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

Should be interesting tomorrow then, also ex-divi fallout.

Ex-divi effect on the FTSE is negligible, there are no big hitters today

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not sure why the markets are so chirpy this morning
i know merkel had a very bad result in hesse, but why would that be good for the markets?

Merkel has now announced that she'll stand down as leader of CDU, to which news the markets have surged even further
why?
certainly i did not perceive her as being particularly obstructive (unlike Barnier) to the Brexit negotiations
what have I missed?

DAX
though it's still been a good day for a change, i am not happy to see it now weakening below 11,375


DOW has also fallen back a long way from it's earlier high

Oh dear

Amazon was down over 6% on the day.......maybe just profit taking. DOW was down 566 at one point.
Boeing down 6.5%........linked to possible Trump trade tariffs.

DAX
of some concern that 11,425 still looks to be a severe hurdle, though index continues to hover pretty much on it

meanwhile FTSE has broken through 7,110 and holding easily enough

I reckon its a short squeeze.

i did not say i expected the rally to have a long life
to be honest, i haven't a clue though i note GM have posted very strong figures this morning

Facebook reporting later....brace yourself!

reported last night!

Ah, must have been after US close. I missed it!
Shed loads of profit but slightly below expectations.

FB sp is up about 9%

AAPL results due tomorrow

FTSE 100 joins global recovery amid potential trade war breakthrough
A global recovery in stock markets continued this week amid hopes of a resolution to the ongoing trade war after US President Donald Trump claimed a 'great deal' with China could be on the cards.


for sure these trade tantrums will be resolved sooner or later, but certainly good news if sooner

BANK OF ENGLAND MAINTAINS BENCHMARK INTEREST RATE AT 0.75%

Will US Fed raise again in December as muted?

Hoping we get a few positive weeks into Christmas.

DOW currently down 460 to 25,535