The dump surprised me a little -- although I should be used to them by now. Held, as usual, so no skin off my nose... but I do wonder as to what the dumper(s) were trying to achieve.
Volume was low as it was a long weekend, but the rest of the week looked potentially positive after the weekend's rally and with the sign of volume returning.
But all the dump is likely to do is remove the wind from the market. As we've found from the previous dumps, they no longer cause any long-term significant downward price movement following the dump.
This results in a stalemate, with bulls unwilling to buy from fear of seeing someone dump to manipulate, and bears unwilling to sell as they know the price won't go down.
So, what? Do we say hello to another 3 weeks of 0-volatility and 0-volume?
I really don't like the manipulators. They're basically crapping in their own playground.
People who use this to their advantage without having the capacity for market manipulation do pretty well with the means at their disposal. Probing dark orders and capitalizing on others' greed and deception pays big dividends in both the near and medium term. Long term realization will happen regardless.
Savvy traders recognize and play off others' tactics. All of us who trade are market manipulators in some sense. Responsible trading tends to stabilize an otherwise volatile market. Most market manipulators do so in order to stabilize the market while limiting loses and improving the potential for gain. Times of high volatility tend to be based in emotion rather than logical analysis.
The most solid play involves choosing an entry point at which the buyer is willing to buy and hold. Trading is for gamblers and short term speculation. Failure to understand this can be catastrophic and skews ones risk of ruin in a negative direction.
Value is fairly concrete inconsequential of others' motives.
Edit: my one hundredth post. I wish it was better, but I guess it'll do. Post 500 will be better
