Showing posts with label the nature of the stock market.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the nature of the stock market.. Show all posts

Thursday, February 27, 2020

The Markets are a Thing?

It irks me when folks regard and talk about the "stock market" as if it is an inanimate object.

The market is anything but a lump of "thing".

It is more of a lively beast, reactive, calculating, and at times manipulative and seductive.

Some people state that the market is simply a set of algorithms and that there isn't any human involvement in it anymore.

 In my own kwirky understanding of the market I'd like to say the following:

Yes, of course human beings are going to use artificial intelligence more and more and more as time goes on, to maintain a financial edge and semblance of "control" in markets. But that doesn't make the market "less human". No, using A.I. is akin to  using your sharpest knife in the kitchen when you are trying to carve up a steak.....it just works better than a dull butter knife.

Behind every A.I. program is a programmer. Those programmers don't just set an A.I. system loose on the markets and trust it's instinct. A.I. does not have instinct. A.I. does precisely what it is programmed to do, and not a tad more than that. Programmers and traders work in tandem to tweak and adjust their A.I. algorithms to maximize trends and take advantage of unpredictable market events. The programs maintain the priorities that are set into their systems, and stick to script, unlike humans who often lose their priorities when their emotions run hot.

So, yes, we don't see  many folks running around the trading pits with papers strewn all over the floor, and traders making weird hand signals to brokers to complete trades. ( however, that still does happen in certain circles) But, the market is still very reactive and lively. Behind the screens, laptops, mobile phones, rooms filled with processors and huge monitors across the globe..... are very real and very wonderfully emotional human beings...determined to make a buck. The more computerized are our interactions with the markets, the more that we can use these preset tools to overcome our emotional weaknesses. Computers can cross the gap that sometimes prevents us from doing what is logical and rational, because of our own stubbornness and hot-headed-ness.

The events over the past two days should show us once again, that the market is a lively beast being controlled by humans.....humans with strong opinions, beliefs and emotions.


Well, that's all for now. Just wanted to put that out there.

Have a peaceful day friends.

Carla.