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

Everyone long FTSE tomorrow I assume following DC/NC imminent deal?

wake up harry .... dc already confirmed as pm, so it stands to reason that deal with nc and his cronies is effectively a fait accompli

almost as an aside, currency markets clearly like what they see

i am pretty convinced the markets in europe and elsewhere will also like what they hear about this coalition ..... apart from the fact that uncertainty is now removed, that parliament is now to be a fixed 4 year term - always subject to a vote of no confidence of course - means that this coalition should last at least 2 years (ever the cynic!) and with luck, the full distance, even though it will assuredly be lumpy at times

my money and mouth and married to a positive reaction in london, though not with large sums

Market not impressed so far which is a surprise.

well it's making me money even on ftse position!

market picking up now....lot of blue on my watch list..

everything may have boiled over a little, but i wish i could make this sort of profit every day - sure as hell wouldn't be working!!
even banked the profit on my ftse long, so that at least was "real"

unless you are day trading, you should be good up to a back test of the support line

stands at about 5470 at the moment

Camelot - do you mean resistance line?

its not clear yet whether it will provide resistance

but it was previously a support line (July/Feb) which was broken only with that big drop
a few days ago

hmmm!
interesting viewpoints. putting aside the actual price level, i can see both points of view based upon the wording of C's reply. lots of if this then thats possibilities.i am in the s camp however.
as always just my opinion and please always dyor.
regards
jkd
edit, just so as not to be misunderstood,i am talking about the "terminology". both are right in what they say. they simply say it differently. which is why i am in the s camp.

pundits predicting a further 1000pt fall in the FTSE...... SELL IN MAY SPRINGS TO MIND?

is this the pundits who get it right?

cynic somebody has to make a prediction their guess is as good as the next guy's. Prediction oil down to $65 soon, pump price unchanged!

i don't think their prediction is very realistic
ftse may well fall, but 1000 points would be way over the top and imply a worldwide economic implosion - and that is not going to happen; racing certainty, not prediction!

unless $ skyrockets, $65.00 is also not going to be seen, except maybe as a very short blip for some unknown reason ..... not quite as confident about that as above, but still heavy odds on that it WON'T happen

Halifax your not at all positive at the mo.....anything you want to talk about???? we're sympathetic listeners..

another top picker ?
from what level is it going to fall 1000 pts ?

"pundits predicting a further 1000pt fall in the FTSE.."

wait for Osbourne's next statement on how dire the uk's economic situation really is, do we expect good news?, government spending slashed, taxes(probably VAT 20%) raised.

the picture painted will assuredly be very black .... then when the "cure" then starts to work, it'll be "told you so"

cynic so how will the FTSE react to the "black" news?