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Darkpools

Buybacks vs. Dark Pool RotationThis lesson is about understanding the dynamics behind corporate buybacks. Sell-Side Institutions, aka the Banks of Record, have their floor traders do the actual buying of shares on behalf of the corporation. However, the Dark Pools, meaning the Buy-Side Institutions, start selling as the buybacks are going on. This training will help you enter a buyback sooner and exit with higher profits for swing trading. We'll study the NASDAQ:AAPL chart to identify buyback candlestick patterns and how to see when the Dark Pools are selling to lower inventory, which is called "rotation." You will also see how the TTAccum/Dist indicator works, and how I use this excellent, leading Hybrid Indicator to aid in my analysis.
NASDAQ:AAPLEducation
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
3
Dark Pool Buy Zones Explained with Pro Trader Nudge SignalsThis lesson is about how to identify when a hidden quiet accumulation of a stock is underway and how to prepare for the momentum runs that follow. NYSE:DIS is our example for today. Dark Pool activity is explained in detail. Alternative Transaction System (ATS) Venues are called Dark Pools of Liquidity. A Buy Zone is an extended period of hidden accumulation of often millions of shares of stock over several weeks to months. Professional traders use these buy zones to enter on the penny spread and instigate a trigger of HFT gaps to the advantage of the pro trader. Learn how you can profit from this activity for swing trading or position trading.
NYSE:DISEducation
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
1
What Is Money Flow In & Out of a Stock? And Why Should You Care?Professionals often speak of money flowing in or out of a stock, but how can that be if there is an equal number of buyers and sellers? It is because “Money Flow” comes from the balance of the lot sizes. There are four possible positions in any one stock: Buy Buy to Cover Sell Sell Short Each investor and trader in the stock has their own separate agenda. Each may come from a different Market Participant Group. There are now 9 Stock Market Participant Groups, starting from those who buy first, at the bottom of a new upward cycle: The giant Buy Side Institutions who invest Mutual and Pension Funds and/or create ETFs and other kinds of stock market derivatives. The Sell Side Institutions, aka the big banks and major market makers Wealthy Individual Investors Corporations Institutional/ Pro Traders High Frequency Traders (HFTs) Small Funds Individual Small-Lot Investors, Investment Groups and Individual Retail Traders Odd-Lot Investors Buyers are anticipating that the stock is going to move up. Their stock order types span the spectrum, for example: Market Orders, Limit Orders, Stop Orders. Buy to Cover Orders are placed by traders who sold short and are now taking profits. Those who are selling the stock are anticipating that the stock is going to move down. In an uptrending stock, this is profit-taking near the top of the run. It can also be similar in a downtrending stock because the seller is afraid that the stock is going to move down more, and they have been holding through what they thought was a short retracement. Most of these stock order types will be “Sell at Market” (SAM). Sell Short Traders are anticipating that the stock is going to move down, and they can place a variety of orders just like the buyers. Both Buyers and Sell Shorters are entering the trade, while Buy to Covers and Sellers are exiting the trade. It is the mix of these different types of buying and selling coupled with the kind of investor or trader and the size of their share lots that causes money to flow in or out of a stock. If the buyers are mostly large lots and the sellers are mostly small lots, who is in control? The buyers purchasing large lots . This is because, at some point, there will not be enough small-lot sellers, and those who are Selling Short will turn and start Buying to Cover, creating more of a shortage of