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The Last Minute Ramp Job Dissected

Tyler Durden's picture




 

How do you prevent a 5% drop in a month (which as Credit Trader points out is precisely what the last minute ramp achieved)? A reader explains:

approx 175k ESU0 traded between 3:59 and 4:00 - $9.1B notional.  in the 16 minutes between 3:59 and 4:15 just under 300k contracts traded total (12% of full day / overnight volume --- 200% of the previous 5 trading days) for total of $15B notional

And now you know. Beginning tomorrow, the stock market will open at 3:59 pm and close at 4:15 pm . Traders rejoice as this will open up whole new unexplored avenues to kill time during the day with trips to Scores and Baltusrol.

 

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Tue, 08/31/2010 - 16:47 | 556219 bada boom
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Censored my own comment.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 16:48 | 556220 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

Thank god for machines, now we never have to work!  I'm getting signed up on Farmville pronto!

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:08 | 556273 mikla
mikla's picture

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:09 | 556278 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

"And I'm not bluffing!"

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:14 | 556292 Getagrip
Getagrip's picture

Looking good Lenny! With that mug, you could be the next Fed chairman. Lot's of perks, great pay and benefits with no real work involved. Just hold rates at ZIRP and blather about stuff no sane person can understand...

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:24 | 556307 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

ok, sign me up!

For an inaugural bit,

"Rational consumer, increasing exports via a dead currentsea, green chutes yada yada, I have facial hair so you can trust me, I will answer no questions on FX rates and trading via my plunge protection team titled The President's Working Group on Financial Markets, I only own two suits, one grey/one blue, no flashy gold earrings (every time I come around bling bling!), and what else?  Oh, I come from Princetown, so you may kowtow now!"

Too easy?  Maybe I will spit fire at Congress for my second act.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:28 | 556315 Getagrip
Getagrip's picture

You're hired but I think the Princetown bit is a little over the top..

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:30 | 556316 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

Fair enough, you may bow....

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:39 | 556332 Getagrip
Getagrip's picture

Did you mean squat??

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:45 | 556342 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

He meant Ben-d over and Getagrip on those ankles.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:47 | 556349 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

Oh I don't have my glasses, is that what the teleprompter says.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:07 | 556389 Getagrip
Getagrip's picture

No that's Obama's gig. All you have to do is make it up as you go... 

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:07 | 556393 Getagrip
Getagrip's picture

Sound's like you know the routine...

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:07 | 556394 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

We all know it, with or without the teleprompter.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:15 | 556401 Getagrip
Getagrip's picture

this reply got front run by a spastic ALGO

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:12 | 556400 Getagrip
Getagrip's picture

Sounds like you know the routine..but who doesn't by now.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 16:49 | 556225 waterdog
waterdog's picture

The sad part is that it is true.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 16:50 | 556232 Pladizow
Pladizow's picture

Come on....of course, can't have a down day on the night Obama speaks!

You down with PPT, yeah you know me!

 

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 16:56 | 556246 IdiotInvestor2
IdiotInvestor2's picture

I still think that the ISM numbers have leaked out to someone.

 

Or maybe the Chinese PMI was leaked out, which I believe is out tonight. This kind of ramp before Chinese data has happened in past. Some hedge funds might have very close ties with the Chinese govt and access to inside information.

In any case, this market is a farce. And CNBC wonders why retail investors are out of the market and going into bonds. They can manipulate yields, but not the guarantee of the principal.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:08 | 556274 Getagrip
Getagrip's picture

Principal thats losing buying power with negative real yields... 

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:00 | 556380 DarkMath
DarkMath's picture

"Some hedge funds might have very close ties with the Chinese govt and access to inside information."

This could be true but did they find out about this at precisely 3:58pm? I mean why wait until 3:59 to shoot yourself in the foot. A Hedge Fund wants to make money, so if they're going long why ramp up the ES?

Your point is preposterous.

The only legitimate reason I can think of is short covering but why would someone wait until 3:59 to cover their short ES position? That doesn't happen on a day with only good news (positive consumer sentiment etc).

 

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:59 | 556469 IdiotInvestor2
IdiotInvestor2's picture

What I meant was that's when it was leaked - almost at the close, and then they frantically started buying (or short covering).

Why would it leak just before the close ? I do not know. This kind of ramp up has happened before. Just minutes into the close, a huge volume surge that could only be explained later in hindsight. IIRC, the Fri May 29 last year had a huge spike at the very close.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:14 | 556275 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

Do you think tonight on TV Barry O'Potus will ask congress to declare war on those dangerous cave dwellers in Afghanistan?  That is right, the same cave dwellers that would sure like to have China (on the Eastern border of Afghanistan) build a pipeline across their country to our other close friends, Iran (on the Western border of Afghanistan).

