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

Risk aversion has seen the dollar strengthen in recent sell-off's. The aggressive QE may or may not have put a spanner in the works regarding this feature we shall see

was fully expecting london to open weaker and dow also to tick downwards once again, but pre-market indications are exactly the opposite

FTSE 3900 now hit ..... am inclined to short but shall watch and consider nefore acting

I think the US are due to unveil there latest bail out plan later which probably explains the bullish start. I don't think the markets have a good track record of responding favourably 'post event' though, but I guess it will depend on the substance of the latest plan.

In my opinion.

Strawbs.

actually agree with you, but there looks to be a heavy bear bear squeeze developing which can throw all sorts of things out of kilter for a while

I was a bit conservative with my limit which got hit far too early. Seems to be related to another US stimulus... buy on rumour/ sell on fact deal scenario possibly though I'm currently sidelined but surely worth a sell order at 4000, a big line in the sand

not sure we'll get that far on this present surge but we'll see ..... markets getting that dangerous feel of "kids in the sweetshop" - prices going up almost indiscriminately

Given we're close to the end of the tax year, I suspect a number of equities are rising because of short positions being covered. e.g. Taking the capital gain/allowance/profits etc. If correct (pure guesswork given the rises in an otherwise bleak backdrop) the moves could continue into the start of the new tax year.

In my opinion...

Strawbs.

Although a bit early to tell, DOW futures are currently +197. Might as well ride the wave, imo, so still holding my profitable stocks, but watching carefully.

but don't be afraid to bank at least some profits

You're right about the stimulus announced later today I think.
Last time the market crashed 22% after but as everybody is predicting the same this time, I'm not so sure. This rally may well continue IMO

My sell order at 4000 is on the cusp of being filled,already!

The question is when will bulls take profits?

Well,gone short ftse,dow,nikeii,got a bit impatient so under water already 805pm a good turning point perhaps.Will try and hold some at break even for the long term this time.Days like this sometimes provide turning points in the market (kangaroo's tail)etc unless they have re-inflated the bubble!

WOW! ...... went long Dow this evening, and of course totally lunatic .... have closed out with a very tasty profit and may go short o'night on the basis that rise is ridiculously overdone

Well done cynic I'm hopeless at jumping on trends and always target the reversal.Market Ticker seems to think the idea good in principle but requires supervision for the institutions not just to dump their bilge at the taxpayer's door which ultimately won't make Obama look too good..Apparently financial institutions can sometimes act in their own interests and not necessarily for the greater good.

looks like a very serious bear squeeze, so could be some decent upside too in the near future .... on reflection, shall do nowt o'night and shall be very happy if market has continued upwards

Well it's too bad I've squandered my funds elsewhere and so could not ride tonight's rollercoaster. Here's an article from this evenings Times-online website:

Global stocks leap on shock rise in US house sales

"A surprise 5.1 per cent rise in sales of US houses today sparked a global rally across stock markets in the UK, America and Europe, adding to optimism sparked by the Treasury's unveiling of plan to spend $1 trillion to boost lending.

The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales were up 5.1 per cent in February, beating expectations and marking the largest monthly jump since July 2003."

Go to the above link for full article.

Well good old nikkei hit the limits(dollar/yen not rallying is bearish for a gap on Japland).Still holding ftse/dow shorts.With regard to US dollar index preceding indici movements...the dow rally yesterday almost mirrored the massive down movement in UDI last week. This suggests an exodus out of US treasuries that needs to find a new home.The UDI may give a clue to where this is heading equity wise.Interestingly the dow reached 50% retracement last nignt at 7805 (6470-9088)which will be a big hurdle as will 61% so happy being short.I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of longs taking profits first thing this morning as they gap up for a lower entry.

Well I hope your shorts will be ok first thing today Falco - I reckon the ftse will go up before it comes down again, following last night's massive surge on the Dow. But I could well be wrong, as I have been before of course.