sellers. Consequently, this will put more pressure on the buy side. There are always latecomers to a stock run, and they are usually small-lot buyers. As the stock moves up in price, more of the small-lot buyers will step in, pushing the price up even further. Most small-lot buyers typically use a “Buy at Market” Order, which is the worst kind to use to control the entry price. As the stock moves up further in price, the last of the Short Sellers will panic and Buy to Cover, causing the stock to gap up or jump even higher. This then triggers the large-lot buyers to start selling for profit. As profit-taking begins, the stock dips in price. This causes the odd-lot buyer, who is the last in the market participant cycle to buy, to rush into the stock and buy because they have been told to “Buy the Dip.” By now, the news media has been talking about this stock and its great run. Consequently, the odd-lot uninformed investor finds the dip irresistible and buys on pure emotion without any analysis of the stock. This causes the final gap up and exhaustion pattern. Now, while all of those odd-lot latecomers are buying, who is selling to balance the equation? Market Makers are Selling Short and the Smart Money, who were the first to enter, are selling to take profits. Suddenly, the large lots are now shifting to the downside, and what happens? The control switches to the sellers who are moving larger lots. Now, money is flowing out of the stock, yet the price may go up briefly before a downtrend develops. Large lots are usually wiser investors and traders who know more than the other investors and traders. So the giant Buy Side Institutions investing Mutual and Pension Funds, who have access to information often not yet available to Individual Investors and Retail Traders, are called the Smart Money. It can be assumed that the smaller the lot size, the less the investor or trader knows and understands about the market. As smaller lots move in, a shift of power occurs due to the large lots moving to the sell side, and thus money shifts to flowing out of the stock. As the stock collapses and reaches a price or equilibrium near a base or bottom, those smaller lots who held through the collapse reach an emotional point of extreme pain of loss and begin to sell in panic. In response, the Smart Money and Market Makers switch roles again, Buying to Cover their profitable shorts and buying to hold as the stock moves up again. Summary: Every time you take a position in a stock, there are also three other positions in that same stock. You need to be aware of each of these and make sure that you are with the right group. Most of the time, traders who are having problems with their trades are simply trading with the wrong group. It is important, then, to learn about today's stock market structure and what I call the "Cycle of Market Participants." When traders can trade with the flow of the Smart Money, they have a decided advantage.
NASDAQ:AAPLEducation
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
$AMZN: Fast Rebounds Reveal Fundamental Support LevelThe new technologies that Amazon is embracing, including robots/robotics, and a brilliant CEO keep this huge company moving forward. The HFT-driven gap down in August was massive but the rebound was fast. This isn't the first time the stock has moved right back up to its prior quarter's fundamental support range, aka Dark Pool Buy Zone. Now, NASDAQ:AMZN is slightly above that range to challenge the July high. A stock to watch ahead of its earnings report October 24th.
NASDAQ:AMZN
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
1
Dark Pool Buy Zone Stages More Gap Up PotentialNYSE:NKE gapped again with a breakaway gap jumping over resistance. These rarely fill and if the gap fills, it will be minimal. Volume was above average. This kind of gap up sequence can happen easily when a classic Shift of Sentiment pattern forms in Accumulation/Distribution indicators as a stock bottoms. But price remains well below the previous gap down. It may gap again as the stock challenges that resistance.
