of pressure on House of Rep to pass the bailout by losing ground. Apparently there is a chance they may vote tonight. As we have gone negative today, we could open a lot higher tomorrow if US once again recovers.

Unfortunately don't have the funds to gamble.

All IMO

Some view this as a bail out for foreign investors(china, germany, uk)and are fiercely opposed e.g.
Mr market ticker