Posted On: 10/27/2013 11:39:31 AM
Post# of 45510
Trick #1: Giving Phony Sizes
When a trade is called into the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), it is immediately routed to a specialist in the stock, who often has limited interest in the individual trade. Because the specialist is being inundated by traders, he simply wants to find a buyer or a seller for your stock as soon as possible. Essentially, he is an intermediary, who sometimes takes positions in stock, but is really there to function as a liquidity provider.
However, Nasdaq market makers, routinely take positions in stocks, both long and short , and then turn them around for a profit, or a loss, later in the day. They provide liquidity, but they are also more focused on capitalizing on your lot of stock by buying it for their own trading account and then flipping it to another buyer. In any case, market makers will sometimes post phony sizes in order to lure you into buying or selling a stock.
For example, market makers may post a bid and an offer that looks something like this:
When a trade is called into the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), it is immediately routed to a specialist in the stock, who often has limited interest in the individual trade. Because the specialist is being inundated by traders, he simply wants to find a buyer or a seller for your stock as soon as possible. Essentially, he is an intermediary, who sometimes takes positions in stock, but is really there to function as a liquidity provider.
However, Nasdaq market makers, routinely take positions in stocks, both long and short , and then turn them around for a profit, or a loss, later in the day. They provide liquidity, but they are also more focused on capitalizing on your lot of stock by buying it for their own trading account and then flipping it to another buyer. In any case, market makers will sometimes post phony sizes in order to lure you into buying or selling a stock.
For example, market makers may post a bid and an offer that looks something like this:
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