To all the guys (and galls! ) with experience: I am heavily (for me) short at the moment, longer term; what will be the best play for me, with the eye on the big divi on Friday?
You have a few options:
1) If you longer term play is for a large number of points relative to the divi, just pay the divi and make sure your account can handle the payment
2) Hedge with an equal long position on Friday - This is risky if the market doesn't recover quickly (last year it did, but not guaranteed) - Remember that the index falls with the same number of points as the divi, so that your longs will be in the red the moment the divi is paid
3) Cover your shorts, and re-enter at a later stage (obviously you lock in losses/profit)
All in all a very personal choice, but not an easy one to make. If we only knew what the market was going to do....
K