On Today’s VWAP Distortion
Courtesy of Tyler Durden
And so the computers are back to the oldest trick in the VWAP playbook: ramp stocks even as selling volume prevails, to create the perception that the mood has shifted to the optimistic. As the chart below shows, even as ES closed 4 points higher than yesterday’s close, the actual Volume Weighted Average Price closed notable lower (light blue line). In other words, the institutional market today, for all those who trade blocks and need to use VWAP algos to process trades, was down, even as it closed magically up for everyone else. This is another gimmick used widely in last year’s melt up, to cause people to part with their money and buy the most overvalued tech and solar companies (the latter of which have a negative EV when government subsidies are removed; if one wonders where funding for austerity will come from, there is a suggestion).
h/t Credit Trader
