Originally posted by dgabriel
Specialists and MMs with a deep book will push a stock over an important s/r level when they know they can immediately trade out at a profit.
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This is a key line here. Specialist will push a stock....
think about that rule again on the NYSE. The Specialist can't buy on an uptick or sell on a downtick. Meaning he move the stock himself --all he can do is be looser on his bids/offers trying to encourage others to.
That means if the price is 50.00 bid and 50.10 offered and the specialist if can't sell the 50.00 bid or buy the 50.10 offered. He has to go inbetween. For him to get long he has to have a 50.09 buy and he can make sure he is the buyer at all price levels below that but he can't force the uptick .......somebody else has to.
If he wants to sell he can't hit the 50 bid. he has to be at 50.01 or better so that it is an uptick so that he can sell.
Specialist has to ALWAYS go against order flow
Market Makers on the Nasdaq aren't forced by this rule. They can sell on a downtick or buy on an uptick. That is one of the reasons I can't hold a .05 stop on NASDAQ stocks that aren't in the NAS 100 list. I can easily have it go .20-50 cents against me due to other market makers backing away (they aren't forced to be a buyer at specific price levels like the specialist is required to do).
Now somebody will say that's great take advantage of it. Problem is for me to take advantage of .20-30 price moves means I am taking on 2-10 times the risk if I do the same size that I can do on NY.
Robert
) - it was for me. It sort of hints at what has been debated about P2, and the human brain in general.