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

6484 was the last support line I expected to hold and see a bounce off.

6484 is where the index is now sat - or near enough

I know, could prove rotten luck if I've sold on a low.

Philly at 3 should dictate the rest of the day.

Think I'll sit the rest of the day out.

Worth watching at this level.

ah - you know i follow that one .,.... now just slightly in the red, but never mind

Still running my long and just got filled in the auction @6,455 - now closed +13.

Has anyone else using IG noticed that the tear off price tickets keep stop updating?

Sorry Skinny but I use IG but don't tear off any tickets at the moment.
Just using it to cover my watchlist.
TT

Thanks TT.

FX CHAT: FOMC Minutes to Show if Higher Rates Weigh on Outlook

The last set of minutes (for June FOMC meeting) showed the staff brightening its growth outlook as stocks and home prices rose, but also that these positive factors were partially offset by higher interest rates. In the month and a half between the June and July meetings, rates rose further. Karim Basta, chief investment strategist at fixed-income-focused hedge fund III Associates, wants to know to what degree those higher yields will dent the Fed's outlook. As of now, he sees the Fed reducing bond purchases by $10B-20B in September and stopping entirely by mid-2014. He says minutes may also clue to the breakdown of the reduction between Treasurys and MBS if it reveals extra concern about higher mortgage rates hurting housing demand.

The question as to the timing of pulling back on monetary accommodation and the reasoning for starting in September as opposed to later sits as a line item on the Federal Reserve's balance sheet: excess reserves. Excess reserves--deposits banks have lent to the Fed that they cannot or will not lend--is just over $2 trillion. That number is roughly 12% of the gross domestic product of the United States. Some 12% of monetary easing has not and will not at this point flow through to the economy. A continuation of easing will do nothing to add to domestic growth, but the good news is that it really wouldn't hurt either because reining in monetary accommodation should just soak up excess reserves on the Fed's balance sheet. There is no doubt there's psychological fear that tapering will raise interest rates, slow mortgage applications, reduce housing demand and reduce the wealth effect if equity prices fall in response to the Fed's action. But all these effects can be explained away if Chairman Bernanke can communicate his intentions clearly. Those intentions are that while indeed the Fed is pulling back on easing, it is still highly accommodative. The intention is for short-term interest rates to stay low for some time and the yield curve will normalize. In the eyes of the Fed, the program can still hopefully generate modest inflationary expectations to induce both domestic and capex spending. That result will lift domestic growth as loan demand increases, soaking up even more excess reserves and further reducing the Fed's balance sheet. For investors, that makes for a tricky day. I expect while all this is true, it is too much for the market to digest in a release of minutes. The FOMC will wait for final confirmation with next week's second reading of 2Q GDP, and it will be in the September meeting that the Fed will give the forward tapering guidance. To expect the FOMC to lead with its chin in August is just a tad premature. If I am right, the dollar will lose ground, equities and fixed income will rally. But none of that will last. It will be reversed hard after the September meeting during the press conference that follows, where Bernanke will no doubt say something memorable--something along the lines of "read my lips", there will be no more money.

i don't know who wrote that, but given that economies across the world are patently recovering, to call a sharp bear market as seems to be implied, sounds very brave to me

cynic the usual economist blah, at the end of the day perhaps we may look back and realise this was all about traders trying to create volatility to make a quick buck, life goes on if you are a serious investor.

.

Whats wrong with making a quick buck from volatility??

14917 gone long Wall St

Absolutely nothing! :-)