After Monday's bout of volatile trading, when a botched "sell" program sent the FTSE 100 reeling and resulted in 23 blue chip stocks being temporarily suspended, dealers are warning of further turbulence ahead.
Friday sees a "Double Witching," the quarterly occurrence that marks the settlement prices for the latest FTSE 100 index future and FTSE 100 index option series.
Typically the Double Witching period, which runs from 10am to 10.45am, is characterised by high levels of trading activity and unpredictable price movements as the City's largest players try to realign their futures and options positions with those in the underlying cash market.
"Our advice to clients is that if your order is not time critical then hold off until the market has stabilised," said Richard Hunter, head of dealing services at NatWest Stockbrokers.
