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

DOW looking overexcited to me .... have already banked decent profits from FTSE this morning and have just taken out a modest short on Dow with quite a tight stop in place .... a good hedge in any case

I wouldn't be surprised to see an attempt at 10K ... phsycological level and all that. 5K on the FTSE likewise. Reaching it will be one thing....sustaining it another.

Strawbs.

perhaps, but given that Dow rose 900 from its low point yesterday and was indicating an opening high of +455 at 9898, i figured my short at 9847 was a pretty good bet, and in any case, if wrongly called, my other stocks would (probably) benefit further

Huge rises back to back does seem a little unlikely, but this market seems very much "buy everything" or "sell everything" at the moment, without much waiting in between. After marching to the top of the hill, they'll probably decide to run back down again. :-)

Strawbs.

Richard, I have yr mobile number, ends in a 5

that's the one!

well that was a good call, and have banked the profit on Dow at 9681 ..... bit slow on the button, but still more than happy ..... now watching to see what happens next - currently trying to head south again

Well done. Seems to be running out of steam (looking at the DOW figure on the CNBC website anyway). Looking at my watchlist I assume FTSE is coming off too...

Strawbs.

FTSE now only +120 ..... went long Dow again at an average of 9563, but shall watch like a hawk and assuredly not be greedy

Make sure you don't give it all back.... ;-)

Can't be that easy to make money surely.... LOL.

Strawbs.

it's a damn sight easier when poxy clients don't call just when you are about to close!

Poxy clients... lol, Richard, your number start with a '0'? and also a '7'...?
Well i did state you have to buy when everyone is predicting the world to end... have closed a couple positions today and (prematurely) yesterday, i believe consolidation today before push to 10,200 although haven't checked for an hour or so, - could easily be below 9000 now!

currently farting around the 9400 level

Equity market "happy pills" have worn off I see....

Strawbs.

biggest one day drop on the cards.

some miners down 25%

BG down 12%!

No end to this......!,

What bothers me is : Are we heading for a dramatic drop ? all of a sudden !....I bloody hope not ! (sorry about the swear word !), because then we will be looking at the 1930's again !.

The end will probably come when the speculators run out of money.... These constant swings are a sure sign people are just gambling, not investing. Same thing happened in 1929 as Galbraith pointed out in his book.

In my opinion.

Strawbs.

Don't worry about it.

I think it is forced selling by Hedge funds with their margain calls. It isn't a reflection of any company.

and also strawbs, my understanding is that these massive swings are a sign that a bottom is being reached.

Perhaps you'll correct me with your grasp of hisory which to be frank 'I ain't got mate' ;-)