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

17420--Well done skinny
2517

well done skinny

i also had another small dow running at 17351 which was limited out at 17381
it was a bit silly in some ways as there was no way i could watch it

wanted another at about 17300 but was too pre-occupied and missed it, but really shouldn't complain, as considering the markets, i've done well today, even if i say so myself

Thanks cynic/George - based on p*ssing in the wind really at that point.

and today is the mirror image of yesterday
if you can stay in front of your screen, i'm sure there'll be plenty of money to be made on either ftse or dow

for my sins, i still have a small "o'priced" dow long from a few days back at 17630, so i don't suppose that one will need much attention!

effects of collapsing oil price
up to now, we have only had anecdotal evidence and whatever we have read in the press

however, i can now report first hand from our people in usa/canada where a couple of mining/oil "serious" clients will be returning kit due to mothballing of projects

those clients will not be in isolation, and of course there is and will be further repercussions not only in usa but also all over the world where these activities take place

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if you're a bull for 2015, i'ld be very very wary

if you play the stock indices, then it could be a wild time as i think there's still hefty volatility to come

so as i was saying!

euphoria has more than evaporated in the 20/30 minutes since i last looked before coming to the office

What a lovely day today is!!

Chaos

haven't had time to concentrate to pitch in, but never mind - can't lose money that way either :-)


anything in particular catch the markets imagination, or is just the continuing fall in crude + general funk?

Blimey. What happened! I've been mainly trading the Dax & Dow these last few weeks, only getting a fraction of the moves but more than happy, given that I trade for less than an hour a day usually.

edit - I see it's those Swiss gnomes to blame.

My Euro shorts are looking rather 'phat' right now and quick plays on the FTSE this morning have been gggrrreeeaaaaattttt!

never seen anything like it
just made a quick 30 point turn on long dow, but it could have been a small loss or even a 70 point gain if i hadn't blinked!

if you're going to play these indices, you cannot be doing anything else at the moment, for the movements are dramatic in seconds - or even less

One to watch following the world bank cutting its forecast yesterday..



An of course if markets and metals are volatile gold does well.. Note last resistance, this may imply we'll see some support on the markets soon. FTSE I'd hazard a guess 6166 is the next big test.

I just had a dabble, down 56 at one point. Recovered to -16. Going to sit on my hands now until later.

just made another small turn, but haven't really got the time to play today even though good money to be made in both directions

And of course good losses if you get it wrong!

copper
an analyst's thoughts this morning for what their worth ....

The biggest loser was copper, which is often interpreted as a red flag for the markets regarding a deflationary environment, and in turn is bearish for gold prices. However, currently trading at $1,228, price action is being supported by an intermediate area of support at $1,224. If this is held we may see a third attempt at rallying through $1,244 – a move supported by gold’s relative strength index at 60.6.

Should its intermediate downside of $1,224 fail, the next clear downside target could come into play at gold’s 200-period moving average at $1,218.

shortie - very true which is why my bets have been pretty much at the bottom of my usual exposure ..... would also (probably) be happy to hold if necessary

Which analyst' said that?