I wonder how many people in the USA realize Afghanistan sits between China and Iran?  Afterall, it is only the location of the longest war in American history.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 16:51 | 556237 Brahms Third Racket
Brahms Third Racket's picture

LOL. That last second pump was so fast it faked out my data provider.  Intraday 10 min chart shows SPY close at 105.71 while daily chart shows 105.31 (which is around where it actually was literally seconds before the close). Never saw that before.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 16:53 | 556241 Slash
Slash's picture

patheeeeeeetic

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 16:57 | 556248 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

AUDJPY is being ramped like achieved last night.  That makes me believe that ISM is going to be a huge miss and the Fed is trying to create a cushion for tomorrows numbers. 

Wed, 09/01/2010 - 08:38 | 557249 Roger Knights
Roger Knights's picture

Makes sense, especially in conjunction with other motives. And here's a little news tidbit just up on Bloomberg (1 hour before the open): "Employers in U.S. Unexpectedly Cut 10,000 Jobs in August, ADP Report Shows"

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 16:57 | 556250 scatterbrains
scatterbrains's picture

is the 5% in a calendar month some sort of sell signal threshold ?

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 16:57 | 556251 longjohnshorts
longjohnshorts's picture

Pardon what might be ignorance, but might the action instead have been last-minute short covering?  Just exploring an alternative explanation. Any thoughts?

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:03 | 556263 Dismal Scientist
Dismal Scientist's picture

I'm guessing its more to do with Barry's speech. Noone else wants to buy equities. Serious question: can anyone remember a big name investor (other than creepy Uncle Warren) saying this is a great buying opportunity, right here, right now ?

 

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:17 | 556300 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

Jeremy Siegel was spouting that now is a great place to buy on BBTV earlier today.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:22 | 556303 Dismal Scientist
Dismal Scientist's picture

Is he a great investor though ? ie: has he got a track record of achievement in all market conditions. I thought he was just another academic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Siegel

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 21:22 | 556687 Turd Ferguson
Turd Ferguson's picture

Jeremy Seigel is a complete douchebag.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:25 | 556309 Getagrip
Getagrip's picture

Could be part of it. The normal 3:30 ramp didn't happen and the late ramp may have caught shorts by surprise. Great observation..

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:01 | 556254 Chemba
Chemba's picture

There is no way that ObaMao was going to be denied the following lead in to his teleprompter reading:

"And on Wall Street today, stocks were mostly higher as consumer confidence was much higher than expected and the latest read on home prices was surprisingly strong...good news all around, next..."

  -- Katie Couric

  -- Brian Williams

  -- Diane Sawyer

You can be quite certain that Little Timmy and Banana Ben had a hand in this afternoon's closing ramp

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:01 | 556258 Getagrip
Getagrip's picture

Used to set my clock by the 3:30 ramp. Now what am I gonna do? 

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:04 | 556266 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Ben Bernanke is like Michael Jackson's doctor. The economy is a freak and unnatural. It does not feel good (being operated on to keep up appearances and all) so it asks for medicine it should not get. Dr. Bernanke, not knowing how to say no to his client, is gonna make the economy OD on money to the point that money is meaningless and absurd and, most importantly, no longer a store of value. He will kill the patient.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:05 | 556268 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

Not a joke!  I still laughed out loud.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:37 | 556324 Rusty_Shackleford
Rusty_Shackleford's picture

... and we can also remain confident the economy will continue to metaphorically fondle our children's genitals inappropriately for generations to come.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:53 | 556367 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Rusty, it's okay to say the economy, even though it is dead, will continue to FUCK us and our children, thanks to Dr. Ben. We know the truth about what happened in those back rooms as Ben watched.

Let the Ther-rape-ee begin!

(My husband is fond of saying that there is a rapist in every Therapist).

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 19:26 | 556523 faustian bargain
faustian bargain's picture

zombie rapists. nice.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:39 | 556330 Conrad Murray
Conrad Murray's picture

Well, between you and me, BS honed his craft in my office some years ago.  I thought for sure he'd step up and get me out of this jam as a thank you.  No luck yet.  But, maybe a pallet of 100s will come crashing through the courthouse on the first day of my trial and I can climb a rope ladder to freedom on the Chinook of Prosperity while everyone is distracted.  I got faith in you Ben!

