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

This could be also weighing on the banking sector - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-19/germany-s-hypo-real-estate-is-said-to-fail-eu-stress-test-on-bank-capital.html

knowing GS's undisputed record for honesty, perhaps they have been selling short heavily in the knowledge that their figures will be far worse than anticipated .... see below

Current expectations are for the company to earn just under $1.3 billion, or $2 a share, according to Thomson Reuters. That's down 64% from the $3.4 billion it earned a year ago.

GS numbers look vile .... earnings just $613m = down 82%

Not great news on the housing front either:

US housing starts hit their lowest level in eight months in June, further evidence the economy lost momentum in the second quarter, but a rise in permits offered hope that homebuilding was poised to pick up.

'The Commerce Department said Tuesday housing starts dropped 5.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000 units, the lowest since October. It was the second straight month of declines in groundbreaking activity and was well below market expectations for a 580,000-unit rate.

Toya

I hope this helps.

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5895543_dow-futures-fair-value-calculated_.html

That's very helpful indeed - many thanks ShareCruiser!

I've been listening to Ben Bernanke's testimony on Monetary Policy since 7pm this evening - still going on. It's been very interesting (and to a certain extent profitable) to watch the markets move at the same time - took a real dive!

It's all down to BB using the words 'unexpected & uncertain'. Once he failed to allay the fears that the worst was over, the DOW headed downwards.

Yes - quite marked reaction on the chart to particular words! It'll be interesting to see which way the DOW will travel tomorrow.

I didn't know I had such power.........BB

Lol!

Don't know what anybody else thinks but this feels like a lot of people have been burnt today and the rise is short covering

Looks like BB's words had a short lived effect. Lots of data out of the U.S. boosting DOW. AT&T, Xerox, Qualcomm & UPS all producing good quarterly figures. It all seems a bit knee jerk. Very fickle.

Too right Harrycat - I had my shorts on and am quite singed! Not at all sure whether to hope for a downturn tomorrow or admit defeat tonight and lose a load. Pity, cos I did so well last night while BB was talking...

decline to comment!

Such a gentleman cynic!
Think I'll keep the shorts on for a while - already feeling a bit looser than they were half an hour ago.

if you are going to remove them, you'ld better warn everyone to avert their eyes
heaven knows what they might see!!

a pair of french knickers i would think.,.

currently dow indicating london in for a bit of a bleak start tomorrow

Not SMDR Cynic hope you are still in for the big ride upwards.

Legal & General, RSA Group, Aviva, Old Mutual, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland all set to report figures next week. Might see a good week for all the financial stocks & FTSE (assuming the trend isn't to 'sell on fact'.). Looks like the banks are going to lead the way; just hope the insurers have good margins to report.