The only thing that is holding them up this good is the s&p 500, which is the most manipulated thing on the planet earth right now besides obama`s world media tour-- The nasdaq is weak, the dow is slightly better, but weak overall, and the S&P, is consolidating......but right now it is setting the directiional trend----until it fully capitulates--the others won`t drop like a rock--but they are hanging by a thread at these levels. I see the maket selling off from here! http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=qqqq
yawn... " s&p 500, which is the most manipulated thing on the planet earth" classic loser-trader-meme 101 "manipulated" what this translates as is that a trader either got caught on the wrong side of, or missed out on a move, thus it is MANIPULATED only one thing moves the S&P up - demand exceeding supply one thing moves it down - supply exceeding demand that's it. nobody is in charge of the S&P to "manipulate it" people, institutions, etc. buy or sell. they place their orders
don't be too quick to the gun. I agree w. you the market is done w. the stair step up that was so easy peasy. But I say we are in indecision. No proof of a top yet. Maybe the Fed's statement tomorrow will give us a feel for the longer term picture.
just a thought... but maybe it`s the 'supply' and 'demand' that is artificially manipulated. and maybe the fact that you can recognize the difference between normal market behavior and "manipulated" behavior will help keep you on the right side of the trade. or is it better to make a trade thinking that you are trading with the true directional bias of the market only to find out that the market was just being held up so as to distribute their positions to the bagholders. Moreover, every top has a bunch of bagholders; and this one will be no different from the rest--loser longs are always the last to know when the tops are in place. Because unlike the big boys who can prop up trades that go against them with size, the retail folks just get squashed like bugs on a winshield when the party is over
Pfft, looks like with the emergence of this thread I'll need to hedge my short again . As for S&P being manipulated - on long term basis it just can't be. Nobody has the buying power to corner the US market, not even GS or ML (while policy makers might, their actions are indirect at best and should not be confused with direct manipulations that may be applied to individual security). As for short term, that's another story. What happened at the S&P pit Monday morning made me sick to my stomach. Locals gunned for buy stops in the morning and bought huge, fading the weakness in the morning, jacking up the price in the process. The problem was, they didn't hit any major buy programs or paper buyers and they got stuck with huge long positions as the market trickled down. Imagine they'd hit a jackpot like they did a week before the Thanksgiving, the price would've been elevated to another level for at least a week. There are many techniques the pit traders use to manipulate the market short term (and who knows how many there are with programs?). Its effect can last for days and sometimes even weeks. The fact that there weren't that many enthusiastic buyers on Monday morning could be a telling sign that the market is getting tired, and I've been short around this level for a week now, with not much really going on for me except for daily gyrations but it could also be in a consolidation stage before a massive shoot up to the magical target of 1438 that many elliott wave technicians are gunning for. We've been making higher lows last 3 weeks afteralll. Last 2 times I shorted around this level last month profits came pretty quickly and based on my experience the longer I sit on a position the more likely I'll get slaughtered.
Umm, do you know how S&P is traded at the pit and who provide the most liquidity day after day? If not, I don't see why I should even pay attention to your remark.
All the big locals left that place at least 3-4 years ago. You think the locals have the power they had before the electronic volume caught up? If not, I don't see why I should pay attention to your remark of my remark.
the invention of financial instruments like we have today makes it easier to manipulate the s&p 500 than 20 years ago for short term agendas like blowing out stops, or maintaining key support levels where additional sell programs would kick in massively, i.e. that 130 point massive sell-off that was intensifying with 30 minutes to the closing bell on a friday--somebody with size wanted that stopped---and they weren`t long-term investors spotting value Rather they knew that if the pace continued they were screwed--without news--that sell-off would have continued to 160 plus....under normal market behavior.......and set the entire new trading level/tone for the following week---that is short-term market manipulation at its finest! and no I didn`t lose any money trading that day---i have to be objective---in order to recognize patterns--regardless whether I am long or short. The importance is to file this occurrance away for the future--when major players are long--and unprepared for bad news--which we had---they can save their asses, until they can exit safely without getting killed on those positions. There is no substitute for size and power on wallstreet!