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:49 | 556352 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

"Get to the choppa!"  BS yelled over his shoulder as he scampered up the hemp ladder.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:43 | 556339 cougar_w
cougar_w's picture

Nice.

So what is the next album title? We already have "Thriller". Maybe this time it's "Undead".

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:03 | 556386 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

The ultimate album of Fed policy which trumps and incorporates all the predecessors:

Dangerous, invincible, off the wall, thriller, bad HIStory, blood on the streets.

(I admit to stretching).

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:50 | 556351 Jendrzejczyk
Jendrzejczyk's picture

A perfect analogy MsC.

@Rusty

I laughed and then had that same reaction I get when stepping on a slug in bare feet.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:17 | 556409 Rusty_Shackleford
Rusty_Shackleford's picture

Exactly what I was going for.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 20:56 | 556648 MayIMommaDogFac...
MayIMommaDogFace2theBananaPatch's picture

+100

The only thing that could have made it more powerful would have been to first challenge everyone that you had a perfect metaphor for the situation and it involved MJ. 

Nobody would have believed it!

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:06 | 556269 You Cant Handle...
You Cant Handle the Truth's picture

I noticed the explosion in volume during the last part of the day. For example, I checked earlier and the DJI volume was like 100M; then later I saw it was 250M at close. Help a market newbie out here: how much of that is just what normally happens at the end of a month, and how much of that is what happens when there is a massive ramp job?

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:35 | 556326 Getagrip
Getagrip's picture

I'm sure some of it was short's that were caught in the late ramp, but not enough to explain the burst of volume. End of month book squaring also played but as usual, we will never really know..

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:12 | 556283 gigeze787
gigeze787's picture

This week's strategy is clear: slowly move the market up through Wed, then on Thurs hold through the (manipulated) weekly claims report... in advance of Friday's (ridiculous) NFP report for Aug...

So, Wed am open...do they let the air out first (like this morning) and then ramp again...or do they start the fire (i.e. shorts burned in effigy) in the premarket and then add napalm at 9.30am?

p.s -- long Tues am, out, then short @ 3.58:30p

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:12 | 556289 Boilermaker
Boilermaker's picture

Won't it look fuckin' awesome to see that big 100+ DOW futures in the bottom right hand corner of CNN...right during the speech!

Phew...man, that'll be SWEET.  I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:23 | 556306 faustian bargain
faustian bargain's picture

A ramp job, and yet it's still the worst August for the markets since 2001. Just think how far back they would've had to go if there were no PPT.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-slump-further-adding-to-augus...

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:26 | 556311 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

When the Dow traded vs. an OZ of gold perhaps?

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:32 | 556317 faustian bargain
faustian bargain's picture

wooo...1980.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:42 | 556336 functionform
functionform's picture

http://imgur.com/OPRUD.jpg

how do you embed images?

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:51 | 556358 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

Find Geronimo's scull.  Go.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:59 | 556468 Clycntct
Tue, 08/31/2010 - 19:06 | 556481 Clycntct
Clycntct's picture

test 2

<img src="/sites/default/files/images/user971/imageroot/Amber.jpg" width="350" height="450"/>

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 19:22 | 556513 Clycntct
Clycntct's picture

Test3 last try

<p style="margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom: 0.75em;"><img src="/sites/default/files/images/user971/imageroot/Amber.jpg" width="350" height="450" />

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 20:59 | 556654 MayIMommaDogFac...
MayIMommaDogFace2theBananaPatch's picture

Congratulations!  You have passed your entrance exam to Devry University.  Please do not touch the computers until after graduation.  Thank you.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:50 | 556353 prophet
prophet's picture

8/31/2001 SPX close: 1133

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:15 | 556404 apberusdisvet
apberusdisvet's picture

Average investor:

"I really need something, anything, please please please

Ben and Timmie (as one):

"Bend over and grab your ankles"

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:20 | 556414 jbc77
jbc77's picture

What bull shit? They have the nerve to prosecute the guy who was "banging the close" on palladuim....but this utter bullshit on the S&P is perfectly fucking fine. How bout' a Wall Street article on this bullshit. I am so sick of these people. I just want to strangle them.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:26 | 556420 RobotTrader
RobotTrader's picture

Something was leaked after hours???

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:31 | 556425 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Now there is a jaw dropper and I don't mean the blonde.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:44 | 556440 cougar_w
cougar_w's picture

WTF. It's like watching shadows moving by moonlight. Something is out there. It's moving in some way. It is scaring the night predators into wild flight. What the Hell is it?

