I should also have added to my last post that it is easy to read...

I should also have added to my last post that it is easy to read what has happened in the history of a chart, however reading the right hand edge (what is going to happen next), takes serious skill.

You are always looking for confirmation bars, especially just after a buying or selling event, as the future direction at that point is unconfirmed.

As I said in my last post, the SM have many tricks they can play, to put the punters on the wrong side of the market.

They can set traps for the short term traders, where they push the price up quickly on a particular day, then open Up the next day, only to pull it down later, trapping the ST traders up the top, leaving them to choose weather to hold to try to get out without a loss at a later date, or sell at a loss now.
This is a really common move that is present on almost every chart of stock that the SM are present in.

They can also do the reverse if they are shorting a particular stock.

Also remember that the SM are not present in every stock, only the ones they see as being strong, or having a good future.
They are not involved in the so called "dogs".
So being able to see them in a stock you hold, can also be a confirmation the stock has promise.

I also said they will sometimes make a low probability event a reality at times if they see an advantage in it, while this is not so common, it does happen, depending on the timeframe they are working in, and what future events are taking place.

They are also known to spread good and bad rumours (depending if they want to buy or sell) through out the press and electronic media (who rarely check the information), and even on internet chat forums, if it will give them an advantage.

Many see them as the Bad guys of the market, and to some extent they are, as they will try to put you in a bad position and get you to sell your shares to them at a loss.
However if you stick with them and do what they are doing, or just hold long term, they are not dangerous to you at all.
They are also the ones who have enough buying power to push a SP higher (or lower), where it can then consolidate at a higher level.

Also, the SM are mostly private trading syndicates & private equity firms (and some market makers), not the fund managers (in their opinion fund managers are weak holders, just like retail punters).
This is an advantage to them as they dont have to produce quarterly & yearly reports to the public or financial regulators (apart from taxation), so they are not restricted by needing to show "results" at any particular time or in any particular time frame.

The SM shy away from publicity and work quietly in the market, trying not to be noticed, only their high volume shows their presence and gives them away.

Hope I havnt gone on too much about this.....

cheers