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

Dell profit falls 47 percent

SAN FRANCISCO | Fri Nov 16, 2012 1:02am GMT

(Reuters) - Dell Inc's third-quarter profit slid 47 percent, hurt by lower PC sales, weaker demand from large corporations and the shift to mobile computing.

Dell's consumer PC business is struggling as more and more consumers are using smartphones and tablets to do basic computing, and the company's corporate customers continue to defer spending due to the uncertain state of the economy.

The No. 3 personal computer maker warned that it "sees the challenging global macroeconomic environment continuing in the fourth quarter."

The company, once the world's top PC maker and a pioneer in computer supply chain management, is struggling to defend its market share against Asian rivals like Lenovo. It is trying to bolster growth by focusing on products and services to corporations.

The company said it expects revenue to grow as much as 5 percent in the current quarter.

so what may we expect today from across the pond? ..... i doubt i shall do more than sit on my hands, but shall watch nevertheless ..... it is certainly of some concern that 12540 looks to have given way, though dow seems disinclined to drop away further, at least for the moment

I guess one eye to the middle east and the other to the opening round of Obama v Congress this pm.

European Stocks, U.S. Futures Drop Before Budget Talks

European stocks and U.S. index futures retreated as U.S lawmakers prepared for talks to avert the country’s so-called fiscal cliff of automatic tax increases and spending cuts. The dollar and the yen strengthened.

I would have said 12540 looks like its supporting, sure your going to get a dip below followed by a recovery over... Trend is still lower though and with the 50DMA we're likely to see the 100DMA cross today in support of the bearish trend on the daily chart..

I would have said 12540 looks like its supporting, sure your going to get a dip below followed by a recovery over... Trend is still lower though and with the 50DMA we're likely to see the 100DMA cross today in support of the bearish trend on the daily chart..

5625.5 FTSE100 gone long

what a crazy day on Dow

Shortie - Would I be right in saying your long based on breach of bollanger band oversold, so looking for a retrace to test 5660 - 5700? Then a sell off into the close to resume trend.

5680 is the probable resistance ..... however, with dow flying around all over the place, it's anyone's guess where it'll finish tonight

Aye cynic, not sure I would want to be long over the weekend, but wtfdik,if in doubt stay out good for me. :O)

strange evening with dow hopping around all over the place, albeit within fairly narrow margins .... i'ld guess monday will open strong, but not brave enough to open any position in anticipation

Apple has lost £104 billion from its market value since mid September - quite amazing!

Apples market valuation of no surprise to me Skinny, premium brand, recession, competition catching up, value for money..... I could go on..

FTSE long closed... Yes bought as viewed the FTSE as oversold and was looking for a retrace. This wasn't based on bollinger brands though as I rarely use them when trading 10, 15 and 30min charts.

I've gone short FSTE again at 5658 - an odd number, but it's served me well in the past week - hmm, possibly a bit premature!

Interesting link below - Apple is top of the cash pile!
8 Companies you didn't know had so much money

I think the FTSE has overextended, I'm expecting it to rally back to 5700 then target the 200 DMA approx 5746 at the moment (no signals though). Good luck with your short position Toya.

Thanks Shortie! I shall keep an eye on it today and be ready to stop it if it's clear I've made the wrong decision.

I just feel it will be a short-term rally. However, it could all change when US Housing Data is released at 15:00 today

can't disagree with shortie's analysis, though "overextended" in my language implies "too far too fast"

We speak the same language then Cynic..