NYSE:NKELong
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
Understanding Dark Pools█ Diving Into Dark Pools In recent years, dark pools have become a significant part of the financial markets, offering an alternative trading venue for institutional traders. But what exactly are dark pools, and how do they impact market quality and price efficiency? This article delves into the comprehensive study titled "Diving Into Dark Pools" by Sabrina Buti, Barbara Rindi, and Ingrid Werner, which sheds light on the complexities of dark pool trading in the US stock market. █ What Are Dark Pools? Dark pools are private financial forums or exchanges for trading securities. Unlike public stock exchanges, dark pools do not display the order book to the public until after the trade is executed, providing anonymity to those placing trades. This lack of pre-trade transparency can help prevent large orders from impacting the market price, which is particularly beneficial for institutional investors looking to trade large volumes without revealing their intentions. █ How Do Dark Pools Work? In dark pools, the details of trades are not revealed to other market participants until the trade is completed. This lack of transparency helps prevent significant price movements that could occur if the order were known beforehand. Dark pools typically execute trades at the midpoint of the best bid and ask price in the public markets, ensuring fair pricing for both parties involved. █ Why Are Dark Pools Used? Dark pools are primarily used by institutional investors who need to execute large trades without revealing their trading intentions. Displaying such large orders on public exchanges could lead to unfavorable price movements due to market speculation and front-running by other traders. █ Benefits of Dark Pools Reduced Market Impact: Large orders can be executed without affecting the stock's market price. Anonymity: Traders can buy or sell significant amounts without revealing their identity or strategy. Lower Transaction Costs: By avoiding the public markets, traders can often reduce the costs associated with large trades. Improved Execution: Dark pools can offer better execution prices due to the lack of market impact and reduced volatility. █ Why Do Large Actors Hide Their Orders Using Dark Pools? Large institutional investors use dark pools to hide their orders to: Avoid Market Manipulation: Prevent others from driving the price up or down based on the knowledge of a large pending trade. Maintain Strategic Advantage: Keep trading strategies and intentions confidential to avoid imitation or counter-strategies by competitors. Achieve Better Prices: Execute trades at more favorable prices by not alerting the market to their actions. █ Actionable Insights for Traders Understand Market Dynamics: Knowing how and why dark pools are used can provide insights into market liquidity and price movements. Monitor Market Quality: Be aware that increased dark pool activity can improve overall market quality by reducing volatility and spreads. Assess Price Efficiency: Recognize that while dark pools can enhance market quality, they might also lead to short-term inefficiencies like price overreaction. █ Key Findings from the Study The study analyzed unique data on dark pool activity across a large cross-section of US stocks in 2009. Here are some of the critical insights: Concentration in Liquid Stocks: Dark pool activity is predominantly concentrated in liquid stocks. Specifically, Nasdaq stocks show higher dark pool activity compared to NYSE stocks when controlling for liquidity factors. Market Quality Improvement: Increased dark pool activity correlates with improvements in various market quality measures, including narrower spreads, greater depth, and reduced short-term volatility. This suggests that dark pools can enhance market stability and efficiency for certain stocks. Complex Relationship with Price Efficiency: The relationship between dark pool activity and price efficiency is multifaceted. While increased activity generally leads to lower short-term volatility, it can also be associated with more short-term overreactions in price for specific stock groups, particularly small and medium-cap stocks. Impact on Market Dynamics: On days with high share volume, high depth, low intraday volatility, and low order imbalances, dark pool activity tends to be higher. This indicates that traders are more likely to use dark pools when market conditions are favorable for large trades. █ Conclusion Dark pools play a crucial role in modern financial markets by allowing large trades to be executed without revealing the trader’s intentions, thus minimizing market impact and reducing costs. For retail traders, understanding the mechanics and implications of dark pools can lead to better-informed trading decisions and a deeper comprehension of market behavior. The study concludes that while dark pools generally contribute to improved market quality by reducing volatility and enhancing liquidity, their effect on price efficiency is nuanced. For small and medium stocks, dark pools can lead to short-term price overreactions, while large stocks remain largely unaffected. The findings underscore the importance of understanding the different impacts on various stock categories to make informed trading decisions. For institutional traders and market participants, understanding the role and impact of dark pools is crucial for navigating the modern financial landscape. By offering an alternative venue for executing large trades discreetly, dark pools play a pivotal role in today's trading ecosystem. █ Reference Buti, S., Rindi, B., & Werner, I. (2011). Diving into Dark Pools. Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics, Fisher College of Business Working Paper Series, 2010-10. ----------------- Disclaimer This is an educational study for entertainment purposes only. The information in my Scripts/Indicators/Ideas/Algos/Systems does not constitute financial advice or a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from the use of or reliance on such information. All investments involve risk, and the past performance of a security, industry, sector, market, financial product, trading strategy, backtest, or individual's trading does not guarantee future results or returns. Investors are fully responsible for any investment decisions they make. Such decisions should be based solely on evaluating their financial circumstances, investment objectives, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs. My Scripts/Indicators/Ideas/Algos/Systems are only for educational purposes!
