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

Its the index we discussed a few weeks ago with a view to having a foot in the house builders.

Household Goods & Home Construction constituents

Only a permanent fix to the United States' fiscal cliff can provide the necessary confidence to businesses to create jobs and thus boost economic growth, U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said Thursday. "If we are to come up with a temporary fix, then I seriously doubt that even though we will have relief, any business woman or business man will change their employment or capital expenditure" plans, said the central banker in introductory remarks at a university in Frankfurt. The U.S. is facing a set of both tax rises and spending cuts that are due to come into effect next year. The combination is known as the "fiscal cliff" because it threatens to send the country's economic growth tumbling. Mr. Fisher also said that at present inflation "is not an issue" in the U.S., but that the "excessive" number of those both under- and unemployed is. The central banker started his speech by drawing reference to the recent 90th anniversary of the then German central bank's decision to devalue its currency, which paved the way for epic hyper inflation and helped to send the "great country into penury and political hell," Mr. Fisher said. While he said he didn't think the U.S. was headed in that direction, he said "no central banker should ever forget" the decision. However, "I do not believe that inflation or hyper inflation will be the inevitable consequence" of a rising Fed balance sheet, he added. Mr. Fisher said he believes the Fed should return to one mandate--implicitly meaning price stability--rather than having employment as a mandate as well. The Dallas Fed president is one of the more hawkish members of the Federal Open Market Committee. Although he is not currently a voting member, he has been on a crusade against apparent fiscal profligacy in Congress and promoting the economic virtues of Texas. In a recent speech in California, Mr. Fisher said Congress had acted "disgracefully" on fiscal issues. He also said Texas was the "indisputable leader in job creation" in the U.S. and also "the antithesis of the welfare state."

I closed my short for now - will wait and see what happens. Can't risk another see-saw like yesterday if I can't be at my screen!

Totally agree a lot of hot air - but that seems to be all it takes these days, to propel the markets. Are they just a lot of hot-heads??

skinny - where is the next resistance on the HG&HC index? .... i'm running a nice profit there and am tempted to bank it, but could be persuaded otherwise

Arguably its over bought - but I thought that at the end of October.

Perhaps Shortie can oblige with some 'lines'.

USD Prelim GDP q/q 2.7% consensus 2.8% previous 2.0%

USD Unemployment Claims 393K consensus 392K previous 410K

CAD RMPI m/m 0.0% consensus -0.4% previous 1.3%

CAD IPPI m/m -0.1% consensus 0.0% previous 0.5%

Best I can do is off a DEC future, MAR not enough data. Short term support sits at 8041 followed by 7663. Channel trend plotted and looking to test upper resistance, I would be careful though as RSI indicates over bought. I'd hazzard a guess this will likely trade sideways with an increased chance of a fall to 8041 to test short term support. Note upper bandwidth also currently been tested.

At the end of Oct Skinny yes it was overbought and look what happened, I'd probally sell await a pull back and a buy signal before getting back in, looks consistant trading the channel so far.

Thanks Shortie.

Not a problem Skinny, after all the help you've given me my pleasure.

Cynic, this indicie isn't one I follow or trade so you've probally got a better idea of pull/push factors than I do. I can only offer my own technical view.

i was persuaded there by skinny a few months back, and by and large i have done well from it ..... perhaps time to bank a good profit and watch once more

I have just upped the SL on my Ftse long to 5800 thereby guaranteeing a small profit - but happy to let it run with a target of 6200 early next year. \So I am looking long term rather than trading as I always seem to get the short term trends wrong. I have taken my trailing SL off

You must be well in the money with that long of yours bhunt!

USD Pending Home Sales m/m 5.2% consensus 0.9% previous 0.3%

Nice to see someone raking the money in bhunt.

The number of U.S. home buyers signing contracts to purchase previously owned properties rose in October to the highest level in nearly six years, marking the latest indication of a recovering housing market. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday its seasonally adjusted index for pending sales of existing homes increased 5.2% in October from a month earlier to a reading of 104.8. The index for October was up 13.2% from the same month last year and have risen for 18 consecutive months compared with a year earlier, the group said. Pending home sales are at the highest level since March 2007, outside of a "few spikes" when buyers were rushing to sign sales contracts to qualify for a federal tax credit, the Realtors said. September's index was revised upward slightly to 99.6. "We've had very good housing affordability conditions for quite some time, but we're seeing more impact now from steady job creation and rising consumer confidence about home buying," said Lawrence Yun, the Realtors' chief economist. The index was far above expectations. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had predicted pending home sales would rise 1.0% from September's figures. The Realtors' index tracks agreements to purchase homes. A sale is considered pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not yet closed, and pending sales typically close within one or two months of signing. A reading of 100 is equal to the average level of activity in 2001. The housing market is recovering from a severe downturn, but it remains volatile. Home prices are rising, according to two separate reports earlier this week. Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home-price index said U.S. home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas were up 3% in September compared with a year earlier. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said U.S. home prices rose 0.2% for the eighth-straight month in September on a seasonally adjusted basis from a month earlier. The FHFA's monthly home price index is calculated by using the prices of houses purchased with mortgages backed by government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC). But the numbers come a day after sales of newly built homes in the U.S. slipped in October and September's figures were downwardly revised. New single-family home sales decreased by 0.3% last month from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 368,000, the Commerce Department said. The housing market is still well below its peak as sales and construction levels both lag behind prebubble levels and tightened credit restrictions make it difficult to secure a mortgage. Many prospective homeowners have too little home-equity to sell their current residence and buy another home. The Realtors' report Thursday showed pending sales rose in two out of four U.S. regions compared with a month earlier. The index rose 15.6% in the Midwest and 5.5% in the South but dropped 1.1% in the West and 0.1% in the Northeast.

Good Moaening, closed Brent long (for now) @ 110.86 + 100
" " Gold long (" " ) @ 1724.1 + 22

Make your mind up time.

Stopped -25, so anyone else short should be ok now!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!