When the day starts badly with a fallen Footsie (news) , I tend not to drop my head into the cornflakes in raw despair. When the big index dives 60 points on the off, I find it very often recovers around 11 a.m., say.

This might be because bargain hunters step in. They buy up the shares a lot cheaper than they could have done the previous day. Also, the big traders are presumably more awake as the day gets older and the final affect of sleep finally leaves their brains.

Also, the news of what might happen across the big Pong later on starts to filter through (before the US market opens). This can work the other way and depress share prices even further, but my experience is that a low Footsie first off can recover a bit – - or a lot – when the US position starts to become a bit clearer.

I am talking huge generalisations here, gang, so dont whatever you do take my modest musings as proven truth.

Now, I also find that shares sometimes take a nasty dip around the hour of one. This I put down to the fact that the traders stop buying and clear off to lunch. This is probably a myth, as I bet most actually stay at their desks with a sarnie in hand. But even so, the lunchtime Footsie flop seems to happen from time to time.

Early afternoon can sometimes see a charge forward for the main UK index. Then it can run out of steam, as traders think about going home. And then there can be a last minute rush to buy when dealers, whove not yet done all their days trading, get down to it before the bell.

All these ramblings might be considered if youre thinking of buying or selling shares this week. Obviously, its best to sell when shares are highest and perhaps my little list might help to guess at a few hot spots. However, I may be talking rot. Ive not researched my Footsie performance thoughts. Its only a rough impression gained over the the many years Ive been studying the Footsies daily journey. Rockin on.