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

Bb
thanks for that. it is an interesting read. it is just one persons view.i do however like his use and knowledge of the word gravity. that to me speaks of equilibrium which i see as half way. prices will continue to gyrate around this half way level level until or unless an outside force acts upon it, according to Newtons law.it seems particularly applicable to his Oil comment at present.
as for the ftse, a pull back/retracement is long overdue and can only be good for bulls.question is how far back will it come? maybe this time, maybe not, i dont know. what i do know is that it will happen.
im usually late, because i'm often wrong. but i am still a long term bear and still currently nett long protected with stop losses.
the timing of the article is curious.
regards
jkd
edit those stop losses are actualy all either stop out at cost or stop out at profit. sometimes the use of the phrase stop loss can be misleading.

Chartist on CNBC last friday reckoned the crucial point was 5175.
2517

It's a real knockdown, very much based on the drop in crude prices with metals retreating as well.....ftse seems to be very much governed by those commodities rather than world events. Should the price of WTI turn, so will ftse's fortunes.

rf-------it's the banks again (Spanish this time)
2517

what a gruesome week this is turning out to be, following on from much the same the previous week.

FTSE now hovering on the chart-important 5200 level, and looking quite keen to break below it.

USA december retail and home sales and just about all other indicators there have been nothing short of dreadful, and it remains to be seen whether obama's speech this evening makes one iota of difference for more than 10 minutes

Do you know what time he is speaking?

Dollar getting stronger isn't helping, that correlation didn't seem to be working early doors today but it sure is now, any weakness Dow spikes and vice versa.

skinny - 19:15 UK time from memory

=====

one quite serious glimmer of hope, though it won't do anything for the markets this week, is that chemical exports from USA have suddenly rocketed within the last few weeks ..... the implication of that is not just that US prices now look cheap, but that the end-users are starting to restock - much of it in F/E at a guess

Thanks Cynic.

I bet he doesn't speak from memory cynic :-)

good job he doesn't, cos he's not on stage until later ..... it's Fed report at 19:15 uk time

hold your breath guys n dolls ..... dow looks to be trying to end in positive territory

Short squeeze might be quite interesting

Hopefully a wee bounce on the FTSE tomorrow:
"US shares recovered after the Federal Reserve held interest rates at near zero, while Apple launched its eagerly awaited iPad tablet computer.

Dow Jones closed up 41 at 10,236. Nasdaq added 17 at 2,221 while the S&P 500 added 5 at 1,097.

In its keenly watched statement, the Fed keep its stance on the economy little changed from last time, suggesting it has continued to strengthen since December's meeting."

london is bound to open strong (indicating +58) to very strong today, and even TLW my regain some ground! ..... strong in NY followed by big bounce (i think) in F/E ....... question is whether or not the gains can be held

Most of the commodity stocks looked like they had broken to the downside of the channel bottom re. Chinese tightening, seasonal drop, profit taking maybe it was a fake out and they are on their way up again or is it a dcb?

Lots of questions, guys, but definitive answers would be appreciated before I invest!

definitive like what? ..... no guarantees in this game, that's for sure

Definitive like: 'Yes, it's a dcb, so wait' or 'Yes, the gains can be held, so pile in now'. Stuff like that! ;o)

oh that's really definitive and def from God's mouth!
the brave man would have bought Dow or even FTSE last night when levels were "definitively" on the support levels - but i for one sure wasn't brave enough