Well we know that over 90% of all orders that are executed on the US market are through HFT algos, every broker basically uses HFT execution systems and competes to execute orders on the exchange. HFT is alot more infested into the US market than the Australian, and is primarily where HFT firms are based. So if HFT was really suppressing stock prices, then why is the US market near all time highs?
" Any company small to medium sized will have its SP completely manipulated by HFT"
Once again, insider trading, and market manipulation is as old as the stock market itself. HFT is just used to make it more efficient, and take out human error. The HFT trading and order routing that Lewis refers to is not what is going on with small company's on the ASX. When you see orders going through for 1 & 2 unit lots then sure it's likely to be the work of an HFT algo, but most of the time that Algo is coded as a buy program( to accumulate stocks as efficiently as possible without moving the SP), or a sell program( to sell stock as efficiently as possible without moving the SP). Ofcourse this can impact the SP and look like someone is deliberately suppressing the price , however if a HFT Algo wasn't doing this job, then someone else would just be doing it for them- the same instos or market manipulates are still going to be using the same tactics. Do you understand that market manipulation is not caused by HFT? HFT is just the latest scapegoat...
The reason so many Aussie company's are prone to manipulation is really just down to the size of their market cap, alot of company's are basically penny stocks with weak MGMT- especially the ones people ramp about on HC. If you look at the same equivalent size company's on the US market, then you will see the same manipulation, infact you'll realize it's ALOT worse.