Editors' picks
OANDA:BTCUSDEducation
by Zeiierman
8
Dark Pools Accumulating Biotech: STOKDark Pools are accumulating some biotechnology stocks for mutual funds and ETFs based on this new technology. HFTs are chasing this accumulation. NASDAQ:STOK is now near the price when more professional traders are likely to swing trade. It has a very high Percentage of Shares Held by Institutions and the bottom is completed. It may be a potential candidate for a watchlist for this industry, IF the industry fits your needs for short-term trading or long-term investing. It may also turn into a position trade if platforms develop. This is a Weekly Chart so all the history of recent price is visible. The peaks of bounces upward within the downtrend are where the stock may stall and go sideways as it moves up.
NASDAQ:STOK
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
AMZN Under Pressure to Offer a DividendInventory adjustments are underway for $NASDAQ:AMZN. These adjustments are minor as Dark Pools are holding AMZN long-term, but there are other opportunities to boost ROI in younger companies. AMZN needs to provide a dividend now that it is a Dow 30 stock. The mild rotation is a gentle reminder to the Board of Directors from their most critical and important investors, the Giant Buy Side Institutions. AMZN is the only fortune 500 company on the S&P500 that doesn't provide a dividend YET. The company's CEO is seasoned and aware that the Board must soon offer dividends, as it is no longer merely a "growth" company. The pressure is increasing to force a dividend by the Giant investors. This should happen this year. There are no buybacks going on right now either. So the lowering of inventory is a warning to get this done. The Buy Side has the clout to influence the Board's decisions. This would benefit all investors big and small. The support is at the lows of the red box on the chart, as indicated by the gap down white candle that quickly ended the previous selling by smaller funds. WHEN, not if, AMZN announces a dividend, there is likely to be some brief momentum activity to the upside.
NASDAQ:AMZN
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
COST: Technical Strength Ahead of EarningsMuch of the Consumer Defensive industry and most Discount Stores have been in decline due to rising inflation. Many stores are struggling with lower revenues due to higher costs and their customers being more frugal during rising inflation periods. NASDAQ:COST is an exception with its massive strategy to buy food and common consumer necessities directly from producers and manufacturers and then use the Costco private label, Kirkland. The quality of the packaged food or clothing or other consumer product is the same, but with its ability to buy huge quantities, it has higher revenue growth after the pandemic that other stores would envy. The stock needs to settle into a sideways or platform trend to pattern out some excessive pricing structure from last quarter. It reports May 30th and the trend implies that the report should meet or exceed estimates. The previous Fundamental level is a Dark Pool Buy Zone, providing solid support. Pro traders followed that with a new pattern I call "the Nudge" which tends to lead upward momentum.
NASDAQ:COSTLong
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
Study of Dark Pool Buy Zones: CRWDNASDAQ:CRWD reports out of season, June 4th. When outlined to eliminate the extreme price action, there is a clear sideways trend. This is a Dark Pool Buy Zone. When the stock moves outside of that zone, it recovers quickly back into the zone. The huge Black candle was a gap up by HFTs on the last earnings report, followed by pros taking profits. Along with a lack of accumulation at that level, the stock whipsawed back down. The black candles thereafter were smaller funds selling on each bounce. Notice the tiny white candles that follow the black candles (see the orange arrows), patterns that reveal controlled, incremental buying against the selling. This is a longer sideways trend with stronger support and more definition of the buy zone despite heavy interference from small funds selling in the past couple of months.
NASDAQ:CRWD
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
DIS Testing Fundamental SupportWhen Americans feel depressed or unhappy about life, they tend to spend more money on fun things--something to consider during a presidential election year. For now, NYSE:DIS is looking fine for its earnings report next week. It was over-speculated, so adjusting back down closer to fundamental support is normal. The gap up in February was on way better than expected earnings, so that level should hold up well. However, HFTs and MEME groups have been going gaga over earnings and other news. If HFTs or MEMEs drive it down, it will move right back up due to Dark Pool activity first, and then pro trader activity.
