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

I'm thinking a PE of 12 would be about right, EPS 44 so sp at 528. Nothing to support future higher earnings I feel but a fair risk that market share will be lost to competitors moving forward. Changes to the board also haven't inspired any confidence.

CAD Building Permits m/m -13.2% consensus -2.6% previous 9.5%

Noted, the Oct manufacturing PMI was also a shocker 47.5 v's 48.5 and 48.1 in Sept. Q3 GDP therefore looks like a blip as companies receive fewer order and costs rise sharply. This is the sixth sonsecutive sub-50 reading and we've seen Sterling slide on the news. This makes good odds that another round of QE in on the cards for the MPC this week. Also Nationwide house prices rose in Oct 0.6% boosted by Funding for Lending scheme but are off -0.9 y/y with light activity levels.

USD ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI 54.2 consensus 54.6 previous 55.1

Apple v Google: US judge dismisses patent lawsuit

A US judge has dismissed Apple's case in which it alleged that Google's Motorola unit was seeking excessive royalty payments for patents.

Motorola has sought 2.25% of the price of Apple products that use some of its patents, which Apple said was too high.

Apple Said to Be Exploring Switch From Intel for Mac

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is exploring ways to replace Intel Corp. (INTC) processors in its Mac personal computers with a version of the chip technology it uses in the iPhone and iPad, according to people familiar with the company’s research.

Apple engineers have grown confident that the chip designs used for its mobile devices will one day be powerful enough to run its desktops and laptops, said three people with knowledge of the work, who asked to remain anonymous because the plans are confidential. Apple began using Intel chips for Macs in 2005.

GBP Halifax HPI m/m -0.7% consensus 0.5% previous -0.4%

EUR Spanish Services PMI 41.2 previous 40.2

EUR Italian Services PMI 46.0 previous 44.5

GBP Manufacturing Production m/m 0.1% consensus 0.3% previous -1.1%

GBP Industrial Production m/m -1.7% consensus -0.6% previous -0.5%

Gone short on Wall ST DFT @ 13132.5.

Closed an overnight long @ 13,130 at 7.11am this morning for + 40.

At 1.02pm coin landed on heads (bought the dip) @ 13,134 one of us will get lucky shortie, trade to nowt stop @ 13,094. (Trades on Cap Spr futures chart)

both of you could make a turn, but i don't think the market will move much before the election result, and perhaps not even then

-25pts at the moment, so see how it goes, I do favour the downside though, support has been trully tested over the last week.

even if the 12900/13000 support is broken purely on inexplicable knee-jerk, i think that will merely present a buying opportunity (long)

And out for now @ 13,155.5 + 21. Back to bed working tonight.

Well done Chris, a swing back the other way now would be nice.. I'm expecting volatility so a good chance of making something.

Tough call today chaps - going to spin my coin shortly!

Hmmmm - God help us (the markets) if 'Mitt' wins!

Debating opening another short position

I've had a small one @80, but reluctant to get too involved yet - CAD PMI @3, but all eyes on the results now I guess.

short seems the best idea at the moment in case there is a "hung" poll as there was a few years back.

i suggest do nothing!