mystery trades hit anz, cba stocks, page-2

http://www.smh.com.au/business/highspeed-traders-given-the-all-clear-20121023-283ea.html

extract

HIGH frequency traders look to have been cleared of responsibility for last Thursday's opening bell ''flash spike'' in the prices of shares including ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, Brambles and AGL.

It is still not clear why the weird trades occurred on Thursday, just as the monthly strike price for share price index futures was being set, but the selling broker, UBS, was acting on behalf of an institutional client. ASIC is still in discussions with the client but is believed to favour a stuff-up over an attempt to manipulate the market.

That finding would suit the HFT firms, which trade here through UBS and other groups including Deutsche and Citigroup, and are found worldwide even as their impact on sharemarket trading wanes.

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