NYSE:DIS
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
Trade like the pros in dark pools█ Trade like the pros in dark pools If you're accustomed to trading on the stock exchange, you know that an exchange operates like a digitalized marketplace. Buyers and sellers gather around a stock and indicate what they're willing to trade for, hoping that two orders will match. Before you decide at what price you're willing to trade, you likely look at the order book depth. There, we see how many shares are seeking buyers or sellers at a specific price. For a trade to be completed, the so-called spread needs to be crossed. The spread is the difference between the buying and selling price, in the example above 20 cents (226.40 – 226.20). In stocks that are traded very frequently, the spread is smaller and it's seldom a problem to execute very large volumes on the open market. █ Dark pools simplify trading in small companies Many stocks have too small a turnover to place a larger order without significantly affecting the price. Therefore, professionals have used dark pools for many years. Leading brokers are now making this flow available to all their customers. The advantage of a dark pool is that you don't need to show your order to other market participants until a trade has been completed. This facilitates, especially, trading in larger volumes. Another advantage of dark pools is that trades are made at so-called midprice. Returning to the example above, a trade would occur when someone is willing to pay the full spread of 20 cents. Had the order book been a dark pool, the midprice would have been 226.30 SEK. In this way, it results in a better price for both buyers and sellers. For those trading in larger volumes, this can mean a lot of money. █ All orders pass through dark pools The fact that dark pools are now available to everyone does not mean that all orders should be placed there. In fact, there are several barriers to how much trading can be routed this way before the dark pool is temporarily limited. When you place a regular order, thanks to so-called smart order routing, it will check if a better completion can be achieved via this dark pool than on the open market. So, whether you choose to actively place an order in the dark pool or not, you can benefit from the characteristics of the dark pool. █ Shouldn't the exchange be completely open? A criticism of dark pools is that they are exactly as they sound, hidden. But all trades made in Nasdaq Stockholm's dark pool are visible under completions. Stocks with low turnover can be difficult to trade without significantly affecting the price. ⚪ Let's take another example. Here we have a stock where the entire buy side corresponds to just over 130,000 SEK. That's a lot of money, but not an unreasonable holding for a private individual. This is also an order book from a company with a market value of about 1.6 billion. Thus, a small company, but not so small that trading for a couple of hundred thousand SEK should be unreasonable. Here, the spread is also 30 cents. Which is over one (1) percent on this stock price. Being able to halve this cost can save a lot of money both directly and over time. It is also possible to hide parts of an order today. In the advanced order placement on the open market, there is actually a tool for that problem as well. There, you can set the visible number of shares to be shown in the order book. █ When you should use the dark pool If you have never had problems with your order placement, you probably don't even need to consider placing an order in the dark pool. But if you trade stocks where you need to split your orders to not swallow too large a part of the order book, it might be valuable to try. ----------------- Disclaimer This is an educational study for entertainment purposes only. The information in my Scripts/Indicators/Ideas/Algos/Systems does not constitute financial advice or a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from the use of or reliance on such information. All investments involve risk, and the past performance of a security, industry, sector, market, financial product, trading strategy, backtest, or individual's trading does not guarantee future results or returns. Investors are fully responsible for any investment decisions they make. Such decisions should be based solely on evaluating their financial circumstances, investment objectives, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs. My Scripts/Indicators/Ideas/Algos/Systems are only for educational purposes!
Editors' picks
OMXSTO:ERIC_AEducation
by Zeiierman
3
BA Buy Zone Triggers Short-term ProsNYSE:BA is definitely below its current fundamentals for the 1st quarter of 2024. This was the biggest gain of all the Dow 30 components yesterday. It was an obvious reversal point at a prior Buy Zone at October's lows. Yesterday was driven by pro traders with a run up at open rather than an HFT gap up at open. We can also see the pro trader nudge pattern in the candlesticks before yesterday's move up. It may consolidate before running up, but this support level is now established for the next move up.
