wily,
Hmmmm, kinda counter-intuitive saying that the MM's will sell all they can to the institutions when the MM's know the institutions are buying:
I have no special expertise in this area, but as I've paid attention to the Thomson data, and watched stocks move, this interpretation seems to hold up.
I think of it this way: Institutions are relatively long term investors; when they research a company, and believe in it's future, they will buy stock. MMs are traders; they make their money buying and selling. When the institutions go into buy mode, the MMs are happy to sell at a price they feel is elevated compared to the price they will have to pay to replace the stock. While the institutions are buying, the MMs will sell at the the highest prices the institutions will bear. The prices run up faster then the normal trend, perhaps in large measure because other traders jump on the action. But the institutions have to pay a bit of a premium if they really want the stock. Their buying moves the market, and while they don't like it, they have to live with it. When they stop paying, or the MMs run out of merchandise, things move back down, the faster and harder the better for the MMs.
It seems backwards because my understanding of the Thomson site is that the buy/sell indicators are bids and offers by institutions, not MM's.
Part of my confusion when I first found Thomson was I was thinking that too. But here it is, directly from the Thomson web page:
Interest Messages: These messages serve as a way for broker/dealers to send real-time indications of interest to buy or sell securities. Interest messages are not binding, but merely offer an indication of which broker/dealers are actively seeking to trade a stock. Generally, the messages serve as means for the broker/dealers to say to institutional investors, "Give me a call and we'll talk about a trade."
Super Messages: "Supers" offer a more explicit medium for broker/dealers to advertise their interest in trading a stock. In a Super message, broker/dealers specify the exact price and size of stock they want to trade, as well as whether they are interested in buying or selling the security.
Hope this helps.
Dan |