And -- do you really want to know?

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 18:57 | 556462 Careless Whisper
Careless Whisper's picture

WFC and DIS are lookin' tasty down here.

NEM smells like a takeover candidate. it's in the air. i can feel it. touch it. smell it. just a matter of time.

HPQ ? those are the idiots that bought palm. losers at that company. RIMM going down for the count, unless there are more idiots out there like at HPQ, and there probably are.

BAC ? p.o.s.

SLW ? brilliant company. am buying the dip around 20.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 19:27 | 556525 faustian bargain
faustian bargain's picture

she's a MAN, baby!

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 19:55 | 556569 nmewn
nmewn's picture

Say it ain't so!

Where's the Adam's Apple?...no wait...don't answer...no, yes, no...AAAHHHHGGG!!!...I'm conflicted, but I can't be sure, cause I'm conflicted.

Mommy ;-)

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 21:18 | 556679 Hephasteus
Hephasteus's picture

She's packing vagina.

Wed, 09/01/2010 - 06:40 | 557138 nmewn
nmewn's picture

Whew...that was close. It's up...it's down...it's up...it's down...the stock market that is ;-)

Futures up 100...looks like a good short entry point.

Wish me luck with these friggin thieves.

Wed, 09/01/2010 - 07:46 | 557180 bada boom
bada boom's picture

At least you know who your dealing with.

 

Wed, 09/01/2010 - 18:30 | 558521 nmewn
nmewn's picture

Oh yeah...never any doubt.

I just keep clicking my heels and while chanting there's no place like SZK ;-)

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 19:13 | 556494 Pillage
Pillage's picture

So we go down 4.72% for the month instead of 5% curtesy of a spike in volume in the last few minutes. So what, we're down 3 of the last 4 months. Any added voulme on margin for the long side is welcome news of throwing more fuel on the fire. Strike a match.......there's a nice long term and ultra long term H&S pattern ready to be lit. We're not oversold anymore!

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 21:12 | 556670 Leo Kolivakis
Leo Kolivakis's picture

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 22:07 | 556735 chindit13
chindit13's picture

There are a lot of funds who spend the month long various ETF's.  When the month end snapshot is taken, however, they have to at least pretend they are doing work, so they buy the actual equities and make it look as if they are earning their fees.  Volume gets juiced, and since they need to lift offers, the market ramps. I do not know why this gets concentrated in certain months (today, May 09).

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 22:22 | 556760 Leo Kolivakis
Leo Kolivakis's picture

Maybe because a lot of PMs were on vacation, so they put it in cruise control, and now that they're bak, they're buying stocks for the month-end window dressing.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 22:36 | 556792 Overpowered By Funk
Overpowered By Funk's picture

It's getting to the point where they don't even try to hide the end of day BS ramp job. The elephant in the room is out on the front lawn for all the neighbors to see.

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 23:00 | 556826 goldsaver
goldsaver's picture

OK, so we know the game and the timing. Is there any way to know the targets? If TPTB are going to be so blatant about the manipulation, might as well get some too. If we could figure out what they are playing and what the signal is, we could ride the wave. Just saying...

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 23:02 | 556830 goldsaver
goldsaver's picture

BTW...surprised that no one has commented on the GLD move today. Up 11 at one point. Too bad I am not a seller, just an accumulator

 

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 23:02 | 556833 Hang The Fed
Hang The Fed's picture

All of this is just fine, so far as I'm concerned, if it ends up where it feels like it will.  How long can this lunacy continue before even Skynet starts lunching on its own motherboard?  I just plan to be as far-removed from the final splat as I can.  It's a nice picture that Benny and Co. are trying to paint...I'm sure that they have wonderful futures in cubist painting (or, basket weaving, at the very least), but this is getting to be more than just a little absurd.

Wed, 09/01/2010 - 00:04 | 556918 Johnny Yuma
Johnny Yuma's picture

Rule #1: Don't place any trades after 3:30pm EST.

Rule #2: Be very careful trading the last day of the month. The markets typically act irrational. 

 

No surprise by this afternoon's spike... 

Wed, 09/01/2010 - 09:40 | 557378 Kobe Beef
Kobe Beef's picture

you guys r great! keep the comedy rollin!

Wed, 09/01/2010 - 10:15 | 557464 Sherman McCoy
Sherman McCoy's picture

So is Chris Pia out of jail, or has the PPP turned its machines back on?

Wed, 09/29/2010 - 06:55 | 612116 Herry12
Herry12's picture

 

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