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

seems this was the reason , tho, what it really means i do not know

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Ambac Financial Group and MBIA Inc. renewed their rallies Wednesday, extending the prior session's gains on hopes that the struggling bond insurers will be salvaged via acquisitions or by regulator-orchestrated investments.
Big banks and brokers that are counterparties to bond insurers met with Eric Dinallo, the top New York state insurance regulator, on Wednesday to discuss how to stabilize and inject more capital into the $2.3 trillion market, David Neustadt, a spokesman for the New York Insurance Department, said in a statement. He declined to say what options were specifically discussed.

Seems to me as a well known squark box presenter said today "We are groping for the bottom".Interpret that as you may!!

before we all get carried away on a cloud of euphoria after last night's stunning performance in NY, stay very aware that there are still huge perils ahead ......

from an index trading view, i would not be surprised to see Dow fall back through 12200 and in any case, the downtrend remains in place until 12800 is firmly breached .... currently 12300 so still a long way off isn't it!

FTSE key number on the upside is 5910 (currently 5768), while the downside could be as low as 5065

I agree, we must be careful, a massive fraud unveiled at SOC GEN.
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I also agree with an earlier post by stroreysj in as much as this is a fabulous time for making money in a short space of time, but you have to be careful.
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had a lot of fun last night trading in and out of Dow both long and short (modest stakes only) ..... made one stinker call, but more than made up for it ..... however, it meant being glued to the screen and taking profits when it looked right, and hoping you had the rhythm right when re-entering

The soc gen 3.9 billion fraud was caused by one trader, a massive number when you think of the Nick Leeson figure that brought Barings down in 1995 of 850m. Couldn't have happened at a worse time.

Not quite the same situation, but SG... another Northern Rock ?

i suspect not ..... the disaster will be swept under the carpet somehow, though of course SG results will be worse than appalling

The Stock market has recovered...looks like it is just a correction.

that is a supreme optimist speaking .... imo, it is absolutely impossible that there will not be some more terrifying episodes ahead .... either that, or the downtrend will need to be decisively broken, which is assuredly not the case for now

Maybe recovering but not recovered, there has been /still is? some excellent value out there, imo.
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BNP Paribas have been rumoured with taking SG over before this fraud was announced, would guess the French would encourage this very soon.

Ford's figures not too bad ..... AT&T in line and strongish forecast ..... perhaps Dow will continue upwards

Like you i traded it last night cynic ,(i'm on a winning streak) ,i'm going for a bounce .

You be careful, make sure you land on your feet, not your astrakan coat. Ha! Ha!

I'm not a hippy George .

Jimmy b----------You may not be a hippy but if you're on a winning streak you must be happy, good luck.
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It'll probably end in tears.

Sorry to change the thread but do you guys ever have problems with the live price feeds on moneyam. I dont know if its the connection to singapore as I often loose the first and last 10 mins of the session. I didn't have any problem in dubai last week so want to make sure before i raise merry hell. Thanks