NYSE:BALong
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
NTCT: Island Gap PotentialThere is an interesting phenomenon that occurs often: when a gap down of this size occurs, followed by a bottoming action and a large white candle forms, this often becomes an island gap. HFTs that gapped the stock down gap it up again. The fact that the gap down candle is a huge white candle for this chart indicates that the gap down is below fundamental values and Dark Pools were the buyers against the HFT selling. The drop in Accumulation/Distribution at that time was smaller funds dumping which often triggers Dark Pool TWAPs. NASDAQ:NTCT has a high Percentage of Institutional Holdings at this time and it's a lower-priced stock in a pricey market.
NASDAQ:NTCTLong
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
FTNT: Dark Pool Buy Zone SupportNASDAQ:FTNT is a good example of a stock that had a big gap down that immediately filled due to falling below its fundamental level and a Dark Pool Buy Zone. This and the sideways trading range developing on the long-term trend creates strong support for weathering any sympathy moves from other cybersecurity stocks that have been over-speculated. Sideways action is likely to continue for a time, but AI-driven cybersecurity will only become more important in the years ahead and this stock is still at a decent price.
NASDAQ:FTNTLong
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
MSFT: The risks of selling shortNASDAQ:MSFT ran down yesterday but is reaching the low of the support today. The next tier of support is outlined also from the Dec-Jan Buy Zone ahead of earnings season. The risk day traders are taking selling short is if it runs below the low of the support and the Dark Pools surface to buy below its fundamental price level. This is why selling short is risky at this time. Support is around $397. The big question is where are the lows for fundamental levels for the next quarterly report. MSFT had higher revenues with slightly lower earnings. The CFO did not adjust earnings. It could gap or run down on news, but fundamentals are not way below the current price.
NASDAQ:MSFT
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
AMZN Joins the Dow at an Unusual PhaseThis hugely influential company should have been on the Dow 10 years ago. Listing as a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average usually occurs when a company is about to enter a Market Saturation to Market Decline Phase. However, such is not the case with $NASDAQ:AMZN. It's quite the opposite. Its fairly new CEO, who was the CEO of AWS, the division of AMZN known for its powerful and totally dominant PaaS cloud technology, has extensive experience in exactly what AMZN needs right now: front running new technologies and driving more new technologies to market introduction faster. The challenge to be #1 in the use of Integrated Artificial Intelligence and other new technologies in the realm of Cloud Technology is on. Who will win depends on the CEO. Never underestimate the importance of the right CEO for the current market conditions. The chart of AMZN stock implies a consolidation or platform may develop during the month and a half between earnings seasons. These patterns tend to form due to value-oriented quiet accumulation by the largest institutions while the rest of the market pulls back from buying or sells.
NASDAQ:AMZN
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
1
COIN Completes First Post-IPO BottomAs the first of its kind, this young company has a bright future. Weekly chart: NASDAQ:COIN has completed its first post-IPO bottom formation and is holding above the completion line despite some selling down in recent weeks. The company reports Feb 15th. The fundamentals are most likely at or near the bottom completion level. The run up became over-speculated so a minor correction is underway that can dip into the completion level, but support from the bottom formation is strong with Dark Pool buy zone patterns.
NASDAQ:COIN
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
Fundamental Value Levels via Technical Analysis: GOOG ExampleNASDAQ:GOOG had a mega gap down on earnings news. The stock was simply over-speculated. The price of this stock was way above the true fundamental values. So the stock gapped down to its current fundamental value level. See the chart attached. The green rectangle outlines the last range where there were Dark Pool Buy Zones. Indicators like Accumulation/Distribution help to confirm a consistent level of accumulation.
NASDAQ:GOOG
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader