The indexes barely budge. Then you have many names that are already up 30%+ on year, go up even more on nothing with no ebb or flow to cover a short or position for a long without just blindly paying up for no reason. In hindsite, it was the greatest january effect set up of all time. As all the risk names went out the year at the bottom of the charts, with 50% upside to where they were in July. With the indexes back to july levels, who can fight the risk names also heading back to july levels. Even if that means many names go up 30,40, 50% on almost nothing.
HFT has absolutely destroyed the market. Volume is gone. Orderly moves are long gone. Intraday trading is just algo's whipsawing back and forth squeezing shorts and pulling the rug on the longs.
The indexes barely budge? YTD the equity indexes are in a steady grind up and that includes bonds such as junk and especially emerging markets. Beginning to remind me of the 90s.
HFT has killed the market ??? How long have you been trading ? Market whipsaws and fakeouts have existed from the beginning of time. Anyone who has studied the markets knows that there have been some long periods of low volatility. Go look at a chart of the S&P 500 for 1994. The intraday high for the year was hit on January 31 at 482.85 and the intraday low for the year was hit on April 4 at 435.86. That is only a 10.8% range for the whole year (46.99 points). After that April low the rest of the year, almost 9 months, only had an 8.7% range. Adapt to the market that is or give all your money to those that do.
If you want volatility intraday, oil , natty g, euro. Whipsaws come with the turf . Hitting all pending orders at top or bottom then puking in the other direction....comes with the turf.
whats not to like. low volatility is a good thing, stable up trend is good. Good traders make money, losers lose and whine on ET.
The stock indices have been an awesome trade. Ummm, I'm on my third week of selling ES versus NQ and quite frankly I am loving life in the stock index futures. Spread city, baby. Tons of opportunities in stock index futures.