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

DOW is now roaring, but will it hold
went out to buy some veg for this evening, and 17,300 had been well and truly breached on my return, so have (rashly?) gone long with very small stake at 17,340
shall continue to watch and may add if there is a new meaningful move in either direction

Out of FTSE +42 . Not sure it will hold maybe short if it goes too high .

from memory around the current level of 6,370 is a potential hurdle, and if so, it needs to move significantly past this and to hold at least into the close, with 6,400 the becoming the next point of note

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which has just been hit, so i banked a useful little FTSE profit at that level, but shall watch

DOW still running and yummy yummy :-)

discretion ruled and banked my 2nd good profit of the day on Dow at 17,466 which may also prove resistance
as i'll be off-line for a bit, i didn't want to risk losing a bundle of profit, but shall def keep an eye open during the evening

I have been long on the FTSE this morning for a few points , should have just carried my long over from yesterday .

i also went long FTSE this morning, but i'ld like to see some stronger action from that quarter
meanwhile, i went long DOW once more yesterday evening (17,488) and so far that looks to have been a reasonable idea

banked DOW profit at 17,570 which is nice way to start the day
there may be a pause or even consolidation at this level and i'm going out for a couple of in 30 so don't want to cock it up

if strength continues, then a further 300 points is at least possible

FTSE is now sitting right on a key break level at 6450, but now i've encashed DOW, i'll sit tight

Not going long on anything now today , see what next week brings .

i try not to stick my neck out far, so FTSE risk is considerably less than with DOW which can move hugely
i can see good reason for a chunky reversal before wall street closes for the w/e, but if so, that'll prob be a good opportunity to go long on monday

in uk, the deals now being struck with china are actually very good indeed for our economy - and surprise, i don't give a toss what fred says!

changed my mind as just going out ....... discretion ruled and cashed in FTSE at 6445 and banked a reasonable profit

But you are a short term trader!

on indices i'm nowhere near brave enough or so damn foolish as to hold a position long(er) term

from IG analyst
The big question is whether OPEC and other oil producers can continue to handle prices at these levels. There have been calls from Russia and Venezuela in recent weeks for OPEC and non-OPEC producers to meet and agree on cutting production. This week Algeria also backed Venezuela’s call for the meeting. Despite the marked drop in US shale oil production, global oil supplies have remained stubbornly high. But now that OPEC nations have been steadily regaining global market share, they may be more inclined to start to trim back their production. The big unknown is how much pain they need to inflict on US shale oil producers before they cut back, but moves on this front could certainly see some upside in the oil price

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at the moment and from first-hand knowledge, companies across the whole gulf region are being crucified with both exports and imports and even production at some chemical plants coming to an effective standstill

across the world, storage depots are as rammed as we have ever seen them with idle containers of all types

for some obscure reason, stock markets remain almost oblivious ....... scary

Mild weather isn't helping consumption either. All the gas producers are getting crucified.

Quite nice weather here in Hampstead :~)

what's poked wall street up the arse that it's suddenly perked up?

Iv'e been in and out of FTSE all day made about 12 trades for small points .

Mr C, Apple due to report this afternoon I think. Expectations are high. Twitter also reporting.
Though T-Mobile US should have knocked things back a bit. Depends how you see their Q3 results.

the following adds fuel to the fire of concern across the world .......

firstly, BP foresees depressed crude prices into 2017

now read the following ....
http://www.offshoreenergytoday.com/fred-olsen-breaks-off-bollsta-dolphin-construction-contract/
i am glad i no longer hold LAM