Maybe rigged is not the right word but the Australian market is definitely manipulated by HFT and computers. The market has become a joke where in some stocks on some days the majority of trading is by computers. The market used to be about investing, or trading, in companies which showed good value or potential. Now large volumes of trades are about pushing the price up a few cents and then driving it down a few cents. Have a look at the trading in MGX over the last 4 days. I estimate 90% of the volume is computer driven. The quantities are ridiculous with trade of 1, 5, 10, 100 shares. And obviously no brokerage is paid on these trades. The ASX is the only place in Australia, and possibly the world, where products are traded in increments of a quarter of a cent. The ACCC keeps retail and other businesses in check to ensure a level playing field and protects all consumers and suppliers. The ASX and ASIC have allowed the share market to become a manipulated joke.
